The other America: eight places that will change how you think about the USA

Words: Tracey Davies

Santa Barbara, California

Corduroy-neat vineyards, baize-green golf courses and sun-soaked beaches: Santa Barbara is the essence of the Californian idyll. With its palm-lined boulevards and whitewashed adobe buildings with their distinctive, red-tiled roofs, the city they call the ‘American Riviera’ feels much more European.

To a backdrop of brilliant bougainvillaea and salty sea air, visit the Old Mission, climb the clock tower at Santa Barbara County Courthouse or potter around the tasting rooms and indie boutiques in the Funk Zone art district. Venture out of the city and bumble around the wineries of the Santa Ynez Valley or enjoy the chocolate-box charms of Solvang, a quirky Danish settlement.

Moab, Utah

Sandwiched between Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, Moab in South Utah is a tiny desert city with an otherworldly red-rock landscape. In this hub for outdoor adventures, go canyoning and rock climbing, see dinosaur tracks and petroglyphs or try hiking to scenic overlooks along the Colorado River.

Back in Moab and Main Street is alive with cool independent joints such as the Snake Oil Coffee Company, craft breweries including the Moab Brewery, and cosy bookstores such as Back of Beyond Books. Venture out of town and see Hole N" the Rock – a huge cave house carved out of sandstone with an original 1950s kitsch décor.

Hudson Valley, New York State

Tucked away in the Catskill Mountains, a couple of hours north of Manhattan, the Hudson Valley is a clutch of hip small towns where art, artisanal produce and antiques come as standard. Perfect wine-growing conditions means towns such as Marlboro have acclaimed wineries including Benmarl Winery and Whitecliff Vineyard, while Rhinebeck and Woodstock appeal to epicureans with their excellent farm-to-table restaurants.

The whole region is a dream for leaf peeping, but for added literary vibes visit Sleepy Hollow on the east bank of the Hudson River – the setting for Washington Irving’s spooky short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Asheville, North Carolina

Tucked away in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Asheville is a buzzy, bohemian small city that’s famous for its breweries and bluegrass bars, and as the gateway to the oh-so scenic Blue Ridge Parkway. It’s also popular with the outdoors crew, who flock to hike the trails in Pisgah National Forest or conquer Mount Mitchell, the tallest peak east of the Mississippi.

Hit the River Arts District and visit art galleries such as Mark Bettis Gallery and the Odyssey Gallery of Ceramic Arts, a cool pottery collective. And visitors certainly won’t go thirsty. Asheville has more breweries per capita than any other US city, many of whose wares can be sampled on the Asheville Ale Trail through Downtown.

Portland, Oregon

Epic coffee, great beer and the world’s largest independent bookstore – Powell’s City of Books – Portland, Oregon is a haven for hipsters. Proudly weird, America’s most progressive city promises everything from a vast urban forest and stacks of street art to unique finds such as the Freakybuttrue Peculiarium and the Voodoo Doughnut Wedding Chapel.

Eat from the state’s best food carts, bumble between boutiques and brew bars in the Pearl District, or trek along the leafy Wildwood Trail. In winter, hit the slopes at Skibowl, just an hour from Downtown, while in the summer head to Cannon Beach or Astoria, both around 90 minutes’ drive away.

Tucson, Arizona

Surrounded by the giant cacti of Saguaro National Park, Tucson is a funky yet unpretentious desert city with a laid-back, south-of-the-border vibe. Boasting a rich blend of Mexican and Native American heritage, it’s packed with vintage shops, vibey dive bars, and has an eclectic dining scene thanks to being America’s first Unesco City of Gastronomy. Try a Sonoran hotdog from Ruiz or a mole dulce latte made with Mexican chocolate, chillies and almonds from Exo.

A must-see is the Old Tucson Film Studios, a faux Wild West town and working film set built in 1939 for Hollywood Westerns, including Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and Tombstone.

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Sitting at 7,000ft in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Santa Fe is one of America’s best-kept secrets. Adobe architecture, epic desert views and a myriad of arts from Native American to the immersive Meow Wolf make this quirky New Mexico city utterly captivating.

It’s especially famous for its arts scene, particularly Canyon Road’s 80-plus galleries and the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. Visit San Miguel Chapel, the oldest in the US or the Loretto Chapel, with its mystical helix-shaped spiral staircase. After all that culture, hit the Margarita Trail and sip your way around more than 50 of the best margaritas in the world.

New Orleans, Louisiana

From jazz clubs to Mardi Gras parades, voodoo queens to soul food, New Orleans is like no other place on earth. Soak up sultry Southern vibes in the historic French Quarter, listen to smoky jazz along Frenchman Street or mooch around weird and wonderful shops selling everything from bone altars and carnivorous plants to vintage vinyl and voodoo dolls.

Alongside museums about jazz, Mardi Gras and Southern art, check out the more curious emporiums dedicated to absinthe, voodoo and death. From the colourful creole cottages in bohemian Bywater to the ’gator-filled bayous, it’s hard to find a more magical city.

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