Plan a Non-Traditional Thanksgiving Getaway
Instead of the traditional turkey with all of the trimmings on Thanksgiving, consider a quick getaway this year? Here are some travel destination ideas for over the extended holiday weekend.
For a Thanksgiving with a Mediterranean flair, try the charming and historic city of Santa Barbara, about 90 miles from Los Angeles. You’ll find Spanish Colonial architecture and miles of coastline along the Pacific Ocean. Attractions include the Old Mission Santa Barbara, which dates from 1786. The Night Market, with holiday décor, carolers, food and an indoor ice skating rink, opens for the season on Nov. 29, the day after Thanksgiving. And you’ll be a short drive from the wineries of the Santa Ynez Valley.
Instead of watching football on TV after Thanksgiving dinner, travel someplace where you can see a game in person. The New Orleans Saints will face the Atlanta Falcons in Atlanta on the evening of Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28. In the morning, you can work up an appetite by running — or walking — in the Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon and 5K Race. The next day, you can pay a visit to the city’s High Art Museum and shop at the Christkindl Market. At Atlantic Station, one of Atlanta’s premier shopping and dining destinations, you can thrill to the acrobatics of Cirque du Soleil.
If you love browsing through galleries and looking for local artwork, head to Asheville, North Carolina. You can take in the robust arts scene and spend Thanksgiving in the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains. You’ll find numerous choices for a holiday brunch, lunch or dinner. Asheville’s historic 250-room Biltmore Estate is open on Thanksgiving Day. Over the weekend, you can spend time visiting shops, art galleries and antique stores. If you’re an outdoor enthusiast, the area is home to numerous hiking trails.
The Massachusetts town of Plymouth, about an hour south of Boston, was the site of the first Thanksgiving, in 1621. Today, you can see Plymouth Rock, where the Pilgrims landed a year earlier, and tour Plimoth Plantation, a living-history museum that tells the story of the Pilgrims and their Native American neighbors, the Wampanoag tribe. Over Thanksgiving weekend the museum serves up a New England Harvest Feast, although you should book ahead because it fills up quickly.
New York City is home to the famous Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which goes back to 1924. The parade, with its giant balloons, colorful floats and marching bands, kicks off at 9 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day, then travels 2½ miles from Central Park to the Macy’s store in Herald Square. The city’s holiday markets will be open by late November, and you can see the high-stepping Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. Another Christmas tradition, the Holiday Train Show, will be running at the New York Botanical Garden, with model trains zipping through a display of New York landmarks.
For help planning a Thanksgiving getaway, contact our travel advisors.
