Sights in USA
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John Hancock Center
Get high in Chicago's third-tallest skyscraper. In many ways the view here surpasses the one at Willis Tower, as the Hancock is closer to the lake and a little further north. Those needing a city history lesson should ascend to the 94th-floor observatory, and listen to the archaic audio tour that comes with admission. Those secure in their knowledge should shoot up to the 96th-floor Signature Lounge, where the view is free if you buy a drink ($6 to $14).
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Rock Creek Park
At 1700 acres, Rock Creek is twice the size of New York’s Central Park and feels a hell of a lot more wild. You can be out here and feel utterly removed from the city. Even coyotes have settled into the wilderness (they’re not dangerous, by the way). Rock Creek Park begins at the Potomac’s east bank near Georgetown and extends to and beyond the northern city boundaries. Narrow in its southern stretches, where it hews to the winding course of the waterway it’s named for, it broadens into wide, peaceful parklands in Upper Northwest DC. Terrific trails extend the entire length, and the boundaries enclose Civil War forts, dense forest and wildflower-strewn fields. Cell phone…
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San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) was destined from the start in 1935 to be an eclectic, unconventional museum. But when it moved into architect Mario Botta’s light-filled brick box in 1995, it became clear just how far this museum was prepared to push the art world. The new museum showed its backside to New York and leaned full-tilt towards the western horizon, taking risks on then-unknowns like Matthew Barney and his poetic videos involving industrial quantities of Vaseline, and Olafur Eliasson’s outer-space installations that distort all sense of reality. Finally SFMOMA had room to launch international traveling shows by squeegee-wielding German painter…
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Confederate Museum
Dedicated to presenting Louisiana life during the Civil War, this museum is housed in sturdy old Confederate Memorial Hall, designed by Thomas Sully. Opened to the public in 1891, it's the oldest operating museum in the state. Entering the hall, with its exposed cypress ceiling beams and exhibition cases, is worth the price of admission alone, and the exhibit itself is likely to exceed expectations.
The museum makes little effort to reinterpret history, or lament past sins. The closest thing to a point of view are a few harsh words (mostly quoting federal officials in Washington, DC) about General Benjamin 'Beast' Butler, the locally reviled head of the Union forces that…
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United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Both grim summation of human nature and fierce confirmation of basic goodness, the Holocaust Museum is unlike any other museum in Washington, DC. In remembering the millions murdered by the Nazis, it is brutal, direct and impassioned. Visitors are given the identity card of a single Holocaust victim, narrowing the scope of suffering to the individual level while paying thorough, overarching tribute to its powerful subject. Many visitors leave in tears, and few are unmoved. James Ingo Freed designed the extraordinary building in 1993 and its stark facade and steel-and-glass interior echo the death camps themselves.
Apart from the permanent exhibits, the candlelit Hall of…
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Lafayette Cemetery No 1
This necropolis was established in 1833 by the former City of Lafayette. Sitting as it does just across from Commander’s Palace and shaded by magnificent groves of lush greenery, the cemetery has a strong sense of Southern subtropical gothic about it. The layout is divided by two intersecting footpaths that form a cross. As you walk about, look out for the constructs built by fraternal organizations such as the Jefferson Fire Company No 22, which took care of their members and their families in large shared crypts. Some of the wealthier family tombs were built of marble, with elaborate detail rivaling the finest architecture in the district, but most tombs were…
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Washington Monument
Just peaking at 555ft (and 5in), the Washington Monument is the tallest building in the district. It took two phases of construction to complete; note the different hues of the stone. Tickets are free but must be reserved from the kiosk, or you can order them in advance by calling the National Park Service.
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Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias
Wawona, about 27 miles south of Yosemite Valley, is the park's historical center, but the main lure really is the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias the biggest and most impressive cluster of big trees in Yosemite. The star of the show - and what everyone comes to see - is the Grizzly Giant, a behemoth that sprang to life some 2700 years ago, or about the time the ancient Greeks held the first Olympic Games.
You can't miss it - it's a half-mile walk along a well-worn path starting near the parking lot. Beyond here, crowds begin to thin out a bit, although for more solitude you should arrive early in the morning or after 18:00.
The big attraction in the upper grove is the…
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Green-Wood Cemetery
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Ninini Point
You'll enjoy solitude from other tourists at Ninini Point, where 360-degree vistas show jets swooping in the sky above and waves crashing against the rocks below. Looking east, soaring cliffs cut off rainbows and, closer in, golfers tee off near a beckoning scoop of beach.
