Eastern United States

Follow in the footsteps of our nation’s founders when you travel the eastern United States, from the Liberty Bell to Washington’s Mount Vernon to historic Revolutionary and Civil War battlegrounds. Become entranced by fall’s foliage ablaze throughout the hills of New England. Or soak in the sunny skies and sounds of the South through Memphis, New Orleans and Nashville. Whatever calls you to the East, an engaging journey awaits.

Holidays & Festivals

January 1 Mummer’s Parade (Philadelphia)
March Smithsonian Kite Festival (Washington, DC)
March 17 St. Patrick’s Day Parade (New York City)
April White House Easter Egg Roll
May Memphis in May International Festival
May International Food Fair (New York City)
June Nantucket Film Festival
June Sun Fun Festival (Myrtle Beach)
June CMA Music Festival (Nashville)
July Harborfest (Boston)
July 4 Fireworks on the National Mall (Washington, DC)
September Harwich Cranberry Harvest Festival (Cape Cod)
September Caribbean Day Parade (Brooklyn)
November Jacksonville Jazz Festival (Florida)
December Christmas on the River (Savannah)

Books

  • Bonfire of the Vanities, by Tom Wolfe
  • The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  • The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America, by Bill Bryson
  • Rise to Rebellion: A Novel of the American Revolution, by Jeff Shaara
  • Travels with Charley: In Search of America, by John Steinbeck

Videos

  • Johnny Tremain (1957)
  • West Side Story (1961)
  • The American President (1995)
  • Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997)
  • The Patriot (2000)

Weather

If one weather feature separates the East from the West in the United States, it’s humidity. Humidity makes the hot weather a bit stickier and the cool weather a bit sharper. If you are used to a drier climate, be sure to bring along a rain jacket, plenty of layers and an extra helping of hairspray.

Average Temperatures

 
January
April
July
October
 
High
Low
High
Low
High
Low
High
Low
Boston 34° 15° 58° 35° 82° 60° 62° 39°
Charleston, SC 58° 38° 76° 54° 90° 73° 77° 56°
Chicago 29° 13° 59° 39° 84° 63° 63° 41°
Memphis 45° 28° 73° 51° 92° 71° 74° 50°
New York 38° 26° 59° 43° 84° 68° 65° 50°
Washington, DC 42° 27° 67° 46° 88° 71° 69° 50°
Temperatures are in °F. For specific weather information, visit www.accuweather.com.

Did You Know?

  • Twenty percent of the world’s freshwater supply flows over Niagara Falls.
  • If you ate at a different restaurant in New York City every day, it would take nearly 50 years to sample them all.
  • Philadelphia has the largest collection of impressionist art in the world outside Paris.
  • The hands of the 19-foot statue of President Lincoln in Washington, DC, are positioned as an “A” and “L” in American Sign Language in honor of his support for the Gallaudet College for the Deaf.
  • Charleston is home to the country’s first golf course, built in 1786.
  • Georgia is the nation’s number-one producer of the three Ps—peanuts, pecans and peaches.
  • Graceland, Elvis Presley’s home in Memphis, is the most visited house in the country after the White House.