Must-see attractions in Americas

  • The Government House Museum, dating from 1814.

    Government House

    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…

  • Mingus Mill. Built in 1886, this historic grist mill uses a water-powered turbine instead of a water wheel to power all of the machinery in the building.

    Mingus Mill

    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…

  • Sheep grazing at Middleton Place.

    Middleton Place

    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…

  • Aguateca

    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…

  • April 2, 2016: Exterior of the Winchester Mystery House with statues and a fountain.

    Winchester Mystery House

    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…

  • Space Center in Vancouver

    Museum of Vancouver

    Vancouver

    The MOV serves up cool temporary exhibitions alongside in-depth permanent galleries of fascinating First Nations artifacts and evocative pioneer-era…

  • Santa Barbara Zoo

    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…

  • Motown Historical Museum

    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…

  • Biosphere from Ile Sainte Helene.

    Biosphère

    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…

  • Mision San Ignacio Kadakaaman, in San Ignacio, Baja California Sur, Mexico.

    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…

  • Haleakal; East Maui Volcano, a  shield volcano that forms more than 75% of the Hawaiian Island of Maui. Haleakala National Park; Hawaiian Islands; Maui Island. Showing the erroded valley and cinder cones.
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    Haleakalā National Park

    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 Alcala. - stock photo

California's first mission.  Aloe plants blooming in foreground.

    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…

  • Photo of the USS Midway aircraft carrier bridge in San Diego, California. August 17, 2017

Bridge Of USS Midway Aircraft Carrier - stock photo

    USS Midway Museum

    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…

  • Richmond Hill, Ontario/Canada - July 2018: The David Dunlap Observatory built in 1935; Shutterstock ID 1738832300; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI Image Update

    David Dunlap Observatory

    Toronto

    About 33km north of downtown Toronto, the David Dunlap Observatory houses Canada’s largest optical telescope (the reflector measures 1.88m). On Saturday…

  • Cathedral Santa Catalina de la Alejandria, Cartagena, Bolivar, Colombia

    Catedral

    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…

  • Parque Nacional Cotopaxi

    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…

  • Fountain in Ghirardelli Square.

    Ghirardelli Square

    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…

  • Key West, Florida - December 4, 2019:  People tan and rest on the sunny beach of Fort Zachary Taylor State Park in tropical Key West Florida USA

    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, ECUADOR - JAN 1, 2015: Church and Monastery of St. Francis in the historic center of Quito. Historic center of Quito is the first UNESCO WOrld Heritage site; Shutterstock ID 255015763; Your name (First / Last): Josh Vogel; GL account no.: 56530; Netsuite department name: Online Design; Full Product or Project name including edition: Digital Content/Sights

    Museo Franciscano

    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…

  • Reserva Barba Azul

    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…

  • Moana Surfrider Hotel in Waikiki, Honolulu.

    Moana Surfrider Hotel

    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…

  • Historic Ahu' ena Heiau Temple in Kamakahou Bay Kona, Hawaii
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    Ahuʻena Heiau

    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…

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    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, RHODE ISLAND - JULY 24: Interior of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) library on July 24, 2015 in Providence, Rhode Island; Shutterstock ID 305897873; Your name (First / Last): Lauren Keith; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Content Asset; Full Product or Project name including edition: Guides Project Eastern USA

    Rhode Island School of Design

    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…

  • Apgar Village

    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…

  • "Desierto de los Leones" National Park Mexico City; 
Ex-Convento Santo Desierto del Carmen
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Shutterstock ID 2054551526; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI Image Update

    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…

  • October 5, 2017 - Sunrise at the Cap-Bon-Ami vantage point in Forillon National Park (QC, Canada); Shutterstock ID 789501421; full: 65050; gl: 65050; netsuite: poi; your: Barbara Di Castro
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    Forillon National Park

    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…

  • Red Coat, historical re-enactment - Toronto, Ontario

    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…

  • Monasterio de San Francisco

    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…

  • Historic Spanish Mission Concepcion in San Antonio, Texas

    Mission Concepción

    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…

  • Mr. Palomar Observatory at dusk
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Mt Palomar, astrophysics, cosmology

    Palomar Observatory

    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…

  • Aerial view of the coastline of Vieques National Wildlife Refuge on Viques, an island in Puerto Rico.

    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 Maritime Museum exterior

    Vancouver Maritime Museum

    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…

  • 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…

  • La Virgen de Quito, El Panecillo, Quito, Ecuador

    El Panecillo

    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…