Car-Free Vacations for the Urban Traveler

With occasional assists by taxis and rideshares, visitors to these cities might be able to skip the rental car counter.

Denver

Downtown Denver is 23 miles from Denver International Airport, a distance now covered by the new University of Colorado A Line ^[1], which opened last spring, in 37 minutes. The $9 fare acts as a day pass for limitless rides on a rapidly expanding network of light and commuter rail. The new R Line, which is scheduled to open this month, will add 10.5 miles to the regional system that has more than doubled to about 98 miles.

The terminus of the airp ort train, the newly refurbished Union Station ^[2], has trendy restaurants, bars and shops as well as its own stylish lodging, the Crawford Hotel ^[3]. The station is an anchor in the historic LoDo (Lower Downtown) district, where attractions like the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver ^[4] and Coors Field are within walking distance.

In addition, the bike-share program Denver B-cycle ^[5] operates from 88 locations and offers a good way to reach neighborhoods like RiNo, or River North, home to many breweries and restaurants, or Cherry Creek for shopping. There's even a new electric three-wheel vehicle service, eTuk ^[6], that offers city and brewery tours.

And you can take a day trip without renting wheels, via the new Flatiron Flyer ^[7] rapid transit bus, which offers service from Denver to Boulder in under an hour. Amtrak's Winter Park Express ^[8] runs from Union Station to the ski slopes of Winter Park on weekends through March 26.

A bike-share program is coming to Detroit, taking visitors to places like the Museum of Contemporary Art, whose colorful exterior is a painting by Andrew Kuo. Kevin Miyazaki for The New York Times

Detroit

The Motor City once had a vital streetcar system, including a track that ran down its main corridor, Woodward Avenue. In April, some 60 years after the old lines were eradicated to make way for cars, the new QLine ^[9] will restore streetcar service to downtown over a 3.3-mile route.

"You can't underestimate the symbolic importance of unveiling mass transit in a city like Detroit, which was built on cars," said Amy S. Eckert, a freelance writer and the author of "100 Things to Do in Detroit Before You Die."

The streetcar, of course, is limited relative to the footprint of Detroit, and taxis or shuttles, including a service called Skoot ^[10] that offers van transportation for $20 a person, are still the most common way to get downtown from the airport.

But the project has sparked a building boom as residences, restaurants and shops have moved in along the corridor. Visitors will be able to shuttle along the route for about $1.50 a ride from near the Detroit River downtown to the nearby baseball and football stadi ums (professional hockey and basketball facilities are being built and are expected to open this fall). The route also passes through the cultural Midtown district, home to the Detroit Institute ^[11] of Arts and other museums. Hotels along the streetcar route include the recently opened Aloft Detroit at the David Whitney ^[12].

"Come April, I don't think you'll miss having a car, provided you stay in and around Woodward Avenue, and that's where most of the renaissance is anyway," Ms. Eckert said.

Some areas worth exploring, like the vibrant Corktown neighborhood or Belle Isle Park, are some distance from the streetcar route. For those, there are Uber, Lyft and, also coming in spring, Detroit Bike Share ^[13] with 43 stations.

A new extension of the Metro Rail ^[14] in Los Angeles reaches west to the beach in Santa Monica. Monica Almeida/The New York Times

Los Angeles

No American city is more synonymous with congestion — as captured in the opening scene of "La La Land" — than Los Angeles. But alongside and under those clogged highways, the city's Metro Rail ^[15] has built 105 miles of subway or light rail in Los Angeles County since 1990. Two extensions opened in 2016 now reach west to beachfront Santa Monica and extend from Pasadena east to Azusa at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains.

With the growth of the public transit system, the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board has run a Car Free L.A.^[16] campaign for nearly five years. It offers 15 sightseeing guides on its website ranging from downtown's Museum Row, home to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the La Brea Tar Pits Museum, to the restaurants of Koreatown.

The revitalization of downtown Los Angeles into an entertainment district makes it particularly attractive to public transit tourists as most of the city's rail lines intersect there (rides are $1.75 one way, or $7 for a day pass).

"If it's your first trip to L.A., you can hit the tourist spots on the Metro, but you'll kind of miss out on some of the hidden charms that make the city such a unique place," said Michael Juliano, an associate editor at Time Out Los Angeles.

For those, he suggests making like a local and using a rideshare service. And you'll still need a bus, taxi or rideshare to get from the airport into the city.

In Arizona, the Valley Metro Light Rail ^[17] runs to downtown Phoenix in one direction and Tempe and Mesa in the other. Nick Cote for The New York Times

Phoenix ^[18]

The vast rental car center at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport attests to the dependence visitors to Arizona's capital have on driving. To avoid it, take the free people mover PHX Sky Train from the terminals to the Valley Metro Light Rail ^[19]. Its 26 miles of track run to downtown Phoenix in one direction and Tempe and Mesa in the other. Another 40 miles are planned by 2034, and the transit authority is testing Wi-Fi on the route.

"Its impact has been transformative," said Kimber Lanning, executive director of Local First Arizona, a nonprofit organization that encourages small businesses. She also owns an art gallery in the Roosevelt Row Arts District ^[20], walking distance from the train. "Walkability has encouraged an urban core that wasn't there before," she said.

An unlimited day pass is $4, and other stops on the line reach the Phoenix Art Museum ^[21], the Chase Field baseball stadium and Symphony Hall. The new Found:Re Phoenix ^[22] hotel recently opened along the rail line with an art-filled lobby bar and restaurant. It is within walking distance of the galleries along Roosevelt and popular restaurants like Matt's Big Breakfast.

Heat in the summer in Phoenix is like snow in the north, often a deterrent to walking. But the stations feature shade barriers and, as locals point out, can be closer to your destination than a parking lot.

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