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'Iolani Palace
A historic house museum where royalty feasted and plots and counterplots simmered.'Iolani was the residence of King Kalakaua and Queen Kapi'olani from 1882 to 1891, and of Queen Lili'uokalani for two years after that. At this time, much of the Hawaiian monarchy observed the diplomatic protocols of the Victorian world. The king traveled abroad meeting with leaders around the globe and received many foreign emissaries in 'Iolani Palace.
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Ali'iolani Hale
The first major government building constructed by the Hawaiian monarchy in 1874, Ali'iolani Hale now houses the Hawaii Supreme Court and the state legislature. It was originally designed by Australian architect Thomas Rowe to be a royal palace, although it was never used as such. It was on the steps of Ali'iolani Hale, in January 1893, that Sanford Dole proclaimed the provisional government and the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy.
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Aloha Tower
Built in 1926 at the edge of the downtown district, the 10-story Aloha Tower is a Honolulu landmark that for years was the city's tallest building. The Aloha Tower's top-floor observation deck offers a sweeping 360-degree view of Honolulu's large commercial harbor. Beneath the tower is the Aloha Tower Marketplace. Today cruise ships still disembark at the terminal beneath the tower.
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Bishop Museum
Considered the finest Polynesian cultural-and natural-history museum in the world, the Bishop Museum is Hawaii's version of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC. The museum was originally founded in 1889 in honor of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, a descendant of the Kamehameha family, and originally housed only Hawaiian and royal artifacts.
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Central Waikiki Beach
Between the Royal Hawaiian Hotel and the Sheraton Moana Surfrider, Central Waikiki Beach is the area's busiest section of sand and surf is great for sunbathing, swimming and people watching. Most of the beach has a shallow bottom with a gradual slope. The only drawback for swimmers is the beach's popularity with swimmers, beginner surfers and the occasional catamaran, so be careful.
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Contemporary Museum
Occupying an estate with 3.5 acres of tropical and meditative gardens, the Contemporary Museum is an engaging modern-art museum, with views of Honolulu below. Admission is free every third Thursday of the month. The estate house was constructed in 1925 for Mrs Charles Montague Cooke, whose other former home is the present site of the Honolulu Academy of Arts. A patron of the arts, she played a founding role in both museums.
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Diamond Head
Diamond Head is a tuff cone - a hill composed of compacted volcanic ash - formed by a violent steam explosion deep beneath the island's surface long after most of O'ahu's volcanic activity had stopped. Its peak provides a majestic backdrop to the flair of Waikiki.
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Fort DeRussy Beach
Connected by a footpath to Kahanamoku Beach, Fort DeRussy Beach is one of the least-crowded Waikiki beaches and borders 1800ft of the Fort DeRussy Military Reservation. The water is usually calm and good for swimming. When conditions are right, the beach is used by windsurfers, boogie boarders and board surfers. There are two beach huts, open daily, which rent windsurfing equipment, boogie boards, kayaks and snorkel sets.
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Foster Botanical Garden
O'ahu's natural heritage is exotic and beautiful. Plants you've only ever read about can be spotted in all their lush greenery at the Foster Botanical Garden, O'ahu's main botanical garden. In 1850 German botanist William Hillebrand purchased 5 acres of land from Queen Kalama and planted the trees now towering in its center. In 1867 Captain Thomas Foster bought the property, continuing to plant the grounds.
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Hawai'i Heritage Center
Local volunteers with family ties to the community run the friendly Hawai'i Heritage Center that covers changing exhibitions of O'ahu's Chinese and other ethnic communities. The center also hosts a historic walking tour of Chinatown.
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Hawai'i Maritime Center
Near the Aloha Tower, the Hawai'i Maritime Center is a great place to get a sense of Hawaii's history. The museum covers everything from the arrival of Captain Cook to modern-day windsurfing.The center is home to the 60ft Hokule'a, a double-hulled sailing canoe constructed to resemble boats used by Polynesians in their sea migrations.
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Hawaii Children's Discovery Center
If the beach somehow fails to stimulate your children, get them some hands-on-learning at the Hawaii Children's Discovery Center. Occupying a 37,000-sq-ft waterfront site, once the city's old incinerator, its origins are evidenced by the surviving smokestack reaching skyward from the building's center.
Although older kids may find some exhibits interesting, the museum is principally geared toward elementary school-aged children.
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Hawaii Nature Center
The Hawaii Nature Center is a great place to take the kids. The Center conducts family programs and hikes on most weekends; see their website for a schedule.
