What is it about big cities here in the United States pulling countless honeymooners off the pink sand beaches and out of the azure blue waters of the Caribbean and transporting them instead into the middle of a high-energy, fast-paced, hopping metropolis: In a word: excitement. There's always something to do in the city, from dining in world-renowned restaurants to taking in the arts and culture, sporting events, people meeting and people watching, celebrity sightings, dancing at the hottest nightspots, and getting pampered at spas. In many ways, the big city honeymoon can encompass virtually all the top elements of each type of honeymoon listed in this book, giving you the best of all worlds in one destination. Call it another interpretation of the term "all-inclusive vacation." It's one-stop shopping for the honeymooning couple who wants it all and the best choice for the couple who's "been there, done that" at beach resort vacations in the past.

As for romance, just think about some of the most romantic movies ever made, and remember the scenes that took place in big cities. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan meeting atop the Empire State Building-finally!-in Sleepless In Seattle (something Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr never got to do in their movie). Audrey Hepburn meandering to the jewel-filled windows of Tiffany's. Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh trading passionate looks in Civil War-era Atlanta. Now think of yourselves in similar big screen moments: dining on the terrace at Tavern on the Green beneath those light-strewn trees, touring the mansions and estates in Atlanta, putting it all on red at the roulette table in Vegas, shopping on Rodeo Drive and getting the Pretty Woman treatment as your beloved admires you in that $4,000 hat. Or just stand atop a tall building or scenic lookout point and take in the breathtaking view of the city all around you. No camera can capture that kind of sight and that kind of shared moment quite like real life can.

The big city pulses with energy and diversity, offering you every option your heart desires right when it desires it, and a range of luxury right off the silver screen. The couples I've spoken to said that for them, the choice was to experience big city life as a huge departure from their lifelong small-town existence. Others said they wanted to see the best this country has to offer, since they've already seen so much of the world (Paris, Italy, the islands) and have a renewed sense of homeland pride and patriotism. Others admitted that even though they live less than an hour from a major city hot spot, they'd never actually vacationed there and seen the true range of attractions and experiences beyond the usual tourist spots to which they bring their visiting friends and family. They'd actually seen more of the great city right in their backyard on television than in real life! And others pointed to the money factor, saying they could more fully enjoy the best the city had to offer with a wallet loaded with their wedding gift cash-especially since they could save a fortune on airfare by not having to fly to their honeymoon destination. For so many couples, for so many reasons, there's no other choice. It's going to be a big city honeymoon.

It's All About the Culture...

You can't beat the level of arts and culture found in big cities. From traveling exhibits in museums to Shakespeare in the park, concerts of every taste in music, and splashy Broadway productions, there's a wealth of selections to suit your deepest and most elevated interests. If you take in even one show, one stroll through a gallery, you've just become a part of a mighty statistic. The Travel Institute of America says that 93 million American travelers included at least one cultural, arts, or heritage event in their annual trips: 53.6 million American travelers have visited a museum or historical site in the past year, and 33 million say their itineraries include ventures to the theater or arts and music festivals. Who says we're all just out at restaurants and clubs and shopping with our gold cards in those big cities? Not at all! Somewhere in between those three-olive martinis and fluorescent cosmopolitans we're swilling in dimly lit and very fashionable lounges and those rides on the double-decker tourist buses, were taking in the finer parts of life. Because, after all, the finer (and more refined) parts of life are all around you on the big city honeymoon.

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