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National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
Today it's the site of a 114-acre National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific where the remains of over 25,000 US soldiers are interred, more than half of whom were killed in the Pacific during WWII. The remains of Ernie Pyle, the distinguished war correspondent who covered both world wars and was hit by machine gun fire on Ie Shima during the final days of WWII, lie in section D, grave 109.
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Pu'u 'Ualaka'a State Park
For a marvelous panoramic view over Honolulu, visit Pu'u 'Ualaka'a State Park. The park entrance is 2.5 miles up Round Top Dr from Makiki St. It's half a mile in to the lookout; bear to the left when the road forks. The sweeping view extends from Kahala and Diamond Head on the far left, across Waikiki and downtown Honolulu, to the Wai'anae Range on the right.
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Queen Emma Summer Palace
Queen Emma was a consort of Kamehameha IV and her summer palace is now open to the public as an historic house museum. Emma was three-quarters royal Hawaiian and a quarter English. She was a granddaughter of the captured British sailor John Young, who became a friend and adviser to Kamehameha I. The house is also known as Hanaiakamalama, the name of John Young's home in Kawaihae on the Big Island, where he served as governor.
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Royal Hawaiian Hotel
Royal Hawaiian Hotel is a pink Art Deco palace with Moorish-style turrets and archways. During the days of luxury liners, the sea voyage to Hawaii took approximately five days and the aristocratic and celebrity passengers who docked in Honolulu needed a fitting setting for their transplanted society, thus the hotel became an extension of the ocean-liner business run by Matson Navigation.
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Royal Mausoleum
Housing the remains of Kings Kamehameha II, III, IV and V, as well as King David Kalakaua and Queen Lili'uokalani (Hawaii's last reigning monarchs), is the Royal Mausoleum. Conspicuously absent are the remains of Kamehameha the Great, the last king to be buried in secret in accordance with Hawaii's old religion.
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Sans Souci Beach
Sans Souci Beach, also known as Kaimana Beach because of its proximity to the New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel, Sans Souci attracts sunbathers and swimmers keen to avoid the main tourist scene. Despite being by itself, it also has a lifeguard station and outdoor showers. Many residents come to Sans Souci to swim their daily laps out to a wind sock marker and back.
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Shangri La
In 2002 the Honolulu Academy of Arts began conducting small group tours of Shangri La, the 1930s-era home of wealthy heiress and philanthropist Doris Duke, who transformed five acres of property overlooking the Pacific Ocean and Diamond Head into a serene palace of graciousness and beauty.
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St Andrew's Cathedral
The French Gothic St Andrew's Cathedral was King Kamehameha IV's personal homage to the architecture and faith of the Church of England. Following the tradition of the church's English founder, the Hawaiian king and his consort, Queen Emma, founded the Anglican Church of Hawaii in 1858. King Kamehameha V had the cornerstone laid in 1867 four years after the death of Kamehameha IV on St Andrew's Day - hence the name.
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State Capitol
Built in the 1960s, Hawaii's State Capitol is not your standard gold dome. It's a poster-child of conceptual post-modernism: the two cone-shaped legislative chambers represent volcanoes; the supporting columns symbolize palm trees. Trade winds blow gently through an open rotunda, and a large pool representing the ocean surrounding Hawaii encircles the entire structure.
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University of Hawai'i at Manoa
Born too late to take advantage of the tweedy academic architecture of the mainland, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, the central campus of the statewide university system, is a modern complex filled with shade trees and well-bronzed students. UH has strong programs in astronomy, second-language studies, geophysics, marine sciences, and Hawaiian and Pacific studies. The campus attracts students from islands throughout the Pacific.
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US Army Museum of Hawai'i
The US Army Museum of Hawai'i traces the military history of consolidation of power under King Kamehameha in the 1700s to the US army's ongoing role on the island. Located at Fort DeRussy Military Reservation, the museum occupies Battery Randolph, a reinforced concrete building erected in 1911 as a coastal artillery battery.
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USS Arizona Memorial
One of the most significant WWII attractions in the USA, the USS Arizona Memorial presents the history of the Pearl Harbor attack and commemorates the fallen service members. Run by the National Park Service, the memorial comprises two sections: the mainland visitor center and offshore shrine.
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USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park
If you have to wait an hour or two for your USS Arizona Memorial tour to begin, you might want to stroll over to the adjacent USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park. Run by a private nonprofit organization, this park contains the moored WWII-era USS Bowfin submarine as well as the Pacific Submarine Museum. Launched in 1942, the Bowfin completed nine war patrols and sank 44 ships in the Pacific before the end of WWII.
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USS Missouri
The decommissioned battleship USS Missouri, nicknamed 'Mighty Mo,' provides a unique historical 'bookend' to the US campaign in the Pacific during WWII. If you're a history buff the USS Missouri is a worthwhile sight, but if your time or money is limited a visit to the USS Arizona Memorial will suffice. The 887ft-long USS Missouri launched near the end of WWII and served as a flagship during the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
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Waikiki Aquarium
Located next to a living reef on the Waikiki shoreline, the modern university-managed Waikiki Aquarium dates from 1904, and includes an impressive shark gallery where visitors can watch circling reef and zebra sharks through a 14ft-wide window. The aquarium is a great place to identify colorful coral and fish you've seen while snorkeling or diving.
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Waikiki Beach
The 2-mile stretch of white sand commonly referred to as Waikiki Beach runs from Hilton Hawaiian Village in the west to Kapi'olani Park in the east. Along the way, the beach changes names and personalities. In the early morning, the surprisingly quiet beach belongs to walkers and joggers. Strolling down the beach toward Diamond Head at dawn can actually be a meditative experience.
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Washington Place
The former governor's official residence, Washington Place is now a historic house museum intended to open up cultural legacies to the Hawaiian people. The large colonial-style building, surrounded by stately trees, was erected in 1846 by US sea captain John Dominis. The captain's son, also named John, became the governor of O'ahu and married the Hawaiian princess who later became Queen Lili'uokalani.
