For a variety show on the Gulf Coast, head to the Brandon Styles Showroom and catch performances that mix magic, impressions, ventriloquism, and audience participation. The showroom is located at Downtown OWA in Foley, where you can find dinner, arcade games, and even shopping—all steps from this Vegas-style performance.
Black bears, arctic foxes, and lynx are just some of the species you’ll find at the Ecomuseum Zoo Montreal, an open-air wildlife park that houses rescued, orphaned, injured, and captive-born animals native to Quebec’s St. Lawrence Valley. In addition to outdoor enclosures, the zoo has an indoor space housing reptiles, amphibians, and nocturnal creatures.
Take in the Mexican countryside in style with a ride on the elegant Jose Cuervo Express, which carries visitors through the agave fields of Jalisco. Old-school wood paneling and comfortable seats provide the perfect atmosphere for a guided tequila tasting tour, while the town of Tequila itself is full of the charm of a classic Mexican Magic Town (an official government designation).
You’ve certainly seen museums dedicated to music, artists, and entertainers, but this is an entire showcase dedicated to the making of music—aka musical instruments, musical trends, musical discoveries, and more. Visitors will explore 500-plus musical instruments (some hands-on), learning all about the evolution and creation of sound. Concerts and live performances fill the museum calendar, too.
Located in a restored turn-of-the-century mansion in the Juárez neighborhood, the Mexico City Wax Museum is a family-friendly highlight of the area and one of just a few official wax museums in the country. Explore the diverse collection of more than 230 figures, and take photos with your favorite national and international celebrities, politicians, artists, and others.
Perched at the southern end of the Norwalk Islands in Connecticut, the Sheffield Island Lighthouse offers magnificent views of the Long Island Sound and the New York City skyline on a clear day. Following a boat ride to the island, explore the historic attraction to learn more about the area’s maritime history and how lightkeepers lived.
House of Blues is a live entertainment venue and restaurant with 10 locations, including one in the Disney Springs shopping, dining, and entertainment complex. The restaurant’s indoor and outdoor dining area have a seat for all ages and appetites, while the adjacent venue rocks the stage by hosting local acts and global sensations.
Home to one of the country’s biggest collections of modern and contemporary art, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (The Modern) is equally celebrated for its striking steel-and-glass building, which suffuses the works with light. Collection highlights include works by Picasso, Warhol, Cindy Sherman, and other famed artists.
Touting itself as a "cultural funhouse," JAMNOLA is an immersive gallery that focuses on the city's rich heritage through interaction and play. The "JAM" in JAMNOLA stands for joy, art, and music, a theme guiding the space’s 17 vibrant installations, created through collaborations with around 30 talented artists.
To uncover what life was like in the 1920s and 1930s, visit Milwaukee's Chudnow Museum of Yesteryear, where you can marvel at 20th century Americana, from crank telephones to glass medicine bottles. The museum's holdings are highlighted in theme rooms. Don't miss the recreated general store, vintage barbershop, and hidden speakeasy.
The Colgate Clock in Jersey City is a historic landmark and one of the world’s largest clocks. Built in 1924, it once sat atop the headquarters of the Colgate-Palmolive Company and is now located at ground level overlooking the Hudson River. Visitors stop here to admire its striking design, enjoy nearby waterfront views of Manhattan, and get a glimpse of the region's industrial and architectural past.
Cullari Vineyards is the first and only winery in the Hersey, Pennsylvania area. Run by a couple with Italian heritage, the wines are made according to traditional practices with modern technology. Grapes used in production include hybrid and vinifera, such as merlot and chardonnay. One of Cullari's most popular wines is an award-winning Coco Nostra chocolate wine—fitting for the “sweetest place on Earth.”
La Malbaie is a group of towns in central Quebec that served as Canada’s first vacation resort. Known for its scenic landscape and views of the St. Lawrence River, La Malbaie was the site of US President William Taft’s summer home and continues to entertain visitors with its popular casino, chalets, and outdoor activities.
Visitors looking for an unusual way to taste their way through California’s wine country can ride through the beautiful Sonoma Valley on an authentic replica of a late 1890s San Francisco cable car. No need for a designated driver or clambering in and out of a limousine; everyone has a window seat aboard the vintage, open-air Sonoma Valley Wine Trolley.
Motorcycle enthusiasts can marvel at the sizable collection of vintage bikes at the Motorcyclepedia Museum in Newburgh, New York. Located about 60 miles (96 kilometers north of New York City, near the Hudson River, the museum showcases more than 600 two-wheeled machines. Visitors can explore motorcycle history and check out the abundance of biker memorabilia.
