3 Best Sights in The Finger Lakes, New York

Twain wrote The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in this study built for him by his sister-in-law and her husband. The octagonal shape was inspired by a Mississippi riverboat pilothouse. The study was moved to the Elmira College campus in the 1950s and is part of the school's Center for Mark Twain Studies. Cross the street to visit the (free) Mark Twain Exhibit to learn more about Twain's connection to Elmira or to buy books in the gift shop.

Dozens of sailplanes and gliders, dating from the late 19th to the late 20th century, are on display at this museum, part of Harris Hill Park. Movies and exhibits help explain and explore the heritage of gliding. You can even take a sailplane ride ($70; April–November weather permitting; reservations required).

Mark Twain rests in the Langdon family plot, with his daughter Clara and son-in-law, Ossip Gabrilowitsch, at his feet. A 12-foot-tall monument marks the spot (12 feet, in river terminology, is 2 fathoms, or "mark twain," the derivation of Clemens' pen name).