A man who has visited every state in America has revealed the must-visit on his list. Jonathan Thomas is a travel journalist and travel show host who has lived in the US for the last 15 years.
He shared his favourite cities in 15 states with the Daily Mail. Topping the list was Santa Fe in New Mexico. Jonathan recommends this city, which featured in the Oscar-winning film Oppenheimer, for its 250 galleries and museums, the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the Sky Railway, and the food. Next up on his list was Cody in Wyoming. The gateway to Yellowstone National Park, the city offers a “brilliant taste of the Wild West”, with campfire cook-outs, square dances and horse riding. He praised the area’s “soul-stirring natural beauty” and recommended going to a rodeo in the “Rodeo Capital of the World”.
In the third spot is Pensacola in Florida, which the journalist said “feels off the beaten track”. With all but 22 days of sun a year, the city has 18 miles of sandy beaches, and a “vibrant assortment” of cafes, boutiques, museums and restaurants.
Coming in fourth was Juneau in Alaska. Located between mountains, glaciers and the ocean, the city still has some indicators that the state was once part of Russia, with a Russian Orthodox church and a Russian dumpling restaurant on the seafront.
During the summer, days can last 19 hours, leaving plenty of time for museums, architecture, saloon-style bars, glacier hiking and whale watching.
And in fifth was Chattanooga in Tennessee. It is America’s first National Park City due to its location on the Tennessee River, between mountains and cliffs.
Jonathan said Chattanooga is enjoying a “foodie revival” but is also popular among nature lovers, with biking, paragliding and a 145ft underground waterfall to enjoy.
Jonathan also shared the places he would recommend tourists avoid. One large thing to take into consideration is not going to “Spring Break cities”, such as Miami Beach, Panama City, and Fort Lauderdale, during March to avoid the drunk, partying students.
He added that most large cities have dodgy neighbourhoods, calling out Baltimore and Philadelphia, with some neighbourhoods “looking straight out of The Wire”. The travel journalist also recommended avoiding “bottom of the barrel towns” such as Clovis in New Mexico and Pahrump in Nevada.
He dubbed Gary in Indiana “the absolute worst spot”, calling it a “post-industrial, semi-deserted hellscape” that should be “avoided at all costs”.