Most Popular Labor Day Spots 2009

NYC Skyline from Central Park

With the recession, I was curious to see how it affected Labor Day getaways.  Like I stated in my last article, this is the first Labor Day I have had off in 5 years (since high school!), so I have actually never been on a Labor Day trip!  (Tsk tsk for a travel writer!)  But alas, it was time to do some research on traveling during the final weekend of summer...

Orbitz put out a report stating that the most popular 2009 destinations for Labor Day were as follows:

1. Las Vegas
2. New York, NY
3. Cancun, Mexico
4. Honolulu, Hawaii
5. Chicago
6. Atlanta, GA
7. San Francisco
8. Seattle, WA
9. San Diego, CA
10. Paris, France

I was actually surprised by these results, because I was expecting Labor Day travel to be down from last year, but the 2008 list with nearly the exact same, except Paris and San Diego have replaced Boston and Anaheim, CA from last year's list.  It's kind of odd an international city was added following the recession... but maybe that's a good sign the economy is picking up!  I was going to give advice on the must-see things to do in each of these cities, but I realized I've only been to 4 of them!  That wouldn't be a very thorough list, so I've linked each city's tourism page above.  Here are my favorites from my brief list: drive across the Golden Gate Bridge, visit Ghiardelli Square & Lombard Rd. in San Francisco, and for New York... see the Statue of Liberty, spit off the Empire State Building, you could see a show, the Bronx Zoo, Central Park, the Museum of Modern Art, or the Met or the Museum of Natural History, and take advantage of the last few days of Restaurant Week (set menus at the city's most popular eateries: $24.07 for lunch, $35 for dinner)!

Or if you're just relaxing this Labor Day (like myself), here are the best movies that take place in each of these famous cities:

1. Las Vegas: Godfather II
2. New York: A Bronx Tale, The French Connection, Godfather,
3. Cancun: I had a hard time with this one, so I'll post my fav. Mexican move - Under the Same Moon
4. Honolulu, HI: Lilo & Stitch
5. Chicago: The Untouchables, While You Were Sleeping
6. Atlanta, GA: Driving Miss Daisy (Note: I am NOT a Gone with the Wind fan.)
7. San Francisco: Bullitt, Joy Luck Club, What's Up Doc
8. Seattle: Sleepless in Seattle
9. San Diego: Traffic, or for laughs Anchorman
10. Paris: Love me if You Dare, Paris je t'aime