Great Train Itineraries - Palmetto

New York rises at the mouth of the Hudson River, where the Atlantic meets the eastern coast of the United States, asserting itself as the most vibrant and cosmopolitan of American metropolises. Its beating heart is Manhattan, the island of skyscrapers that holds some of the world's most iconic landmarks. The walking tour ideally begins at Times Square, a crossroads of glowing signs and Broadway theatres, before slipping into the green calm of Central Park, the vast urban lung laid out in the mid-nineteenth century. Nearby, along Fifth Avenue, boutiques, museums and historic buildings line the way: the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the MoMA hold some of the most important collections on the planet. To the south, the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center offer terrace views that embrace the entire city, while the financial district of Wall Street and the moving Ground Zero memorial recount recent history. From the pier at Battery Park, ferries lead to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, symbols of immigration and the American dream. Crossing the famous Brooklyn Bridge brings you to the creative neighbourhoods of Brooklyn, while the High Line, a former elevated railway turned hanging garden, links the Meatpacking District to Chelsea. New York is also a mosaic of cultures and flavours: from the restaurants of Little Italy and Chinatown to Jewish delicatessens, from the food markets of Greenwich Village to the jazz clubs of Harlem. Between avant-garde art, shopping, shows and tireless nightlife, New York is a city that never sleeps and reinvents itself on every corner.

Cradle of the American nation, Philadelphia guards the places where the United States took shape: Independence National Historical Park is home to Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed, and the famous Liberty Bell. A city of red brick and cobbled lanes such as Elfreth's Alley, it blends historic elegance with contemporary energy. The scenic Benjamin Franklin Parkway is lined by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, made iconic by the 'Rocky' steps, alongside the Barnes Foundation and its extraordinary Impressionist collection. Don't miss Reading Terminal Market, a shrine to local food where you can taste the city's signature cheesesteak. Lively, cultured and welcoming, Philadelphia tells the deep story of America.

Washington DC rises on the banks of the Potomac River, capital of the United States and political heart of the nation, a city of monumental vistas and broad green spaces best explored on foot. Its centrepiece is the National Mall, the long esplanade lining up the symbols of American democracy: the white-domed Capitol, the soaring Washington Monument obelisk, the Lincoln Memorial overlooking the Reflecting Pool, and the memorials to Jefferson, Roosevelt and the war veterans. Along the Mall stand the world-class, free-admission museums of the Smithsonian Institution, from the National Air and Space Museum to the National Gallery of Art, the Museum of Natural History and the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Nearby, the White House can be admired across the gardens of Pennsylvania Avenue. Yet Washington is far more than its institutions: its neighbourhoods tell another story. Georgetown, the oldest, lines federal townhouses, boutiques and cafés along the C&O Canal and the Potomac; Dupont Circle is the bohemian heart of galleries and bookshops; U Street keeps alive the legacy of jazz and historic venues; Adams Morgan buzzes with ethnic kitchens and nightlife. The capital's tables mirror this diversity, from markets such as Eastern Market to an international dining scene and the local classic of the half-smoke sausage. In spring the city turns pink with the cherry blossom around the Tidal Basin, a gift from Japan and the occasion for the famous Cherry Blossom Festival. Nearby, a trip to Alexandria in Virginia or to Mount Vernon, George Washington's residence, rounds off the journey. Between neoclassical marble, great museums and neighbourhoods of distinct character, Washington DC blends the solemnity of power with the vibrancy of a capital that invites discovery step by step.

A jewel of the Deep South, Charleston enchants with its pastel-coloured houses, shady porches and cobbled streets where time seems to stand still. Along the famous Rainbow Row stand colourful façades overlooking the harbour, while the French Quarter and the area around Battery Park reveal historic mansions, blooming gardens and churches with soaring steeples. The city preserves the memory of its colonial past and the surrounding plantations, now open to visitors among centuries-old oaks draped in Spanish moss. Renowned for its warm hospitality and refined Lowcountry cuisine — from shrimp and grits to she-crab soup — Charleston also tempts with the nearby beaches of Sullivan's Island and Folly Beach. Romantic and elegant, it is the sweetest essence of the American South.

