Being green isn’t just smart-it might even make you gorgeous.
Irene Lane, founder of ecotourism “concierge” Greenloons, loves that Portland, Oregon, was environmentally proactive long before it was cool-like when the city took out a six-lane highway in the 1970s to develop a waterfront park. Today, she says, Portland “is a model of sustainable living, gaining half of its power from renewable sources-and everyone seems to glow with their eco-conscious awareness.”
No offense, Portland, but Travel+Leisure readers didn’t give you any beauty-contest awards in the latest America’s Favorite Cities survey-but they did give the city props for being seriously environmentally friendly. As part of the survey, readers ranked 38 cities for such eco-friendly features as parks, mass transit, notable restaurants (which tend to favor local sourcing) and-the ultimate in fun recycling-treasure-filled flea markets.
When we combined those categories, the “greenest” winners revealed some traveler-friendly trends across the nation: LEED-certified hotels that use less water, an increasing number of city bike-share programs, and restaurants that tout their locally-sourced cuisine-from burnt-ends barbecue in Kansas City to grilled frog legs in Tampa. Some winners have had eco-friendly features for years-like the wind-powered schooner tours in Charleston and the ever-reusable aloha shirts in Honolulu.
Other top 20 cities, meanwhile, are making environmental changes just like many people do: one step at a time. Lane lives in Washington, D.C., where, she says, the city’s dining scene may be greener than some other features. “We may be one of the? worst cities for traffic jams,” she says, “but at least you can look forward to a fantastic meal when you get to your destination.”
Image Credits: iStockphoto
No. 20 New Orleans
New Orleans has been eating local and restoring its treasures well before such practices were cool: This year it won the survey for cool antique shops, like the legendary M.S. Rau Antiques on Royal Street. For recycled vintage fashions, you can browse the 1940s dresses and ’80s leather jackets at Magazine Street’s Revival Outpost (or you can shop for new, fair trade apparel at nearby Branch Out). New Orleans also won the survey for its notable restaurants, and one notably local eatery is Purloo-so-named after the Southern concoctions of meat and rice-which just debuted at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum. As proof that good times are recyclable, the city also won the survey for its reliably wild weekends.
No. 19 Atlanta
Atlanta may have secured its spot in the top 20 thanks to its efforts to reclaim green space. A prime example is the Atlanta Beltline, along a former railroad corridor, which will feature 33 miles of trails once it’s completed. Today’s best strolls or bike rides are along the Eastside Trail, which is the site of the annual Lantern Parade and, year round, offers easy access to the restaurant-lined Ponce City Market. Atlanta also scored in the top 10 for its cocktail lounges: The Georgian Terrace Hotel’s Proof and Provision combines celebrity history (the cast of Gone with the Wind stayed on the hotel for the movie’s premiere) with thoughtfully-sourced artisan cocktails, like the Aviation-made with gin, crème de violet and lemon juice. The city also ranked at No. 5 for its happening singles scene.
Funotic.com Where Fun Never Ends
