United States
American
A country the size of a continent: skyscrapers, red deserts, enormous national parks and fifty states that operate almost like separate countries.
- Capital
- Washington D.C.
- Population
- 342 millones
- Currency
- USD · United States dollar
- Languages
- English
- Plugs
- Types A and B · 120 V · 60 Hz
- Time zone
- America/New_York
Before you go
When to go
Depends on the destination. Spring and autumn are the most even; New England in October and the Southwest in April are spectacular.
A bit of everything: subtropical in Florida, desert in Arizona, extreme continental in the Midwest and Arctic in Alaska.
What it costs ●●●●●
High, and climbing fast in the big cities. Always add sales tax (not shown on the price tag) and an 18–20 % tip.
Safety ●●●○○
Generally good, but wildly uneven from one neighbourhood to the next within the same city. Medical care without insurance is ruinous: travel covered.
Visa
Most Latin Americans need a B1/B2 visa, with an interview and waits of months. Chile enters on ESTA; Europeans do too, filed online.
There is no official language at federal level. Spanish is the second language, with over 40 million speakers.
What you can't miss
- 01Grand CanyonArizona
446 km of canyon carved by the Colorado river over six million years. The South Rim is open all year.
- 02New YorkNew York
Central Park, the MoMA and the skyline from Brooklyn at sunset. The city that never quite finishes.
- 03Yellowstone National ParkWyoming
The world's first national park (1872): geysers, bison and hot springs in impossible colours.
- 04YosemiteCalifornia
Thousand-metre granite walls like El Capitan, and waterfalls running hard in May and June.
- 05New OrleansLouisiana
The birthplace of jazz: the French Quarter, the streetcars and Southern creole cooking.
- 06Route 66 and the SouthwestIllinois to California
Monument Valley, Antelope Canyon and neon-lit towns strung across red desert.
The culture, at the table and on the street
What to eat
- Barbecue, with its own style in Texas, Kansas City and the Carolinas
- Dry-aged burger
- Bagel with lox, a New York institution
- Chicago deep dish and thin New York slices
- Cajun food from New Orleans
- Pancakes with bacon and maple syrup
Customs
- Tipping is not optional: 18–20 % in restaurants and bars
- People strike up conversation with strangers very easily
- Personal space is wider than in Latin America
- Almost everything is paid by card; cash is rare
Festivals
- Thanksgiving (fourth Thursday of November), the biggest family holiday
- 4th of July, with fireworks in every town
- Halloween (31 October)
- The Super Bowl (February), which stops the country for a Sunday
Diverse, with no state religion. A Christian majority (≈ 63 %) and around 30 % unaffiliated.
Facts for the dinner table
- It has 63 national parks and more than 400 protected areas.
- Alaska was bought from Russia in 1867 for 7.2 million dollars, about two cents a hectare.
- It is the third-largest country and the third most populous in the world.
- Hawaii holds eleven of the thirteen climate types that exist on the planet.
- The Library of Congress is the largest in the world: over 170 million items.
Data from Banco Mundial, GeoNames and Open-Meteo. Photo from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). The editorial content is our own.