10451 Best Sights in USA

A 1774 stone building forms the centerpiece of this museum that traces central North Carolina's history over the last three centuries. Settler Hezekiah Alexander and his wife, Mary, reared 10 children in this house and farmed the land. Learn about the lives of early residents in the area through exhibits and displays.

Designed by Louis Sullivan and his protégé Frank Lloyd Wright, this almost austere residence is one of the few extant buildings that displays the combined talents of these two architectural innovators. Historians still squabble about who contributed what here, but it's easy to imagine that the young go-getter had a hand in the cleanly rendered interior. Note how the geometric exterior looks unmistakably modern next to its traditional neighbors. Public tours of both the interior and exterior are available and last about one hour. The complimentary Wednesday tours are less comprehensive than the paid ones on Saturday; reservations are required for all tours. Check the website for reservations and pricing.

Family-owned and -operated, this is the largest property management company in West Maui, with the largest selection of rentals, from studios to three bedrooms. Rentals are everywhere from Lahaina town to Kapalua. Rates run about $100–$1,500 per night. The company has been in business since 1980, and is good at what it does.

This building's graceful swoop—a novelty when it went up—continues to offer an eye-pleasing respite from all the surrounding right angles, and its spacious, sunken bi-level plaza, with Marc Chagall's mosaic The Four Seasons, is one of the most enjoyable public spaces in the neighborhood. Designed by Perkins & Will and C.F. Murphy Associates in 1969, Chase Tower has been home to a succession of financial institutions. Name changes aside, it remains one of the more distinctive buildings around, not to mention one of the highest in the heart of the Loop.

At the heart-in-your-throat Chasm viewpoint, the canyon walls plummet 1,820 feet to the river, but are only 1,100 feet apart at the top. As you peer down into the depths, keep in mind that this section is where the Gunnison River descends at its steepest rate, dropping 240 feet within the span of a mile. A few hundred yards farther is the best place from which to see Painted Wall, Colorado's tallest cliff. Pinkish swaths of pegmatite (a crystalline, granitelike rock) give the wall its colorful, marbled appearance.

Nestled in the shadow of Longs Peak and Mount Meeker, Chasm Lake offers one of Colorado's most impressive backdrops, which also means you can expect to encounter plenty of other hikers on the way. The 4.2-mile Chasm Lake Trail, reached via the Longs Peak Trail, has a 2,360-foot elevation gain. Just before the lake, you'll need to climb a small rock ledge, which can be a bit of a challenge for the less sure-footed; follow the cairns for the most straightforward route. Once atop the ledge, you'll catch your first memorable view of the lake. Difficult.

The park's shortest trail (0.3 miles round-trip) starts at North Rim Campground and offers an impressive 50-yard walk right along the canyon rim as well as an eye-popping view of Painted Wall and Serpent Point. This is also an excellent place to spot raptors, swifts, and other birds. Easy.

A palette of pink, lavender, teal, and gold, a blingy crystal chandelier, and a generous dose of leopard print buoy the atmosphere at the Napa outpost of the Wine Country's oldest winery, established in Sonoma in 1857. To the tune of pop crooners and chanteuses, you can sip sparkling wine by the glass or bottle and Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon by the glass, bottle, or flight. A sparkling experience involves three types of caviar. 

The French nobleman for whom the chateau is named erected this 26-room hunting cabin in 1883 with his wife, Medora, for whom the town was named. He also built a meatpacking plant and encouraged other cattle ranchers to settle in the area. Though their cattle empire was never realized, the couple hosted extravagant hunting parties and even entertained Theodore Roosevelt during his Dakota ranching days. You can tour the restored chateau between May and October, when weekend history programs and carriage rides are also offered. The site's interpretive center is open year-round.

Set amid a bucolic northern Calistoga landscape, this stately winery whose stone building was erected in 1888 helped establish the Napa Valley's reputation for high-quality wine making. At the pivotal Paris tasting of 1976, the Chateau Montelena 1973 Chardonnay took first place, beating out white Burgundies from France and other California Chardonnays, an event immortalized (with liberties taken) in the 2008 movie Bottle Shock. A 21st-century Napa Valley Chardonnay is always part of A Taste of Montelena—current releases that might also include a Riesling, the fine estate Zinfandel, and a Cabernet Sauvignon—or you can opt for the Montelena Estate Collection tasting of Cabernets from several vintages.

Smells and sights define this popular tourist destination; keep an eye out for the many lingering seals who are hoping for a free meal. The unloading of the boats is a big local event, drawing crowds who watch it all from an observation deck. From their fishing grounds 3–100 miles offshore, fishermen bring in haddock, cod, flounder, lobster, halibut, and pollack, which are packed in ice and shipped to New York and Boston or sold at the fish market here. Also here is The Provider, a monument to the town's fishing industry, showing a hand pulling a fish-filled net from the sea. There's also a fish market and a seafood take-out shop.  The small parking lot fills up quickly, so try to park elsewhere and walk to the fish pier.

The view from this lighthouse—of the harbor, the sandbars, and the ocean beyond—justifies the crowds. The lighthouse is especially dramatic on a foggy night, as the beacon pierces the mist. Coin-operated telescopes allow a close look at the famous "Chatham Break," the result of a fierce 1987 nor'easter that blasted a channel through a barrier beach just off the coast. The U.S. Coast Guard auxiliary, which supervises the lighthouse, offers free tours July–August on most Wednesdays (1–3 pm; every other Wednesday in September); otherwise, the interior is off-limits. There is free parking in front of the lighthouse—the 30-minute limit is strictly monitored.

