All-American Icons: A Journey Across the USA’s Greatest Cities

Your next three days and nights are all about the ‘Big Apple’. Take bites out of its ample museums, from MOMA to The Met, and its restaurants, cafes and bars. Catch a Yankees game in the Bronx and head up high for a bird’s-eye view of the concrete jungle up the Edge Observation Deck at Hudson Yards. At 1,099ft tall, it is one of the highest viewpoints in the city and certainly the most impressive, with a suspended mid-air design, which gives you the feeling of floating in the sky, and 360-degree views you simply can’t get anywhere else.

And if one observation deck wasn’t enough, your itinerary also includes a trip up One World Observatory. Combining incredible views across Manhattan (this is the highest viewpoint in the city) with technological prowess, and a lift that climbs 102 floors in 47 seconds, it is a must-see during any visit to New York. There’s always time for shopping too. Hit Fifth for the ultimate Carrie Bradshaw experience or head to Greenwich Village or Brooklyn to browse its many vintage shops. We always recommend ending evenings with a good show or dinner, something your Concierge will know about all too well…

It’s another early morning flight today as you head back to John F Kennedy Airport for your first internal flight to the capital of cool, Miami. Intoxicatingly beautiful, with palm trees swaying in the breeze and strings of Art Deco buildings glowing in the warm sunlight along the city’s South Beach, Miami is unlike anywhere else. The nightlife is unparalleled, culture comes by the bucketful, and its landscapes are as diverse as they are beautiful.

Upon arrival in the city, you’ll head 25 minutes out of it to Miami Beach. Known for its relaxed vibe and smorgasbord of stylish hotels, chic boutiques and luxurious enclaves, it is the perfect place to unwind after days spent in the city. After dropping your bags at your chic Art Deco hotel – naturally – we recommend a dose of sea air along this strip of the American Riviera.

The next two days are for two things and two things only: sun and sea. After a breakfast of tropical fruits, pastries, eggs and more, it’s to the sea for a boat (or kayak) trip around the billionaire islands of Biscayne Bay (mansion ogling encouraged) and an airboat tour through the Everglades. Back on land, it’s all about Miami Beach’s boardwalk, Ocean Drive and its many many Art Deco buildings – 800 to be precise. Snag a table at The Surf Club Restaurant (with the help of our in-the-know local Concierge) and you can have caviar and cocktails by sunset or, if you’re looking for a more low-key affair, join locals in queues outside food trucks selling some of the best chicken wings, hot dogs and flatbread sandwiches.

After breakfast, bid goodbye to your hotel and head back along the MacArthur Causeway to Miami. From here it’s back to the airport for your next flight to Dallas. The three-and-a-half-hour flight will give you plenty of time to read and catch up on your favourite TV show before hitting the ground running in the USA’s ninth-largest city.

Arriving at lunchtime, you’ll be just in time (once you’ve dropped your bags at your downtown hotel, your home for the next three nights) for happy hour at Mariano's Hacienda where the frozen margarita was invented in 1971. While away the afternoon at local haunts like Allgood Café and head to Sonny Bryan's Smokehouse for a good, hearty old-fashioned steak to end the day.

You’ve heard the expression: ‘Everything's bigger in Texas’. Well, in Dallas, it couldn’t be more true. A sprawling metropolis, already boasting the largest urban arts district in the nation, it is also one of the fastest-growing cities in the US. Start in Dallas Arboretum, an Eden-like enclave spread over 66 acres, to walk off the previous night before heading to the art district for a dose of culture at the Dallas Museum of Art and Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, which chronicles the life and legacy of President John F. Kennedy, and is housed in the infamous book depository where Lee Harvey Oswald’s shots ricocheted on 22 November 1963.

If there’s one meal you must try in Dallas, it’s barbecue. Head to the mighty Pecan Lodge, where lines snake around the block every lunchtime, for pit-smoked brisket and handmade jalapeno sausages. Or, if you’re really hungry, order ‘the trough’, a hot, sticky selection of everything from the menu. With your boots well and truly filled, you’re ready to join the ranks of Dallas Cowboys fans at the AT&T Stadium. Watch quarterbacks score touchdowns, cheerleaders celebrate with death-defying stunts and fans go wild with hot dogs and bottles of Bud; you’ll feel American in no time.

