USA attractions

Learn about the French and Indian War with a visit to the Fort William Henry Museum. This historic battle site and fort is now a busy museum that offers visitors the chance to see wartime relics, attend live military arms demonstrations, and enjoy daily talks, programs, and tours.

Part of the Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument and White River National Forest, Quandary Peak is a mountain summit with an elevation of 14,265 feet (4,347 meters). It’s one of Colorado’s many 14er peaks, though it’s considered one of the least technical. Quandary Peak is easily accessible by car and seasonal shuttle bus from downtown Breckenridge.

Between Cody and Powell in Park County, you’ll find the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center. It’s a former WWII Japanese-American confinement site that looks back at the history of anti-Asian prejudice in the US. There’s a museum, a memorial, and the original relocation camp areas where you can explore photographs, artifacts, and interactive exhibits, including the old hospital and root cellar, plus a replica guard tower.

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.

Learn about the history of Omaha and the American West at the Durham Museum. Located within the historic, art deco-style Union Station building, the museum offers an array of permanent and temporary traveling exhibits on subjects spanning history, culture, science, industry, and more.

Located in Battery City Park in Lower Manhattan, the Irish Hunger Memorial is dedicated to over a million lives lost during the great Irish famine of the mid-1800s, when hundreds of thousands of immigrants fled Ireland for New York. The distinctive design—with the stone ruins of a famine-era cottage and thick, marshy grass— is meant to evoke the Irish landscape.

Travelers interested in architecture and history can visit two distinct landmarks at this site in Alexandria, Virginia. The 126-acre (51-hectare) wooded grounds are the setting for two homes overseen by the National Trust for Historic Preservation: early-19th-century Woodlawn, a plantation worked by enslaved people that became a free labor colony under Quaker ownership, and celebrated architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1940s Pope-Leighey House.

California’s El Dorado wine-producing region is situated at the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe. With a low-alpine climate—warm days and cool nights are ideal for growing grapes for wine—the area is home to about 50 wineries, producing dozens of celebrated wine varietals.

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.

A tropical paradise transplanted into the heart of the Midwest, Lost Island Water Park combines palm trees and luxurious cabanas with exciting rides and splash zones. Race your friends down the waterslides, try out a hydromagnetic roller coaster, bask in the lazy river, or explore villages and lagoons.

Harriet Tubman escaped slavery and then served as a conductor on the Underground Railroad, helping other enslaved African Americans flee to freedom. For more than 50 years, she lived on this homestead in Auburn, New York. Today, the Harriet Tubman Home National Historic Park preserves her former residence and the adjacent Home for the Aged and the Thompson A.M.E. Zion Church.

Established in 1895, shortly after the city of Boise was founded, the Boise Public Library has served and grown with the community. Today, the public library consists of a main branch downtown and four satellite branches around the city. The library offers reading materials, multimedia materials, computer access, and events for the community.

Franklin Mountains State Park offers exquisite desert landscapes, rugged mountain trails, and acres of exploration just north of El Paso, Texas. Popular for hiking, biking, and rock climbing, it features over 100 miles (160 kilometers) of trails of varying difficulty levels. Visitors can also enjoy relaxing views, wildlife spotting, and stargazing. And with nice weather year-round, this spot is always in season.

Part museum, part shop, The Galaxy Connection is filled with vintage toys, action figures, and memorabilia. Here, you can pose with superhero costumes, play retro video games, and check out a massive collection of Star Wars paraphenalia. If you grew up in the ‘70s, ‘80s, or ‘90s, this is a particularly nostalgic experience.

Set along US Route 66, this quirky cultural landmark is Oklahoma’s largest and most important collection of environmental folk art. Creator Ed Galloway spent decades in the mid-20th century building this collection of stone and concrete totem poles decorated with brightly painted bas-relief designs that tower up to 90 feet (27 meters) high.

The Contemporary Arts Center is New Orleans’ main museum for works by contemporary artists, and showcases everything from photography exhibits to immersive installations. Many of the works displayed here are by artists from New Orleans and elsewhere in the Gulf region, and visiting is a great way to get an introduction to the area’s arts scene.

El Paso’s Scenic Drive offers the best views of the city—at least, from the confines of a car. This winding road along the Franklin Mountains is a favorite for sunset drives, with a panoramic overlook providing photo-worthy vibes. Perfect for a peaceful escape, it’s a must-visit for gorgeous landscapes and a unique perspective on El Paso’s desert beauty.