Set in the shadow of the Canadian Rockies, this non-profit sanctuary is home to 20-plus resident wolf dogs—the result of interbreeding between dogs and wolves. Tours of the sanctuary allow the public to learn about, view, and meet these fascinating hybrid creatures, many of whom were abandoned or surrendered by previous owners.
The Midwestern city of Detroit may seem like an unlikely place for a maritime museum, until you consider the importance of the Great Lakes in the maritime history of the US. Set on Detroit’s Belle Isle, in the Detroit River, the Dossin Great Lakes Museum highlights the city’s role in regional and national maritime history.
The Egg appears to float above downtown Albany’s Empire State Plaza. A unique egg-like concrete bowl that sits beside a reflecting pool, it’s one of the city’s premier performing arts venues, comprising of two theaters. Here, you can see a variety of performances, including concerts, dance, film, musical theater, and more.
The highest mountain in Vermont, and home to some of its only surviving alpine tundra, Mt. Mansfield has long been a popular recreational destination in the Green Mountain State. Flanked by ski resorts and crisscrossed by hiking trails, the mountain is also beloved for its human-like ridge profile, with individual peaks including the Nose, Chin, Forehead, and Adam’s Apple.
One-part traditional theme park and one-part county fair, Knoebels Amusement Park promises plenty of family fun. An institution for close to a century, you can enjoy a picnic under the pavilions; explore mini-museums on mining and Americana; visit a bald eagle habitat; or just wander the park, which is nestled into a hardwood forest in Elysburg, Pennsylvania.
Mystery Castle is located in South Phoenix, in the foothills of South Mountain Park. Boyce Luther Gulley, who moved to the southwest to treat his tuberculosis, built the castle in the 1930s for his daughter, Mary Lou. Today, it is considered a Phoenix Point of Pride, one of 33 attractions representing the best of Phoenix.
The ABQ BioPark Zoo in Albuquerque brings visitors up close to Earth’s wildest creatures, from giraffes and polar bears to Mexican wolves, orangutans, crocodiles, and more. At 64 acres, it’s a sizable facility, and kids will especially delight in the zoo’s variety of exhibits, which include biomes from Africa, Australia, and beyond.
On the banks of the Boise River, Ann Morrison Park is the largest park in the city. Spanning 153 acres (62 hectares), the park offers a wide range of recreational facilities and sports fields, plus access to the Boise River Greenbelt.
Originally built as an opera house, the Babcock Theater in Downtown Billings, Montana, now shows old and new movies in its historic theater with renovated, old-style theater seats. With updates made throughout its 117-year history, the inside is as beautiful as when it opened long ago. You can enjoy movies from all eras that are shown daily.
This museum near the cultural district of Fort Worth features modernist depictions of Christianity and religiously inspiring art. An outlier among modern art museums, its small permanent collection features a life-size depiction of Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting The Last Supper created in wax by sculptor Katherine Stubergh.
Quebec visitors looking for adventure shouldn't miss Via Ferrata Montmorency, a guided outdoor excursion through Parc de la Chute-Montmorency full of adrenaline-fueled activities, such as zip lining and rock climbing. Not for the faint of heart, this tour will help you enjoy the best of this beautiful park.
Test your driving skills at the Speed Circuit Family Fun Center in Chula Vista. Along with a go-kart track, this entertainment complex offers a Thrill Park with a zip line and other challenges, plus a ropes course, shuffleboard, and an arcade.
For a scenic ride through Northern Oregon with a dash of centuries-old charm, the Mt. Hood Railroad is truly in a league of its own. Situated just outside of Portland, travelers can enjoy a round-trip train adventure to Parkdale, complete with views of vineyards, lush forests, and the unbeatable backdrop of snowy Mt. Hood in the distance.
Located inside the Johnny Cash Museum in downtown Nashville, the Johnny Cash Museum Store features memorabilia and souvenirs dedicated to the legendary musician and his career. The store sells a vast array of guaranteed-authentic collectibles and merchandise officially licensed by Johnny Cash’s estate.
On display at San Diego’s Museum of Photographic Arts are a collection of over 7,000 images from 850 artists and an exploration of the art of photography in all its forms. The pieces inside this small yet well-designed museum inside Balboa Park run the gamut of photography’s history, from early daguerreotypes to photojournalism and avant-garde photo art.