These terrific views from Ninini Point are made more so by its 100ft lighthouse marking the northern entrance to Nawiliwili Bay. Here, Hawaiians still fish, pick 'opihi (edible limpet) and gather limu (edible seaweed). The road to the lighthouse begins off Kapule Hwy, just over 0.5 miles south of the intersection with Ahukini Rd and marked with two concrete slabs. You'll pass a guard gate (usually…
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Brooklyn Academy of Music
Founded in 1861, BAM is the country’s oldest performing arts center and supplies New York City with its edgier works of modern dance, music and theater. The complex contains a 2109-seat opera house, an 874-seat theater and the four-screen Rose Cinemas. Its stage has showcased Mercer Cunningham retrospectives, contemporary African dance and avant-garde interpretations of Shakespeare.
Every fall, BAM hosts the Next Wave Festival, which presents an array of avant-garde works and artists talks. The on-site bar and restaurant, BAMcafé, stages free jazz, R&B and pop performances on weekends.
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10,000 Islands
One of the best ways to experience the serenity of the Everglades - somehow desolate yet lush, tropical and foreboding - is by paddling the network of waterways that skirt the northwest portion of the park. The 10,000 Islands consist of many (but not really 10,000) tiny islands and a mangrove swamp that hugs the southwestern-most border of Florida.
The Wilderness Waterway, a 99-mile path between Everglades City and Flamingo, is the longest canoe trail in the area, but there are shorter trails near Flamingo.Most islands are fringed by narrow beaches with sugar-white sand, but note that the water is brackish, and very shallow most of the time. It's not Tahiti, but it's…
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South Street Seaport Museum
Recently renovated, this museum offers a glimpse of the seaport’s history and a survey of the world’s great ocean liners, with permanent exhibits and various other sites dotted around the 11-block area. Spanning three floors, the museum's new galleries include a battalion of model ships, antique shipping tools, and left-of-center shows covering anything from New York fashion to contemporary photography. The museum's booty also extends to a group of tall-masted sailing ships just south of Pier 17, including the Ambrose and Pioneer. Off-limits for restoration during research, access to their windswept decks and intimate interiors are normally included in the admission…
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University of Texas Museums & Galleries
The University of Texas, if not quite in the Ivy League, is a rich and prestigious school boasting several impressive museums and galleries. The Lyndon Baines Johnson, Archer Huntington and Texas Memorial museums are particularly worthwhile.
The LBJ Library, named for the 36th President, is a highlight of any visit to Austin. It much propaganda, but also offers a candid look at the social and political climate of the 1960s.
Also on campus, the Texas Memorial Museum packs a huge art deco building with displays of Texas' natural and social history. Exhibits focus on geology, paleontology, anthropology and natural history. Don't miss the impressive pterodactyl skeleton.
The…
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Ringling Museum Complex
The 66-acre winter estate of railroad, real-estate and circus baron John Ringling and his wife, Mable, is one of the Gulf Coast's premier attractions. Indeed, this excellent museum complex has a lot to see, and several ways to see it. For the complete experience, plan a full day or several shorter visits. For instance, the landscaped grounds and rose gardens are free to the public during open hours. The art museum (alone) is free Monday, while 5pm till 8pm Thursday both the art and circus museums are discounted (adult/child $10/5). Saturday from 1pm till 4pm is 'family day,' with activity carts and family-oriented guides. There are also two cafes and a good gift shop.
In…
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Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum
After years of anticipation and restoration, the Tea Party Ships are moored at the reconstructed Griffin's Wharf, alongside a shiny new museum dedicated to the revolution's most catalytic event. Interactive exhibits allows visitors to meet re-enactors in period costume, explore the ships, learn about contemporary popular perceptions through multimedia presentations and even participate in the protest.
At the time of opening in 2012, visitors can board the fully-rigged Eleanor and the whaler Beaver to experience life aboard an 18th-century vessel. (The Dartmouth is expected to be built later.) Would-be rebels can throw crates of tea into the harbor, in solidarity with…
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California Academy of Sciences
Architect Renzo Piano's 2008 landmark LEED-certified green building houses 38,000 weird and wonderful animals in a four-story rainforest and split-level aquarium under a 'living roof' of California wildflowers. After the penguins nod off to sleep, the wild rumpus starts at kids'-only Academy Sleepovers and over-21 NightLife Thursdays, when rainforest-themed cocktails encourage strange mating rituals among shy internet daters.
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Channel Islands National Park
The Channel Islands is an eight-island chain lying off the coast from Newport Beach to Santa Barbara. The four northern islands - San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz and Anacapa - along with tiny Santa Barbara island 38mi (61km) west of San Pedro comprise the Channel Islands National Park. The islands have unique flora and fauna and extensive tidepools and kelp forests.
