Sarah Conlisk
Lyft
With the pandemic clearly behind them, Americans are getting out and exploring their cities and countries. To help you make the most of your summer, Lyft analyzed two years of travel data to find the most popular cities for dining, partying, gaming, sports, or exploring the great outdoors.
Most Popular Food City: Las Vegas
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Sin City has cemented its reputation as a foodie paradise since Wolfgang Puck opened a Spago next to Palace of the Caesars in 1992. Soon, casinos began competing for customers as well as players, sparking an arms race that resulted in nine At least Michelin star restaurants 38 celebrity chef restaurants, and frequent mentions among the rankings of the best gastronomic cities in the country. As Las Vegas' tourism industry has bounced back strongly from the pandemic, so has its restaurant business, with restaurant shopping jumping 12% over the past year.
The food offerings in Las Vegas are so vast and varied that no single restaurant or cuisine can claim to be responsible for this increase. Diners flocked to casual establishments like Nacho daddy and chic newcomers like The pepper club by Todd English. They visited famous chef restaurants like Gordon Ramsayand unlimited dishes 888 Japanese BBQ by lesser known geniuses. Better yet, many of them hopped in a car to explore fine dining away from the Strip, including the highly regarded Esther's kitchen in the arts district and the Bavarian quarter Hofbrauhaus Las Vegas close to the airport, which proudly offers spank visitors with a wooden paddle if they request one. Hey, you know what they say about what happens in Vegas!
Best city for nightlife: Detroit
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From declare bankruptcy in 2013, Detroit — the birthplace of Motown and also (probably) early punk rock And techno – exploited and promoted its musical heritage to attract visitors. And it pays off. Over the past year, after-midnight trips to hotels, bars and clubs have increased by 30%. Late-night revelers were drawn to last May's festival Movement Festival, which featured electronic music legends like Carl Craig and Moodymann. They also came to places like Leland City Club and “intimate disco oasis” Marble barwhich saw their nighttime driving activity almost double.
The Motor City shows no signs of letting up. Detroit launched three stylish new hotels last year, before the April NFL draft (which attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors) — and economists predict the hospitality industry will continue to thrive next year. So if you want to spend your summer dancing until the early hours, you know where to go.
Most Popular City for Outdoor Activities: Milwaukee
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Last year, National Geographic declared 25 places as “the best in the world” travel destinations. The list was filled with exotic locations – Laos, Botswana – but also included a surprising entry: Milwaukee.
Well, perhaps that's not so surprising to American travelers, who have been visiting the city in record numbers in recent years. They particularly flocked to outdoor attractions and venues. Lyft passengers in summer were most likely to visit waterfront destinations like Veterans Parklocated on a peninsula of Lake Michigan, and Bradford Beacha fair strip of sand 1.5 miles north. But it wasn't just the lake that attracted the crowds. In the summer of 2023, Milwaukee earned its nickname city of festivals: Veterans Park hosted the Independence Day fireworks and the Returning home Harley-Davidson, a four-day festival with motorcycle parades and music (last year, Green Day and Foo Fighters headlined); Bradford Beach held The Playa Party, Milwaukee's first Latin Beach festival; and the Wisconsin State Fair (#3 destination for Lyft riders in the Milwaukee area) has attracted people from all over the region. Overall, Lyft trips to outdoor activities in the city increased 43% over the past year.
Most popular sports city: Philadelphia
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In 2023, the MLB saw attendance increase of 9.1%, highest in 30 yearsafter having established new rules intended to speed up the game. One team in particular benefited: the Philadelphia Phillies, who saw the number of trips to their home, Citizens Bank Park, increase by 34%. (It's against all expectations 2022 World Series the looks probably didn't hurt either.)
But Philadelphia fans didn't just play baseball. The 76ers have exhausted every home basketball game for the past six years. A massive crowd came to the WrestleMania Week event at the Wells Fargo Center this spring. And the increase in the number of sports-related races last July coincided with the Premier League Summer Series, where teams like Chelsea, Newcastle United and other English soccer teams visited Lincoln Financial Field, attracting nearly 150,000 fans over two days. So if you want to be where the fans are this summer, Philadelphia is chanting your name.
Most Popular Gaming City: Chicago
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Chicago has been associated with gambling since the days of al Caponebut until recently, the only legal casinos were on river boats – or across the city border to Des Plaines or Peoria. Everything changed in September, when a long-awaited event Bally is open in a temporary location within the city limits and has driven casino deposits up 60% over the past year. (Need more proof that Chicago is the latest gaming mecca? The American Gaming Association now ranks it is the third largest gambling market in the United States, behind Las Vegas and Atlantic City.)
It is unclear whether Chicago will retain its status. Critics say the casino contributed less tax revenue than planned, and the project to build a permanent complex in River West would have been I encountered a few snags. Then again, what would a new gaming Mecca be without a little risk?
This story was produced by Lyft and edited and distributed by Stacker Media.
