Who doesn’t love New York City? Whether you’ve been 20 times or it’s still on your bucket list, ‘the city that never sleeps’ has a powerful hold over our imagination.

You might fancy yourself as a 1970s Diane Keaton, wandering around Manhattan in androgynous dress a la Annie Hall. You might want to see where a young, fame hungry Madonna first landed with just the mythical 35 dollars in her pocket. Or you might long to strut down Broadway putting the world to rights with your best friends like Carrie and co.

But with the Brexit beleaguered pound currently faring terribly against the dollar, many of the iconic film sets now changed beyond recognition and gentrification turning much of Manhattan into a rich person’s playground, is New York really the best American city break to give you bang for your tourist buck?

There’s a lot of other big cities in North America, and several of them are considerably cheaper than New York City while still holding their own in terms of food, culture and shopping.

So if you’re looking for an authentic urban US break, it might be time to consider some of these underrated alternatives.

Travel inspiration: 4 amazing US city breaks that are NOT New York