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Hawaii State Art Museum
A long-overdue addition to Honolulu's museum scene, Hawai'i State Art Museum showcases the best of traditional and contemporary art from Hawaii's diverse ethnic artistic community. A variety of artistic styles are on display, from fine art and sculpture to contemporary photography and mixed-media. Revolving exhibits reveal how a blending of Western, Asian and traditional Pacific folk-art forms have shaped a unique island aesthetic.
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Honolulu Academy of Arts
The Honolulu Academy of Arts covers the artistic traditions of almost every continent, with a leading role in the area of Pacific Rim art. The splendid Asian gallery is considered one of the finest Asian art collections in the USA, and it gives almost equal weight to both Japanese and Chinese works, ranging from scenes of Kyoto, painted by the renowned Japanese artist Kano Motohide, to the extensive Ming dynasty collection.
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Honolulu Hale
City Hall, also known as Honolulu Hale, was designed and built in 1927 as a Spanish mission by CW Dickey, Honolulu's then famous architect. Now on the National Register of Historic Places, it has a tiled roof, decorative balconies, arches and pillars, some ornate frescoes, and an open-air courtyard sometimes used for concerts and art exhibits.
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Honolulu Zoo
If the kids want to check out the wild side, take them to the petting area of the Honolulu Zoo . Across the street, the Waikiki Aquarium has a touch tank geared for kids.
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Izumo Taisha Shrine
Across the river from the Taoist temple, the Izumo Taisha Shrine was built by Japanese immigrants in 1923. During WWII the property was confiscated by the city of Honolulu and wasn't returned to its congregation until 1962. Incidentally, the 100lb sacks of rice that sit near the altar symbolize good health, while ringing the bell at the shrine entrance is considered an act of purification for those who come to pray.
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Kahanamoku Beach
Fronting the Hilton Hawaiian Village, Kahanamoku Beach is protected by a breakwater at one end and a pier at the other, with a coral reef running between the two. It's a calm swimming area with a gently sloping sandy bottom. It was named for Duke Kahanamoku, a surfer and swimmer who won an Olympic gold medal in the 100m freestyle in 1912, and went on to become a Hawaiian celebrity and legend.
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Kaka'ako Waterfront Park
South of downtown Honolulu and just off Ala Moana Blvd at the end of Cooke St, little Kaka'ako Waterfront Park is protected from much of the city noise by a small grassy rise. Roller bladers cruise along the rock-fringed promenade, which offers clear views of Diamond Head, Waikiki and Honolulu Harbor. The 28-acre park attracts experienced surfers in the morning and picnickers in the afternoon.
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Kapi'olani Park
At the Diamond Head end of Waikiki is Hawaii's first public park, the nearly 200-acre Kapi'olani Park, a gift from King Kalakaua to the people of Honolulu in 1877. The king dedicated the park to his wife, Queen Kapi'olani. The park is the city's communal backyard, hosting sports games and family picnics under shady banyan trees. The park's tourist attractions include the Kapi'olani Beach Park, Waikiki Aquarium and the Honolulu Zoo.
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Kawaiaha'o Church
O'ahu's oldest church, Kawaiaha'o Church was built on the site where the first missionaries built a grass-thatch church shortly after their arrival in 1820. The original structure seated 300 people on lauhala mats, woven from hala (pandanus) leaves.
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Kuan Yin Temple
Near the entrance of Foster Botanical Garden, the Kuan Yin Temple is a bright-red Buddhist temple with a green ceramic-tile roof. The ornate interior is richly carved and filled with the sweet, pervasive smell of burning incense.The temple is dedicated to Kuan Yin Bodhisattva, Goddess of Mercy, whose statue is the largest in the prayer hall.
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Lyon Arboretum
Nature trails wind through the highly regarded Lyon Arboretum founded in 1918 and managed by the University of Hawai'i. Dr Harold Lyon is credited with introducing 10,000 exotic trees and plants to Hawaii. Approximately half of these are represented in this 193-acre arboretum. This is not a landscaped tropical flower garden, but a mature and largely wooded arboretum where related species are clustered in a seminatural state.
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Mission Houses Museum
Containing three of the original buildings of the Sandwich Islands Mission headquarters, the Mission Houses Museum is authentically furnished with handmade quilts on the beds, settees in the parlor and iron cooking pots in the stone fireplaces. The first missionaries packed more than their bags when they left Boston; they actually brought a prefabricated wooden house, now called the Frame House, around the Horn with them!
