Discover additional US gateways and the road trips the Inspire!
Good news! This year sees a flurry of new airlines and new routes across the Atlantic. Now, you can fly from airports close to home to less-well-known airports and destinations in the USA. Benefits range from more-affordable hotels and car rental to the opportunity to follow less travelled roads. The 150 most-scenic are dubbed America’s Byways.
Here are the cities and gateway airports served by the new transatlantic routes:
HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT
You can visit Mark Twain’s home in Hartford
THE CITY: Since the University of Connecticut opened its downtown campus in the state capital, Hartford, a new buzz has been added to such attractions as the Connecticut Science Center, Old State House and the impressive Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art. In the city’s suburbs, visit the homes of two well-loved authors and good neighbours: Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe.
SCENIC BYWAY: From the airport, drive north to join the 500-mile-long Connecticut River Byway. Along the way, stop in charming villages, such as Historic Deerfield, Massachusetts, and bustling Woodstock, Vermont. Photograph the Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge that links Vermont and New Hampshire.
THE ROUTE: Aer Lingus flies to Hartford via Dublin from 16 airports across the UK. Bradley International Airport (BDL)
TRAVEL INFO: www.discovernewengland.org
PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND
THE CITY: Providence is a gem of a small city: a vibrant downtown; outstanding art and craft galleries; stylish small restaurants, and loads of history, especially along Benefit Street. The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Museum of Art is a must; uphill is Brown University, where Harry Potter star, Emma Watson, studied.
SCENIC BYWAYS: interesting routes have no official designation. Follow State Route 114 through the historic town of Bristol and on to Newport, famous for its palatial 19th-century mansions and luxuriant gardens. Sports fans enjoy the International Tennis Hall of Fame, where you can even play on the world’s oldest grass courts. Then head west, cross into Connecticut and follow Route 1 to the picturesque old whaling port of Mystic, home of the Mystic Seaport living history museum.
THE ROUTE:
Norwegian (www. norwegian.com/uk) flies direct to TF Green from Belfast and Edinburgh. T F Green Airport, Warwick, Rhode Island
TRAVEL INFO: www.discovernewengland.org
CINCINNATI, OHIO
A riverboat cruises past the Cincinnati skyline
THE CITY: In addition to fine museums and a revitalised Ohio River waterfront, Cincinnati is the location of the Harriet Beecher Stowe House (home of the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin) and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, a reminder of the city’s aid to slaves escaping from the South. For nostalgia, it has to be the retro neon in the quirky American Sign Museum.
SCENIC BYWAY: Cincinnati is on the Ohio River Scenic Byway, which stretches for 950 miles through Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. Highlights include vast murals in Portsmouth, Ohio; the Ohio River Museum in Marietta, Ohio; and the Native American Angel Mounds, near Evansville, Indiana. With its Super Museum and annual Superman Festival, Metropolis, Illinois, further stakes its claim to be ‘Superman’s Hometown’.
THE ROUTE: WOW air flies to Cincinnati via Reykjavik from Edinburgh, Gatwick and Stansted. Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International (CVG) near Hebron, northern Kentucky
TRAVEL INFO: www.greatlakesusa.co.uk
CLEVELAND, OHIO
Cleveland is home to The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
THE CITY: Old and young love Cleveland’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Other attractions include the Great Lakes Science Center, the Cleveland Botanical Garden’s vast tropical glasshouse, and guided tours of the bountiful West Side Market, with the extra treat of a cone of wildberry crumble at Mitchell’s Ice Cream.
SCENIC BYWAY: Cleveland is on the 300-mile-long Lake Erie Coastal Ohio Trail, which leads to such attractions as Cedar Point’s awesome roller-coasters, now including Steel Vengeance, the world’s first hyper-hybrid coaster. From Port Clinton, ferry over to South Bass Island, where the Americans defeated the British Navy during the War of 1812. In spring and autumn, Magee Marsh Wildlife Area is a great birding spot.
THE ROUTE: Either WOW air or Icelandair fly to Cleveland via Reykjavik from Aberdeen, Belfast, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester and three London airports — Gatwick, Heathrow and Stansted. Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE)
TRAVEL INFO: www.greatlakesusa.co.uk
THE HUDSON VALLEY, NEW YORK STATE
This one-room farmhouse was a headquarters for American troops during the Battle of Saratoga
THE CITY: Manhattan is a one-hour shuttle bus ride away, but why not stay and explore the Hudson River Valley? Handy sites include the magnificent home ofFranklin D Roosevelt and the Culinary Institute of America, both in Hyde Park. Storm King Art Center has 100 sculptures on its 500 acres of meadows, while the funky little town of New Paltz offers boutiques, bistros and – just outside – the Tuthilltown Spirits Farm whiskey distillery and Angry Orchard cider house, for tasting and eating.
SCENIC BYWAY: Farther north is the Lakes to Locks Passage, a 234-mile route that follows the waters of Lake Champlain, Lake George and the Champlain Canal. Stop in Adirondack hamlets or visit Saratoga National Historical Park, site of the 1777 Battle of Saratoga, a turning point in the American Revolution.
THE ROUTE: Norwegian flies to Stewart direct from Belfast and Edinburgh. New York Stewart International Airport (SWF), Newburgh, New York
TRAVEL INFO: www.iloveny.com
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI
BB’s Jazz Blues and Soups
THE CITY: Set to open on July 4 beneath the iconic 630ft Gateway Arch, the new Museum at the Gateway Arch commemorates the westward expansion of the United States. But St Louis has so much more. Take in some live music on Fridays and Sundays at the new National Blues Museum; cruise the mighty Mississippi River aboard a replica 19th-century paddle-wheel boat; tour the Frank Lloyd Wright House in Ebsworth Park. Alternatively, relax in the Delmar Loop, with its shops and cafés.
SCENIC BYWAY: The Great River Road parallels the Mississippi River from Hannibal (Mark Twain connections) and historic St Charles, through Missouri’s wine country.
THE ROUTE: WOW air flies to St Louis via Reykjavik from Edinburgh, Gatwick and Stansted. St Louis Lambert International (STL)
TRAVEL INFO: www.visitmo.com
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
THE CITY: As everyone knows from Oklahoma!, everything’s up to date in Kansas City. See the giant Shuttlecocks sculpture at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art; catch a live gig at the American Jazz Museum, and order pulled pork at Arthur Bryant’s, the legendary barbecue joint on Brooklyn Avenue.
THE SCENIC DRIVE: Head east through Independence, site of President Harry Truman’s home and museum, to Fulton, where Churchill delivered his famous Iron Curtain speech, then north to St Joseph’s Pony Express Museum and the house where outlaw Jesse James was gunned down, or south to Branson, the ‘Live Show Capital of the World’. Alternatively, why not combine them all in a circular tour? Also note – the airport is shared by Kansas City, Kansas, where it is heralded as the first international gateway into both Kansas and Oklahoma.
THE ROUTE: Icelandair flies to Kansas City via Reykjavik from Gatwick, Heathrow, Manchester and Glasgow. Kansas City International Airport (MCI)
TRAVEL INFO: www.visitmo.com , www.travelKSOK.co.uk
