The Eastern US by Train

Boston, NYC, Philadelphia and Washington

The crowded train station, the smell on the platforms, the sticky air, the hurried passengers, the whistle of the conductor. Welcome to Boston's South Station for the start of your epic train journey along the East Coast and through American history. The journey begins in Boston, founded in 1630 by English puritans who were fleeing religious discrimination and where, in the narrow and tortuous streets of Beacon Hill, the distant descendants of these first emigrants reside in large red brick houses – dolls houses hidden from view. It continues to New York, on Manhattan, purchased in 1624 for a handful of dollars and glassware – a New World home to Italians, Irish, European Jews, Germans, Dutch, Chinese and Asians from Korea to Malaysia, Poles and Ukrainians, Hispanics and African-Americans. It is known for its prominent place in American history, the Declaration of Independence and the signing of the Constitution. Philadelphia boasts of having the first cinema, the first university and the first zoo in the country. It has another decidedly contemporary heritage: The City of Brotherly Love is the world's mural capital, with 3,000 murals on its facades, parking lots and other blind walls. Finally, arrive in Washington DC: after the White House and the Capitol, stroll through the American capital, where the government headquarters, the FBI and several Smithsonians coexist alongside gentrified neighbourhoods, farmer's markets and gourmet restaurants.

ON YOUR ITINERARY

In Boston, an expert guide takes you for a walk from the grid of avenues in chic Back Bay to the cobblestone streets of Beacon Hill. In New York, as well, have a stroll with an expert guide based in Manhattan, through Greenwich Village, one of the most popular residential areas; Soho and its cast-iron buildings that are home to luxury shops; Little Italy, whose name recalls the Italians who crossed the Atlantic in search of their American dream; and Chinatown, the largest Chinese community in the West, in the shadow of City Hall. In New York, embark on a night cruise aboard an old rig , with unique views of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and Manhattan's Skyline.

We have booked tickets for you to the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, which was recently established in a central district and houses the world's largest private collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist works. Finally, we have scheduled a bike ride in Washington and reserved tickets to the National Museum of African American History and Culture , which Barack Obama himself opened in September 2016. He gave this opening a political dimension by reaffirming the central role of African Americans in the history of the United States: 'We are America'. The city's most recent museum features several thousand artefacts documenting slavery, segregation and the contribution of African Americans to the artistic and cultural life of the United States. Read more