Jacqui Agate
Thursday March 2 2023, 10:57am
Dreaming of an escape to the US? A strengthening dollar and a falling pound might seem like a recipe for a budget-busting trip — particularly if you’ve got your sights set on America’s big cities. But it’s possible to find places where your cash will stretch further. These affordable cities in America have world-class museums, stellar restaurants and arts scenes that rival those of the country’s bucket-list urban areas — plus, with a little planning, you’ll find plenty of free things to do and great deals.
Whether you fancy digging into Memphis’s soul-stirring music scene or gallery-hopping in Pittsburgh, these are the cheapest US cities for travellers on a budget.
Main photo: the San Xavier del Bac Mission, Tucson, Arizona (Alamy)
This article contains affiliate links.
Our travel journalism is written and edited by independent experts to inform, inspire and advise our readers about the best choices for your holidays. We also feature properties and itineraries from a specially selected list of trusted operators. These buttons and adverts are clearly signposted, and provide direct links through to external sites. If you click and buy a product, we may earn revenue.
It’s easy to see — and, more importantly, hear — Bluff City on a budget. This is a place with serious musical clout and you can catch free summer concerts at Overton Park Shell, the atmospheric amphitheatre where a fresh-faced Elvis Presley gave his first paid performance in 1954. There’s a cover charge to enter most of the bars along tourist-thronged Beale Street — but that’s nominal when you consider the calibre of the acts, not least the All-Star Band at BB King’s Blues Club.
Foodies will be plenty satisfied too: beeline for the hip Cooper-Young neighbourhood, where Imagine Vegan Cafe dishes up plant-based Southern comfort food for low prices.
Average prices Coffee £3.35, evening meal for two £60, beer £3.80
Where to stay Stylish boutique Arrive (room-only doubles from £128) will place you in the happening South Main Arts District, or head out of central Memphis for luxury with a reasonable price tag at quaint River Inn of Harbor Town (B&B doubles from £209).
You’ll get plenty of bang — and bourbon — for your buck in Louisville, a buzzy city in north-central Kentucky. The corn-based whiskey is the state’s lifeblood and there are plenty of wallet-friendly places to sample it here.
Head southeast to the Shelby Park neighbourhood, and hip Trouble Bar, where the house old fashioneds sell for £4.20 on Thursday evenings. Tours at the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience are also great value: you’ll take a deep dive into the spirit’s history, with immersive displays and an expert guide, before sampling a flight (prices from £15).
Beyond the bourbon, it’s free to wander Old Louisville, with its patchwork of grand Victorian mansions, or duck your head into 21c Museum Hotel, home to a quirky contemporary art collection.
Average prices Coffee £2.30, evening meal for two £50, beer £3.30
Where to stay The tried and tested Crowne Plaza (room-only doubles from £102) gets you close to Louisville’s big-ticket attractions, such as the Kentucky Derby Museum, and is a 15-minute drive from Downtown. Housed in a 19th-century mansion, Louisville Bourbon Inn is a charming option in Old Louisville (B&B doubles from £175).
Oklahoma City, the capital of the Sooner State, is establishing itself as a serious arts destination — and a budget-friendly one at that. The cutting-edge Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center offers free tours every Saturday afternoon. Like every hip arts city worth its salt, it also swells with murals, from bold geometric works crawling across industrial buildings to striking portraits hidden down alleyways.
You can save money on two of the city’s main attractions — the new First Americans Museum and the well-loved National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum — by buying a joint ticket (for £21).
Average prices Coffee £2.30, evening meal for two £44, beer £2.50
Where to stay Artsy 21c Museum Hotels are taking the US by storm and Oklahoma City’s offering (room-only doubles from £145) is in a prime location close to the Museum of Art. Head just north of Downtown for the charming, 1904-built Grandison Inn Bed & Breakfast (B&B doubles from £99).
The Battle of Alamo was fought in 1836 and its namesake — the arresting Spanish Alamo mission — still sits at the heart of this culture-rich Texan city. Best of all, it’s totally free to take a self-guided tour of the stirring site and its grounds.
After a historical deep-dive, the river will surely be calling. San Antonio’s pedestrianised (a rarity in the States) River Walk is one of its drawcards, lined with restaurants with buzzy patios and one-off shops. The excellent McNay Art Museum offers free admission on a Thursday evening and the first Sunday of each month too.
Average prices Coffee £2.90, evening meal for two £46, beer £4
Where to stay The century-plus-old Crockett Hotel (room-only doubles from £95) takes pride of place right next to the Alamo. The sky-blue Inn on the Riverwalk (B&B doubles from £167) has rooms with Western design cues and views of the water.
Pittsburgh is often criminally overshadowed by Philadelphia, though it’s cheaper than its easterly cousin (which already offers a reprieve from the sky-high prices of New York). Yet when it comes to art and architecture, the Steel City packs a punch. Andy Warhol is Pittsburgh’s most famous son and the absorbing Andy Warhol Museum holds an impressive store of works from the famous pop artist (you’ll get half-price admission on a Friday evening).
Once you’ve got your art fix, take a walk and see how Pittsburgh earned another nickname, the City of Bridges: the Three Sisters Bridges, which vault over the Allegheny River, are a photo-worthy pitstop.
