The Bay of Fundy separates New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Close to shore, the red rocks of the coastline have eroded into fantastical shapes, and the trees that perch atop them seem like they should topple into the sea at any moment. Located within the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi'gmaq people, the bay is home to the highest tides in the world.
A popular summer getaway for wealthy families in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Thousand Islands region remains a favorite warm-weather vacation destination today. Straddling the US-Canada border where the St. Lawrence River meets Lake Ontario, Thousand Islands shares the waters with the St. Lawrence Seaway, a series of locks and canals that allow ships to travel between the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes.
Beyond anything you’d expect inside a mall, atSEA LIFE® Aquarium Dallas you can immerse yourself in the oceanic environment filled with sharks, sea turtles, stingrays, clownfish, jellyfish, touch tanks, and more. Visitors of all ages will love walking through the 360-degree ocean tunnel, watching fish swim overhead.
From touch tanks full of creatures like chocolate chip sea stars and pencil sea urchins to an artificial underwater "ocean" tunnel, this interactive aquarium is built to keep kids entertained. In addition to feedings and rays, sharks, jellyfish, and the typical aquarium trappings, SEA LIFE® Kansas City throws kids-free adult night events during the holidays and throughout the year.
For views of the Nashville skyline, it's hard to beat a cruise down the Cumberland River aboard the General Jackson Showboat. This Victorian-style paddlewheel riverboat features a 2-story Victorian theater that hosts live performances and dinner shows. For a full Southern experience, the menu features dishes like bourbon-glazed chicken and hickory-smoked pork shoulder. It's a memorable way to combine sightseeing, entertainment, and authentic Nashville specialties.
Visitors of all ages can unleash their imaginations at LEGOLAND® California, a theme park that captures the colorful, playful feel of LEGO®. With dozens of shows and attractions across 10 themed worlds, this 128-acre (52-hectare) amusement park near San Diego offers fun for the whole family. Modeled after the original LEGOLAND in Denmark, it was the first of its kind in the US when it opened in 1999.
A real-life aquarium, Kahaluu Beach Park is one of Hawaii’s best snorkeling spots, located just a few miles south of Kailua-Kona. A reef protects and calms the waters, breaking the surf and providing a home to parrotfish, pufferfish, humuhumunukunukuapuaʻa—Hawaii’s state fish—and more than 100 other species. Get here early, as everyone wants a piece of the marine action.
See creatures, from poison dart frogs to penguins, in their native habitats in the Montreal Biodome (Biodome de Montreal). It's among the top family-friendly Montreal activities. It’s not just a zoo: The biodome recreates the plant and animal life of five ecosystems of the Americas, including the sub-Antarctic islands, tropical rainforest, Laurentian maple forest, and maritime Gulf of Saint Lawrence.
Named after a 16th-century Greek explorer, the Strait of Juan de Fuca is sandwiched between Vancouver Island and Washington state, connecting the Salish Sea and the Pacific Ocean. The international border between the US and Canada cuts through the channel, and marine creatures—including whales, porpoises, and seals—abound.
This former winter estate of circus magnate and art collector John Ringling is home to several venues, including its centerpiece: the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Florida’s official state art museum. Other venues here include the Circus Museum, which features artifacts from the Ringling brothers’ original traveling show; extensive gardens; a historic theater; and Ca’ d’Zan, a Venetian-style mansion known for its opulent style.
Explore the first English settlement in the United States at Historic Jamestowne, part of the Colonial National Historical Park. Located on Jamestown Island, the town was founded as James Fort in 1607. Learn about the ongoing excavation work and see the ruins and thousands of artifacts that have been unearthed so far.
With vineyards, boutiques, waterfront cafés, and plenty of small-town charm, Bainbridge Island is a peaceful escape from Seattle that’s just a short ferry ride away. Beyond its compact downtown, Bainbridge Island is all about nature. Hiking and biking are popular here, along with kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding, and even scuba diving—all with magnificent views of Puget Sound and the Cascade Mountains.
Everglades Holiday Park offers a family-friendly introduction to the vast Florida Everglades and its wild inhabitants. Visitors can explore the 29-acre (11.7-hectare) wetlands on narrated airboat tours. The park is also well known as the filming location of the Animal Planet series Gator Boys. In addition to airboat tours, the park offers animal encounters, shows, and talks from wildlife experts.
The Hualapai have been living in the Grand Canyon area for generations, and today the tribe offers some of the area’s best experiences at Hualapai Ranch. Enjoy cowboy shows, cookouts, and wagon rides; visit Indian Village to learn fascinating history; and brave the Skywalk, a platform extending 70 feet (21 meters) out over the canyon.
Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens is one of America's most historic public gardens, full of exotic plant species since 1893. Its elaborate 15-acre (six-hectare) layout features mostly floral exhibits, as well as steel and glasswork Victorian greenhouse architecture. The conservatory was founded in the late 19th century by local steel magnate Henry Phipps and later given to the city of Pittsburgh. Today, it is a National Historic Landmark, as well as one of the greenest buildings in the country with a LEED-certified visitor center and production greenhouse.
Deep-dive into the wonders of the world’s oceans at the SEA LIFE® Aquarium Arizona. Located in Phoenix, it’s a favorite destination for families and home to more than 5,000 fish and marine life; expect to see sharks, sea turtles, rays, octopus, and more.
Salt Lake City’s Latter-Day Saints Family History Library is the largest genealogical library in the world. Founded primarily to assist members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to fulfill one of their fundamental tenets—to baptize and otherwise save deceased ancestors—today many individuals use the library to simply research their ancestry.
Pay homage to Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky at the Leon Trotsky Museum (Museo Leon Trotsky), the Coyoacán home-turned-museum in which he briefly lived and was ultimately assassinated. Now dedicated to educating visitors about political asylum, you can also see the study where he was murdered, learn about his life, explore temporary art exhibits, and more.
Get up close and personal with some of the most fearsome creatures of the deep at Mandalay Bay’s Shark Reef Aquarium. Designed to be a total sensory experience—with two underwater tunnels and multiple tanks and exhibits—the aquarium is home to more than 2,000 aquatic creatures, including many species of sharks. There’s even a shipwreck and a virtual reality (VR) theater.
Housed in a castle-like structure, Canada’s original mint no longer produces currency for circulation—that now happens at Winnipeg’s Royal Canadian Mint. However the Ottawa facility is still functioning, churning out special-edition collector coins and precious metal bullion. Tours of the facility reveal the processes of coin-making.
Hosted at the National Geographic Society’s world headquarters, the National Geographic Museum is a family-friendly institution that celebrates exploration, international adventure, and the natural world. Its permanent and temporary exhibitions showcase photographs, artifacts, and films and also include interactive elements.
The St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) is one of Florida’s most comprehensive art collections, with exhibits spanning 5,000 years and over 20,000 works. The museum boasts pieces from famous artists such as Monet and O'Keeffe as well as sculpture gardens, prestigious photography exhibits, and early American Indian art.
Walk past the fossilized remains of dinosaurs at this short path west of Arches National Park, where you’ll find evidence of allosaurus, stegosaurus, camarasaurus, and camptosaurus. Trail-side signs here describe the dinosaurs that once roamed this region, and how their bones and footprints came to be frozen into the Utah sandstone.
An oasis in the heart of St. Petersburg, Sunken Gardens is a 4-acre, century-old living museum in the Historic Old Northeast neighborhood. Walking paths weave through the botanical gardens, adorned with hundreds of species of plants, flowers, exotic birds, and flamingos that add even more vibrant hues to the lush surroundings.
This historic Charleston home, now part of the Charleston Museum, is a well-preserved example of Federal architecture. Built in 1803 by architect Gabriel Manigault for his brother Joseph, a Charleston rice baron, the 3-story townhouse is now a National Historic Landmark, showcasing the wealthy family’s 19th-century lifestyle.
In its heyday, the Salton Sea was the largest inland lake in California with 130 miles of shoreline and lots of resort towns. Eventually, rising salinity levels threatened local wildlife, and health concerns sent the tourists fleeing. It is now a state park and recreation area and a modern artists’ playground.
Located near downtown Honolulu, the Honolulu Museum of Art is Hawaii's largest fine arts museum. Spanning several buildings, it houses one of the largest single collections of Asian and Pan-Pacific art in the US and also hosts an art school, art house theater, and events, such as film screenings, performances, and talks.
Showcasing Canada’s aeronautical achievements, this large museum houses more than 130 aircraft. See a replica Silver Dart, the first airplane to fly in Canada, and a Canadarm, Canada’s contribution to the International Space Station, then strap yourself into the cockpit and experience the sensation of flight in the Redbird FMX flight simulator.
Packed with opportunities for adventure, play, and learning, the Chicago Children’s Museum makes a great choice for a family outing. Located on Chicago’s popular Navy Pier, this three-story attraction is one of the largest children’s museums in the country. Kids can spend their day interacting with hands-on exhibits, whether digging for dinosaur bones, captaining a boat, building their own structures, and more.
This pocket-sized neighborhood has been the center of Chicago’s Chinese community for a century, and today it remains big on character and flavor. Injecting a dose of Asian culture to Chicago’s South Side, Chinatown draws city residents and tourists with its pagoda-like architecture, specialty import shops, Lunar New Year celebrations, and family-run eateries that dish up dim sum, noodles, buns, and other authentic regional specialties.
