Packing list for US cities
New York, Boston, Washington DC, Chicago and New Orleans across the year: a July that sits above 90°F (32°C) with the humidity to match, a January below freezing from Washington north, 20,000 steps a day, air conditioning that turns every museum into a fridge, and the bag rules at the museum door.
On a phone with Waystop installed, the button adds the list to your trip as a bag you can tick off. Otherwise copy it and paste it into Waystop’s Chat with “add this to my packing list”.
Checked October 10, 2026.
Tick things off as you go and this browser will remember. Changed your mind?
0 of 19 packed
Clothes
0/6Bags and the museum door
0/4Money, plugs and data
0/5Health and the weather you did not expect
0/4What the weather is like
New York: a July high of about 84°F (29°C) and a low of 70°F (21°C) with heavy humidity, a January high of 39°F (4°C) and a low of 28°F (-2°C), about 75 cm of snow a year, wettest from June to August. Boston: July around 82°F (28°C) by day and 66°F (19°C) at night, January about 37°F (3°C) and 23°F (-5°C), about 125 cm of snow. Washington DC: July 90°F (32°C) and 72°F (22°C), the most humid of the five, January 45°F (7°C) and 30°F (-1°C), about 35 cm of snow. Chicago: July 86°F (30°C) and 68°F (20°C), with about 23 days a year over 90°F (32°C), January 32°F (0°C) and 19°F (-7°C), several nights below 0°F (-18°C) and about 90 cm of snow; the wind off the lake takes the felt temperature far lower. New Orleans: July 91°F (33°C) and 77°F (25°C) with humidity near 80% and about 1,600 mm of rain a year, January 63°F (17°C) and 46°F (8°C), and a hurricane season from June 1 to November 30.
- A big backpack for the dayThe Met and MoMA send it to a coat check with a line, and the Smithsonian screens every bag at the door. A small cross-body bag walks in.
- Full-size toiletries in the carry-onThe TSA takes anything over 100 ml. Buy the big bottle at a drugstore on the first morning.
- A voltage converterChargers already run on 120 V, and the hotel hair dryer is better than yours after a converter.
- Painkillers and antacids from CVS or WalgreensOne on most corners in every city, open late, and the large sizes cost less than at home or the airport.
- Hand warmers in winterCVS and Walgreens sell them by the pair, and a January day in Chicago or Boston is long.
- A hat and gloves on arrival in Chicago or Boston in winterThe pharmacy by the station sells them to everyone who underestimated the wind. A thrift shop sells the same for less.
Worth knowing
- Pack for the air conditioning as much as for the weather. Summer days swing from 90°F (32°C) and humid outside to about 68°F (20°C) inside every museum, shop and train; a thin long sleeve in the bag is used more than anything else you carry.
- New Orleans is a different climate. January is a mild 63°F (17°C) by day, July is 91°F (33°C) with humidity near 80% and a storm most afternoons, and the hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30 with the busiest weeks from mid-August to mid-October; book those months with free cancellation and keep the airline's app installed.
- Check each museum's bag rule the night before. The Met and MoMA refuse luggage outright and send big bags and backpacks to the coat check; the Smithsonian museums screen bags at the door. Put the rule in the stop's note in Waystop so you see it the night before.
Trips to pack this for
Never leave the charger in the hotel again.
Waystop keeps a list for each bag and each person. On the morning you change hotels it walks you through a quick pack-up check, and Chat can suggest items to add when you ask what to bring.