The Stedman-Thomas Historic District is one of Ketchikan’s oldest neighborhoods—and one of the most significant, serving as a hub for Asian and Pacific Islanders who worked for Alaska’s fishing industry in the first half of the 20th century. Complete with boardwalks and original restored buildings built on wooden pilings from the early 1900s, it’s one of the most visited areas in Ketchikan, especially for cruise ship passengers.

Tomales Bay Oyster Company, which dates back to 1909, is California’s oldest shellfish farm. It’s situated north of San Francisco on the shores of Tomales Bay, an inlet between Point Reyes National Seashore, on the western edge of Marin County. Its proximity to San Francisco means city-dwellers flock here on the weekends to purchase oysters fresh from the sea.

Set perfectly between the Lake Champlain shoreline and downtown Burlington, Waterfront Park is where locals and visitors alike will find everything from lake access and picnic spots to the city’s best food and music festivals, the Burlington Greenway, and even a museum and waterfront dining. If nothing else, come here and enjoy the views—with a Vermont creemee in hand.

You know what you’re getting at a Hard Rock Cafe, and this Las Vegas chain restaurant doesn’t disappoint. In a prime spot along the Las Vegas Strip, the Hard Rock Cafe Las Vegas is decked out in one-of-a-kind rock ‘n’ roll memorabilia and boasts the biggest Rock Shop across the entire Hard Rock universe. Look out for the signature neon-lit guitar out front.

Magnolia Bakery has been a New York City food icon for decades, perhaps best known for its cameo on Sex and the City. Based in Manhattan’s downtown Greenwich Village neighborhood—and now operating additional locations across town—the bakery is famed for its signature cupcakes, although other treats aren’t to be missed, including its cult-favorite banana pudding.

Inside Fresno’s Kearney Park stands the Kearney Mansion Museum, the site of historical buildings created in French Renaissance style by land developer Martin Theodore Kearney. Visitors tour the main headquarters of the estate, showcasing many of the original furnishings from the early 1900s, as well as the ranch kitchen and a gallery.

Right on Hartford’s Main Street, you can step into the 18th century as you walk through the historic Butler-McCook House & Garden. Built in 1782, the property contains original colonial furnishings, Victorian-era toys, and other mainstays of home life during the four generations when the Butler-McCook family resided there. See family bedrooms, admire period artwork, and learn what the area was like nearly 250 years ago.

This shrine to human flight holds enough vintage and modern aircraft to excite even the most seasoned aviation fans. Classic, antique, warbird, ultra-light, and unique aircraft spanning history from the Wright Brothers to modern NASA launches are the museum's claim to fame, plus an educational restoration center. Children will love the flight simulators and educational exhibits.

For a day of kid-friendly adventure in Amarillo, don't miss a visit to Wonderland Amusement Park, a seasonal, family-owned theme park brimming with rides, games, and activities for all ages. There's no shortage of amusements at the park, from coasters for adults, to kids-only rides, water slides, arcade games, and mini golf.

A family-run park just north of El Paso, Wet n' Wild Waterworld has appealed to families for four decades. The seasonal, outdoor water park offers dozens of rides and attractions, including slides, wave pools, and volleyball courts. Bring a cooler, and grill beneath the park's trees, book a cabana, or grab a tube for a speedy ride.

The deepest lake in the United States, Crater Lake sits in the hollows of a volcanic crater far in the eastern Oregon Cascades. Most people come to see the awe-inspiring lake itself, but beyond its shores, you can hike through old-growth forests and explore the rugged high desert of Crater Lake National Park.

The DeWitt-Seitz Marketplace is a vibrant Duluth hub set in a historic building near Canal Park’s waterfront. It offers a mix of unique shops, cafés, and galleries, with a variety of dining options. It's a perfect spot to explore Duluth’s local culture, have a meal, and shop for one-of-a-kind items.

Surrounded by rowdy bars housed in elegant, Gallic houses adorned with wrought-iron balconies, the Hard Rock Cafe blends right into its Bourbon Street surroundings while still staying true to its all-American roots. It's all about the burger-adjacent fare, the drinks, and the music memorabilia at this branch of the famous chain.