Savannah holds, in the heart of Georgia, one of the most enchanting historic centers in the American South, laid out around a sequence of twenty-two tree-lined squares shaded by centuries-old oaks draped in Spanish moss. Along the streets of the Historic District stand elegant antebellum mansions, churches and flowering gardens, while Forsyth Park with its nineteenth-century fountain offers a corner of romantic calm. River Street, along the Savannah River, preserves cotton warehouses transformed into restaurants, galleries and shops where you can savor Lowcountry cuisine based on shrimp and grits. From here Tybee Island, with its Atlantic beaches, is reached in no time. Savannah seduces with its decadent elegance, Southern hospitality and an atmosphere suspended in time.

Jacksonville is the largest city by area in the continental United States, spread along the St. Johns River in northeastern Florida, with the broadest urban beaches in the state. A lively economic and port hub, it offers a flourishing arts district, the Cummer Museum with its riverside gardens and numerous green spaces. Its long Atlantic beaches, such as Jacksonville Beach, are loved by surfers and families. Between river nature, urban life, culture and sea, Jacksonville combines the scale of a big city with the relaxed atmosphere of Florida.

Orlando, in the heart of central Florida, is the world capital of theme-park entertainment, a garden city dotted with lakes that has transformed its marshy lowlands into a universe of parks and attractions beloved by families from every continent. It is here that the Walt Disney World Resort spreads out, the complex that made the city famous, with its four theme parks — from the Magic Kingdom to EPCOT, from Hollywood Studios to Animal Kingdom — joined by Universal Studios and the magical world of Harry Potter, from the Wizarding World to the thrills of Islands of Adventure. For those seeking nature and wildlife, SeaWorld tells the story of the marine world, while numerous water parks offer cool relief under the subtropical sun. But Orlando is more than its parks: the historic downtown, gathered around Lake Eola with its iconic fountain and the swans that glide across its waters, holds a more intimate soul, made of neighbourhoods such as Thornton Park and Winter Park, where art galleries, cafés and tree-lined avenues invite a slower pace. Its cuisine ranges from the international kitchens of International Drive to the flavours of the American South, while Florida's eternal spring makes every season ideal for a visit. All around, wild nature reasserts itself: a short distance away lie the reserves of the Everglades, the crystalline springs where manatees swim, and the beaches of the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, with Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center just down the road toward the coast. A city of dreams and imagination, Orlando promises intense days and shared wonder, in the gentle, sunlit climate that Florida offers all year round.

Miami stretches along the south-eastern coast of Florida, overlooking turquoise waters and blessed by a subtropical climate that makes it one of the most beloved seaside destinations in the United States. A glamorous and deeply Latin city, it blends the energy of its beaches with an effervescent cultural and nightlife scene. Its emblem is Miami Beach, the barrier island linked to the mainland by scenic causeways, home to the historic district of South Beach. Here, along Ocean Drive, the famous pastel-coloured Art Déco buildings line up beside open-air restaurants and white-sand beaches dotted with brightly painted lifeguard cabins. The neighbourhood of Little Havana, heart of the Cuban community, offers the city's most authentic flavour: along Calle Ocho the air fills with salsa music, the scent of coffee and cigars, while the cafés serve traditional Caribbean dishes. Further north, the Design District and Wynwood reign as the realm of contemporary art and street art, with spectacular murals and avant-garde galleries. Modern Downtown, with its mirror-clad skyscrapers, looks out over Biscayne Bay, from where boat excursions set off towards exclusive islands and floating residential enclaves. Miami is also a gateway to extraordinary natural wonders: a short distance away lie the Everglades, a boundless park of marshes and mangroves teeming with alligators, and the Florida Keys, the coral archipelago reaching south along a scenic overseas highway. Between beaches, luxury shopping, fusion cuisine and an atmosphere that pulses day and night, Miami invites you to live the very best of the American tropical lifestyle.