Here you'll find almost around 150 plant and a few animal species that are not found anywhere else in the world.
On Anacapa, Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa are several snorkeling, diving, swimming and kayaking opportunities among the kelp beds and sandy beaches. San Miguel and Santa Barbara are host to colonies…
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African Burial Ground
In 1991, construction workers here uncovered over 400 stacked wooden caskets, just 16ft to 28ft below street level. The boxes contained the remains of enslaved Africans (nearby Trinity Church graveyard had banned the burial of Africans at the time). Today, a memorial and visitors center honors an estimated 15,000 Africans buried here during the 17th and 18th centuries.
The site is permanently protected as a National Historic Landmark, and today it’s part of the National Parks Service. The visitors center requires airportlike security screenings, so leave your nail files in the hotel.
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Copp’s Hill Burying Ground
The city’s second-oldest cemetery – dating to 1660 – is the final resting place for an estimated 10,000 souls. It is named for William Copp, who originally owned this land. While the oldest graves belong to Copp's children, there are several other noteworthy residents.
Near the Charter St gate you'll find the graves of the Mather family – Increase, Cotton and Samuel – all of whom were politically powerful religious leaders in the colonial community. Front and center is the grave of Daniel Malcolm, whose headstone commemorates his rebel activism. British soldiers apparently took offense at this claim and used the headstone for target practice. The small plot of…
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Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Pride Parade
Hands down, the year's biggest party. Pirates in pink and giant-winged fairies toss candy and condoms from overflowing fanny packs, while pit bulls in rainbow-hued tutus trot alongside. Stilt-walkers in glitter, trannies on unicycles, queens on roller skates – anything goes. Crowds pour from BART and Muni, climbing streetlight posts for better views, and float-dancers strut atop moving stages. Growing almost every year since 1971, Pride draws about a million participants and sidewalk supporters, running the gamut from sweater queens to granola dykes, bondage masters to GLBT seniors. Afterwards there's an all-afternoon festival at Civic Center. Hotels fill; book early. The…
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Jackson Square
Sprinkled with lazing loungers, surrounded by sketch artists, fortune-tellers and traveling showmen and watched over by cathedrals, offices and shops plucked from a Parisian fantasy, Jackson Sq is one of America’s great town greens and the heart of the Quarter. The identical, block-long Pontalba Buildings overlook the scene, and the nearly identical Cabildo and Presbytère structures flank the impressive St Louis Cathedral, which fronts the square. In the middle of the park stands the Jackson monument – Clark Mills’ bronze equestrian statue of the hero of the Battle of New Orleans, Andrew Jackson, which was unveiled in 1856. The inscription, ‘The Union Must and Shall be…
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Sixth Floor Museum
No city wants the distinction of being the site of a presidential assassination – especially if that president happens to be John F Kennedy. But rather than downplay the events that sent the city reeling in 1963, Dallas gives visitors a unique opportunity to delve into the shooting in this fascinating and memorable museum. And while any museum dedicated to the subject could have reconstructed the historical event using footage, audio clips and eyewitness accounts, this museum located in the former Book Depository can give you goosebumps when you see the exact window from which Lee Harvey Oswald fired upon the motorcade. (If that last statement raises your hackles, not to…
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Keawakapu Beach
There's a lot to like about Keawakapu Beach, which stretches from the southernmost part of Kihei to Wailea's Mokapu Beach. Not only is Keawakapu Beach less crowded than Kihei's roadside beaches but it offers a stellar view, and during winter humpback whales come quite close to shore.
With its cushiony soft sand, it's a favorite place for people doing sunrise yoga and wake-up strolls and it's also a good spot for a sunset swim. Mornings are the best time for snorkeling; head to the rocky outcrops that form the northern and southern ends of the beach.
There are three beach access points, all with outdoor showers. To get to the south end, go south on S Kihei Rd until it…
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Telegraph Ave
Telegraph Ave is undeniably the throbbing heart of studentville in Berkeley, pumping out a sidewalk-flow of students and shoppers, vagrants and vendors, brisk walkers and sluggish strollers, those trying to squeeze their way out and those who never seem to leave. The frenetic energy buzzing from the university's Sather Gate on any given day is a mix of youthful post-hippies reminiscing about days before their time and young hipsters who sneer at tie-dyed nostalgia.
Ponytailed panhandlers press you for change, and street stalls hawk everything from crystals to bumper stickers to self-published books. It's all very interesting, but the street is also immensely useful to…
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