Photo: Getty Images
Everyone needs a break from their normal day-to-day life every now and then, but sometimes a vacation requires too much travel time or is out of budget. That's where a staycation comes in. Rather than forking out thousands of dollars to travel to another city, staycations are a great way to rest up while exploring your own city or a nearby town.
WalletHub compared more than 180 of the most populated cities around the country to determine which are the best for staycations, and a few in Louisiana made the cut.
So which Louisiana city offers the best opportunities for a staycation?
New Orleans
Given the popularity of New Orleans as a tourist destination, plus all the local favorite venues and restaurants, it's no surprise that the Crescent City tops the list of the best city in the state for a staycation, coming in at No. 15 overall. Other Louisiana cities included in the ranking fell lower on the list compared to other cities around the country. Shreveport, which ranked No. 111, had average scores in food & entertainment and rest & relaxation, while Baton Rouge, which came in at No. 115, scored higher in food & entertainment categories.
These are the Top 20 Best Cities in the U.S. for a staycation:
- Honolulu, Hawaii
- Orlando, Florida
- Chicago, Illinois
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Portland, Maine
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- San Francisco, California
- New York, New York
- San Diego, California
- Seattle, Washington
- Tampa, Florida
- Charleston, South Carolina
- Salt Lake City, Utah
- Portland, Oregon
- New Orleans, Louisiana
- Miami, Florida
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- Tucson, Arizona
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Denver, Colorado
To compile the list, WalletHub compared 182 cities using three factors: recreation, food & entertainment and rest & relaxation. These factors were then evaluated across 44 relevant metrics, including walk/bike score, shopping centers per capita, swimming pools per capita, movie costs, average cocktail price, festivals per capita, coffee & tea shops per capita, diversity of restaurants, public beaches per capita, idealness of summer weather, and many more.
Check out the full report here to see the best cities around the country for staycations.