Average prices Coffee £2.90, evening meal for two £50, beer £5
Where to stay Design-forward and with stellar views across Downtown, The Landing Hotel (room-only doubles from £108) is the new kid on the block. Meanwhile, the dinky eight-room Inn on Negley (B&B doubles from £175) is tucked away in the elegant Shadyside neighbourhood.
Looking for a gourmet escape that won’t take a mammoth bite out of your budget? Foodies should set their sights on Tucson, the US’s first Unesco City of Gastronomy. It’s within kissing distance of the Mexican border and that means a flurry of well-priced Sonoran restaurants serving up tortas, tacos and chimichangas. A favourite is El Guero Canelo, purveyor of the Sonoran hotdog, including a bacon-wrapped frankfurter, and trimmings like beans and jalapeño sauce. Once you’ve had your fill, check out the stirring San Xavier del Bac Mission: nicknamed the “White Dove of the Desert”, this 18th-century mission is free to enter.
Average prices Coffee £2.90, evening meal for two £50, beer £4.20
Where to stay Set up at the Downtown Clifton (room-only doubles from £106), a stylish option with cool retro touches (think in-room record players and mid-century furniture). On Tucson’s west side, the Cat Mountain Lodge (B&B doubles from £109) offers heart-in-mouth views of the Tucson Mountains.
New flights with British Airways (from summer 2023) mean it’ll soon be a breeze to hop across to this fizzing city on the Ohio River. Plan an afternoon in the Over-the-Rhine neighbourhood, which has more than a whiff of New York City’s West Village about it: think cool stores hawking artisan candles, one-off fashion boutiques, ice-cream parlours and independent bookstores. And don’t miss Findlay Market, where you’ll find handmade jewellery, vegan chocolates and leather crafts, plus a bounty of local produce (perfect for a low-cost picnic at Ault Park).
Average prices Coffee £2.30, evening meal for two £50, beer £4.20
Where to stay Another vote for 21c Museum Hotels (room-only doubles from £172), whose Downtown location and excellent Metropole restaurant make it a winner in Cincinnati. Gaslight B&B (B&B doubles from £138) allows for a slower pace in the city’s leafy Clifton neighbourhood.
US capital cities are often overlooked and when it comes to Raleigh, that’s a crying shame. The city is thoroughly deserving of its “Smithsonian of the South” moniker and museum-hopping won’t burn a hole in your wallet here. Admission to many of the major institutions — including the North Carolina Museum of Art, with its large store of Italian Renaissance paintings; the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences; and the North Carolina Museum of History — is completely free. Once you’ve exercised the grey matter, hit the trails: 180 miles of greenways wriggle across the city.
Average prices Coffee £2.90, evening meal for two £63, beer £5.50
Where to stay An overhaul of an old-school motel, the Longleaf Hotel (room-only doubles from £155) earns points for its fine mid-century design details and swish cocktail lounge. Meanwhile, the Heights House (B&B doubles from £192), a sumptuous reworking of a Victorian home, punches above its price tag with spacious rooms and Italian-influenced parlour.
Gulf-fresh seafood, historical sites and a time-honoured Mardi Gras tradition (older even than that of New Orleans) await in Mobile, within striking distance of Alabama’s white sand-trimmed Gulf coast. Set to open in July 2023 is Africatown Heritage House, a museum telling the story of the Clotilda, a 19th-century slave ship, and the community that formed here after its arrival: visitors can expect West African art objects, as well as pieces of the ship exhumed from the Mobile River. Then take a breather with a wander in Cooper Riverside Park, which fringes the water and leads to the well-priced GulfQuest Maritime Museum.
Average prices Coffee £2.25, evening meal for two £50, beer at £3
Where to stay The Malaga Inn (room-only doubles from £166) drops you right in Mobile’s Downtown Historic District and has a charming, old-world feel (with fireplaces and four-poster beds). The pool at the sophisticated Admiral Hotel (B&B doubles from £128) is a boon in the Southern heat.
Gobbling up a stretch of the celebrated Route 66, Albuquerque is one of the southwest’s most underrated (and affordable) cities. The Mother Road promises plenty of old-school Americana — think neon signs and colourful diners — as well as one-off shops and hip coffee houses loved by the city’s large student population. It’s got serious artistic credentials too: time your trip for the ABQ Artwalk (the first Friday of each month), which includes free art shows and concerts downtown. The city is a springboard for hikes in New Mexico’s stirring high desert too.
Average prices Coffee £2.90, evening meal for two £60, beer £4.20
Where to stay You’ll get affordable luxury at Hotel Albuquerque at Old Town (room-only doubles from £127) which is also the starting point for the cheap ABQ Trolley, which rattles around town. Or hide away at the Bottger Mansion (B&B doubles from £130), where the cosy rooms and suites are filled with one-off art pieces and Aztec prints.
Subscribe for weekly inspiration and deals from The Times and The Sunday Times.
We would also like to send you exclusive promotions, competitions and content from The Times and Sunday Times and selected partners.
Would you like to receive these?
Your information will be used in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Subscribe for the latest exclusive travel stories and deals from The Times and The Sunday Times.
We would also like to send you exclusive promotions, competitions and content from The Times and Sunday Times and selected partners.
Would you like to receive these?
Your information will be used in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
British Accreditation