It’s another early start today – but for good reason. You’re going to Las Vegas. Your three-hour flight will drop you in ‘Sin City’ before breakfast (thanks to Pacific Coast Time) so you’ll have the entire day to get acquainted with one of the most famous cities on Earth. Synonymous with hedonism, entertainment and uniquely American excess, this desert city is an oasis of indulgence, starting right at your hotel. Drop your bags in your room, where you’ll stay for the next four nights, and explore its elegant pools (ft. swanky cabanas and sunken sun loungers), restaurants, bars, shops, spa, casino – of course – and arena/theatre where all the greats have performed, from Cher and Lady Gaga to Aerosmith.

One piece of advice for how best to experience Las Vegas: simply surrender to its wackiness. So, should you head to the city’s Neon Museum? Sure. Seven Magic Mountains (30-foot-high neon-painted limestone totems)? Absolutely. Or how about the Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, where you’ll find fresh flowers, towering animatronic butterflies and birds, fountains and bobbing lanterns? Of course. Once you’ve exhausted the strip (and have the hangover to prove it), it’s to the sky for an exhilarating helicopter tour over the city and beyond to the impressive Hoover Dam, landing on a private plateau overlooking the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. You’ll even be treated to a glass of sparkling wine too. Who knew geology could be so much fun?

Leave the lights of Las Vegas for the rolling hills of San Francisco. Your one-and-a-half-hour flight, which takes off at the slightly kinder time of midday, will have you slap bang in the city’s downtown just in time for five o’clock drinks at your hotel’s Man Men-esque stylish bar. Spend the rest of the evening exploring its numerous neighbourhoods and stop for a bite to eat in Chinatown, the largest of its kind off the Asian continent. If you need help deciding where to try first, our Concierge will be more than happy to give you a few recommendations or even book you onto a food tour so you can sample a little bit of everything.

The next three days are for you to explore this cosmopolitan mini-metropolis at your own leisure. Of course, given that most of the city is surrounded by water, we recommend a boat tour and trip to Alcatraz, the once legendary maximum-security island prison, and a bike ride over the Golden Gate Bridge to the pretty seaside city of Sausalito.

Coit Tower is a must if you want a good view, as is Twin Peaks if you’re after that all-important panoramic shot to post on Instagram. Travel in style on the city’s cable cars (and even visit the museum dedicated to them if you fancy) and take a step – or a jive and twist – back to the 1960s in Haight and Ashbury, where hippie culture and flower power reign supreme. Or, head to the Mission District for one of the best burritos of your life – seriously – and a tour of some of the city’s best street art and murals, especially on Clarion Alley. You can’t forget about Ghirardelli chocolate either. Emblazoned on the top of its former factories in the city’s Marina District, it’s the perfect place to get souvenirs.

Spend the morning ticking off the remaining spots on your San Fran sightseeing list – maybe a wander around the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art or an ice cream and book reading break on Alamo Square – before hopping on your final internal one-and-a-half-hour flight to Los Angeles. Home to Beverly Hills, Sunset Strip, the original Disneyland, Hollywood and its biggest stars, it won’t take long to feel like you belong once you open the door to your Hollywood Hills hotel room. Placing you just far enough away (a few blocks) from iconic attractions, you’re still just a stone’s throw from the action – and the panoramas – from the hotel’s fifth-floor pool, which is where we recommend spending the rest of your day. If you want to dine like the stars in the evening, nip across town to Malibu for a sunset dinner reservation at Nobu.

If you want to trial life as a Los Angelino, rise early on your first full day for a hike up Runyon Canyon. Celebrate with a green juice on your return – the city’s signature salubrious drink – before heading to Venice Beach. One of our favourite spots for lunch is Abbot Kinney Boulevard, where casual Californian dining is king. Head to Atla for tacos, chicken soup and stellar margaritas. If you’re in the mood to shop, there’s only one place for it: Rodeo Drive. Lined with palm trees and home to the world’s most luxurious shops, you’re also just a stone’s throw from the mansions of the rich and famous. While we don’t recommend loitering in front of George Clooney or Beyonce’s gates, a drive around the neighbourhood, ogling the architecture of these palatial homes, is more than encouraged.

You can’t leave LA without going on a tour of one of its studios. Get behind the scenes of the Warner Bros Studios in Burbank, visiting historic sets such as Friends and The Big Bang Theory and take a break in backgrounds used on shows such as ER and Gilmore Girls. After you’ve refuelled with a hearty salad or sandwich from Urth Café, and picked up a sweet treat from Tart (Google their cookies, we dare you), we recommend an afternoon trip up the Griffith Observatory where you can retrace the James Dean’s steps in Rebel Without a Cause. And if it’s more panoramic views you’re after, The Getty is just the spot. Combine city scenes with artwork at its seven-plus exhibitions before heading across town for dinner in Santa Monica, followed by a walk along its pier.