
Belize City
Fronting the sea down at the end of Regent St, this handsome two-story wooden colonial mansion served as the residence of Britain's superintendents and…
Belize City
Fronting the sea down at the end of Regent St, this handsome two-story wooden colonial mansion served as the residence of Britain's superintendents and…
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
One of the park's most picturesque 19th-century buildings, the Mingus Mill is a turbine-powered mill that still grinds wheat and corn much as it has since…
Charleston
Designed in 1741, this plantation's vast gardens are the oldest in the US. Countless slaves spent years terracing the land and digging the precise…
El Petén
The ruins of Aguateca stand on a hilltop at the far south end of Laguna Petexbatún. Defended by cliffs and split by a ravine, the city enjoyed military…
San Jose
This ridiculous yet fascinating Victorian mansion is filled with 160 mostly non-utilitarian rooms with dead-end hallways and a staircase that runs up to a…
Vancouver
The MOV serves up cool temporary exhibitions alongside in-depth permanent galleries of fascinating First Nations artifacts and evocative pioneer-era…
Santa Barbara
Small (so it's perfect for young kids) Santa Barbara Zoo has 146 species covering all creatures great and small, including several not found in many other…
Detroit
In this row of modest houses Berry Gordy launched Motown Records – and the careers of Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye and Michael Jackson – with an…
Montréal
Housed in Buckminster Fuller’s striking geodesic dome built for the American pavilion at Expo '67 World Fair, this nature center has its own geothermal…
Misión San Ignacio de Kadakaamán
Southern Baja
With lava-block walls nearly 1.2m (4ft) thick, the former Jesuit Misión San Ignacio de Kadakaamán stands directly across from San Ignacio's small plaza…
Maui
No trip to Maui is complete without visiting this national park containing the mighty volcano that gave rise to East Maui. The volcano's floor measures a…
Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá
San Diego
Padre Junípero Serra founded the first of California's 21 missions in 1769 on Presidio Hill near present-day Old Town but, five years later, it was moved…
San Diego
The hulking aircraft carrier USS Midway was one of the navy’s flagships from 1945 to 1991, last playing a combat role in the First Gulf War. On the flight…
Toronto
About 33km north of downtown Toronto, the David Dunlap Observatory houses Canada’s largest optical telescope (the reflector measures 1.88m). On Saturday…
Parque Nacional Archipiélago Juan Fernández
Middle Chile
This national park covers the entire archipelago, a total of 93 sq km, though the township of San Juan Bautista and the airstrip are de-facto exclusions…
Cartagena
Work on Cartagena’s cathedral began in 1575, but in 1586, while still under construction, it was partly destroyed by the cannons of Francis Drake. The…
Central Highlands
The centerpiece of Ecuador's most popular national park is the snowcapped and downright picture-perfect Volcán Cotopaxi. At 5897m, it's Ecuador's second…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
Willy Wonka would tip his hat to Domingo Ghirardelli (gear-ar-deli), whose business became the West’s largest chocolate factory in 1893. After the company…
Fort Zachary Taylor State Park
Key West
‘America’s Southernmost State Park’ is home to an impressive fort, built in the mid-1800s that played roles in the American Civil War and in the Spanish…
Quito
To the right of the Iglesia de San Francisco’s main entrance, and within the Convent of St Francis, this museum contains some of the church’s finest…
Amazon Basin
Thanks to the efforts of the conservation NGO Armonía, the endangered blue-throated macaw or barba azul has become something of a regional celebrity in…
Waikiki
Christened the Moana Hotel when it opened in 1901, this beaux-arts plantation-style inn was once the haunt of Hollywood movie stars, aristocrats and…
Kailua-Kona
After uniting the Hawaiian Islands in 1810, Kamehameha the Great established the kingdom's royal court in Lahaina on Maui, but he continued to return to…
Dealey Plaza & the Grassy Knoll
Dallas
Infamous for its location alongside the road where John F Kennedy’s motorcade was ambushed in November 1963, the tiny park known as Dealey Plaza is now a…
Providence
Perhaps the top art school in the USA, RISD's imprint on Providence is easily felt, with students' creativity extending across the cityscape. Open to the…
Glacier National Park
Supporting little more than a couple of lodges, a gift shop or two, a recommended outdoor gear outfitter and a restaurant with an adjoining window for ice…
Ex-Convento Santo Desierto del Carmen
Mexico City
This weathered 17th-century former Carmelite monastery within the Parque Nacional Desierto de Los Leones provides an interesting glimpse of what it would…
Gaspé Peninsula
This stunningly beautiful park on the Gaspé Peninsula's northeasternmost tip is a place where the mountains plunge directly into an ocean dotted with…
Fort York National Historic Site
Toronto
Established by the British in 1793 to defend the then town of York, Fort York was almost entirely destroyed during the War of 1812 when a small band of…
Lima
This bright-yellow Franciscan monastery and church is most famous for its bone-lined catacombs (containing an estimated 70,000 remains) and its remarkable…
Museo Nacional de Antropología, Arqueología e Historía del Perú
Lima
Trace the history of Peru from the pre-ceramic period to the early republic. Displays include the famous Raimondi Stela, a 2.1m Chavín rock carving from…
San Antonio
The first mission along the Mission Trail heading south from San Antonio, and part of the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, this site…
San Diego
High on Palomar Mountain, at an elevation of 5500ft to avoid light pollution, the Palomar Observatory is simply spectacular – as large as Rome’s Pantheon, with…
Vieques National Wildlife Refuge
Vieques
Lying within these protected confines are the best reasons to visit Vieques. This 18,000-acre refuge occupies the land formerly used by the US military…
Vancouver
Teeming with salty seafaring artifacts, dozens of intricate ship models and a couple of walk-through recreated boat sections, the prize exhibit at this…
McCarran International Airport Viewing Area
Las Vegas
With some 43 million travelers visiting Las Vegas each year, the skies above Sin City are filled daily with airliners landing and taking off. Thrill…
Alexandria Black History Museum
Alexandria
Paintings, photographs, books and other memorabilia documenting the African American experience in Alexandria, one of the nation’s major slave ports, are…
Quito
Topped by a 41m-tall aluminum mosaic statue of La Virgen de Quito (Virgin of Quito; completed in 1976), with a crown of stars, angelic wings and a chained…
Richard Nixon Presidential Library & Museum
Orange County
The Nixon Library offers a fascinating walk though America’s modern history and that of this controversial native son of Orange County (1913–94), who…
Museo Regional de Guanajuato Alhóndiga de Granaditas
Guanajuato
Built between 1798 and 1808 as a grain storehouse, the Alhóndiga became a fortress in 1810 when 300 Spanish troops and loyalist leaders barricaded…