We Call This The 4 Hour Rule

Stipulated: the perfect travel time for a three-day weekend getaway is four hours. More, and you waste your vacation. Less, and you’re still near home. Hence our series: The 4hr. Rule, dedicated to revealing the best destinations that are far away, yet still close to home.

Recently, we told you about a handy new service proffering Audis on demand at the tap of a smartphone.

Silly us, we forgot to tell you where to drive that Audi once you get it.

The answer, intrepid escaper-of-city-swelter, is Upstate. Phoenicia, to be exact.

A welcoming hamlet just two hours north of the city, it’s got everything you need for a weekend so relaxing they may have to bring you back to the city on a stretcher.

Which is why we made you a guide on exactly what to do there.

Charmingly hip digs with outdoor movie screenings and a bar in a garage? Check.

Floating a river with beer in hand and nothing but the current to propel you? Done.

A diner that serves, among other wonderful things, duck confit grits? Why the hell not.

You’re on vacation, after all.

Enjoy the guide.

Related:
Your Hamptons Summer Primer
Cabins and Mansions and Beaches, Oh My!