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Put one foot in front of the other: Visitors stroll around Denver’s hip LoDo dining and nightlife district at sundown
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Choosing destinations where there’s no need for motorized transportation -- shuttle buses, vans and taxis -- can save a bundle of money, not to mention valuable time. To that end, what follows are sketches of six of America’s most walkable convention cities, hand-picked by M&C for their centrally located convention centers surrounded by plenty of hotel, dining, shopping and nightlife options.
Denver
denver.org
Though the white-topped Rockies loom jaggedly on the horizon, downtown Denver is flat and clean, perfect for attendees walking to hotels, restaurants and nightspots after a day at the Colorado Convention Center (584,000 square feet of exhibit space, 63 meeting rooms). Two blocks from the center, the 16th Street Mall, a pedestrian thoroughfare designed by famed architect I.M. Pei, is the mile-high city’s showpiece. On 16th is the 1,200-room Sheraton Denver, while 15th Street has a 1,100-room Hyatt Regency. The 16th Street Mall (which is traversed by a free biodiesel-fueled shuttle) runs into the hip LoDo district, whose Victorian buildings house six large brewpubs.
Indianapolis
indy.org
A northern winter meeting doesn’t have to mean attendees must bundle into buses and forgo walking -- at least not in Indianapolis, where climate-controlled pedestrian skywalks link the expanding Indiana Convention Center (set for completion in 2010 with 566,300 square feet of exhibit space, 71 meeting rooms) to eight hotels with a total of 3,100 guest rooms, as well as the Circle Centre Mall. By 2011, the $425 million, four-hotel, 1,623-room JW Marriott complex will be added to that system. Back on solid ground, Indianapolis has more than 200 restaurants within a five-minute walk of the convention center.
Providence, R.I.
goprovidence.com
First settled in 1636, Providence is a well-preserved blend of Colonial architecture and modern buildings, with a downtown (or “downcity,” to locals) whose grid of streets is opened up by a landscaped plaza and river walkways. At the western edge of downcity is the Rhode Island Convention Center (100,000 square feet of exhibit space, 23 meeting rooms), close to smart hotels and attractions like Waterplace Park, which is home to the popular “floating bonfires” art installation called WaterFire. For dining, the quaint Federal Hill enclave, which chef Mario Batali counts among his favorite Little Italy neighborhoods, is 10 minutes away.
San Antonio
visitsanantonio.com
The heart of San Antonio is the landscaped River Walk, a winding three-mile-long stretch of the city’s namesake tributary that runs through the middle of town. The Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center (600,000 square feet of exhibit space, 63 meeting rooms) is right on the River Walk, as are the 1,003-room Grand Hyatt (adjacent to the center) and the 1,001-room Marriott Rivercenter. Across from the convention center is a shopping mall, while all along the Walk -- which can be strolled or navigated by river taxi -- are a multitude of restaurants serving a wide variety of cuisines, including local favorite Tex-Mex.
San Diego
sandiego.org
In 1975, San Diego got a head start on the redevelopment that would sweep many U.S. cities during the 1990s. At that time, the city formed the Centre City Development Corp., which set the stage for today’s walkable downtown. The San Diego Convention Center (615,000 square feet of exhibit space, 72 meeting rooms) is right on the bay, while the Gaslamp Quarter entertainment district stretches north from there. PETCO Park, home to baseball’s Padres, is across the street from the center.
Savannah, Ga.
savannahmeetings.com
Founded in 1733, Savannah was Georgia’s first city and, due to its origins in a time before the internal combustion engine, it has a compact (2.5 square miles) downtown, aka the National Landmark Historic District. Within the district are some 3,300 hotel rooms. Due to space constraints, the Savannah International Trade & Convention Center (100,000 square feet of exhibit space, 13 meeting rooms) is a two-minute ferry ride across the river to Savannah Harbor.