Now part of the Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania National Military Park, Chatham was built between 1768 and 1771 by William Fitzhugh, a plantation owner, on a site overlooking the Rappahannock River and the town of Fredericksburg. Among Fitzhugh's guests were the likes of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. During the Civil War, Union forces commandeered the house and converted it into a headquarters and hospital. President Abraham Lincoln conferred with his generals here, Clara Barton (founder of the American Red Cross) tended the wounded, and poet Walt Whitman visited for a few hours looking for his brother, who had been wounded in a battle. After the war, the Georgian house and gardens were restored by private owners and eventually donated to the National Park Service. The home itself is now a museum. Five of the 10 rooms in the 12,000 square foot mansion house exhibits spanning several centuries, and are open to the public.

Crisscrossed by 70 miles of trails, this rec area contains different parcels of land that lie in 15 separate units spread along the banks of the Chattahoochee River. Much of it has been protected from development.

It all began in 1874, when John Heyl Vincent, a Methodist minister, and Lewis Miller, an industrialist, set up a training center for Sunday-school teachers here. The Chautauqua Institution rapidly grew into a summer-long cultural encampment. More than 2,000 events take place here in summer, including lectures, art exhibitions, outdoor symphonies, theater, dance performances, opera, and open-enrollment classes.

The village has small winding streets lined with gas lights and beautiful Victorian houses, which are often outfitted in bright colors, turrets, multiple gables, and gingerbread trim. The Miller Bell Tower is the most recognizable landmark on the lakeshore and has become the symbol of the institution; tunes are played three or four times a day, and the Miller Bell is rung manually 15 minutes before amphitheater lectures and evening programs.

Seats for the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra and other large events held at the 6,500-seat Chautauqua Amphitheater are on a first-come, first-served basis. Musicians as diverse as Peter, Paul, and Mary; 10,000 Maniacs; Glenn Miller; and Natalie Cole have performed in the theater, which has a roof and houses an enormous pipe organ. Norton Memorial Hall, a 1,365-seat art-deco building, is where the Chautauqua Opera Company presents four English-language operas each season.

The institution's recreational activities complement its cultural opportunities. You may fish, swim, play tennis, golf, or rent sailboats, motorboats, or canoes from the concessions on the lake. The village, a National Historic District, also includes B&Bs, hotels, inns, guesthouses, apartments, and condominiums, as well as several restaurants and eateries. You may use a car when dropping off and picking up your luggage, but otherwise car usage is extremely limited here. Lots near the entrance gates offer daily and long-term paid parking. A free shuttle bus and tram travel through the campus during the season. Narrated bus tours of the grounds are available.

Open since 1989, this winery has won honors in national and international competitions, with most wines crafted from two varieties of sweet muscadine grapes: the white Carlos and red Noble. Take a free tour to see how ancient art blends with modern technology. Most of the action takes place during harvest season, from late August through September, when the owners invite visitors to pick and eat some grapes from their on-site preview vineyard (the 50-acre vineyard is about 12 miles north of Defuniak Springs). Wine tastings are held daily throughout the year, and the under-21 set is invited to sample muscadine grape juice.

Occupying multiple floors in two adjoining historic buildings, this vibrant gallery features artworks from local and regional artists to showcase the unique styles that characterize the South. Prices range from premium to affordable enough for tourists to pick up a fine art souvenir of their vacation in Nashville. The atmosphere is particularly lively during the monthly First Saturday Downtown Art Crawl where CHAUVET is an anchor destination of the route.

One of the state's best art museums, the Chazen Museum of Art, on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus, houses a permanent collection of paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts dating from 2300 BC to the present. It's supported by the campus's department of art history and employs an artist-in-residence. A dozen or so temporary exhibits each year compliment the already strong collection. Educational programming dives deeper into those works of art through films, lectures, artist talks, docent-led tours, and family-friendly activities.

About 5 miles long and 1½ miles wide, Chebeague (pronounced shah-big) has a year-round population of about 390, which more than quadruples in the summer season. Originally used as a fishing ground by Abenaki Indigenous people, the island later became a place known for stone slooping—those workers who carried ballast and granite for 19th-century ships, to be used in grand buildings. The island has a number of impressive Greek Revival homes built by them. There are a couple of small beaches, but most visitors come to spend time at the Chebeague Island Inn, where there's golf and tennis to play, and an excellent restaurant (with dreamy water views) open for lunch, dinner, or just drinks on the breezy porch.

It's well worth stopping at the pull-out 1 mile west of Zion's East Entrance to observe the distinctive waffle patterns on this huge white mound of sandstone. The stunning crosshatch effect visible today is the result of eons of freeze-and-thaw cycles that caused vertical fractures, combined with erosion that produced horizontal bedding planes.

At the center of this sprawling 55-acre botanical garden is a Georgian-style limestone mansion-turned-art gallery, enclosed by clipped lawns, terraced gardens, and an ancient-looking reflection pool. In addition to the collection of paintings and photographs inside the mansion, the Carell Woodland Sculpture Trail takes you down a 0.9-mile path of outdoor art pieces. There are seasonal garden displays, as well—including 150,000 blooming tulip bulbs in the spring and 5,000 chrysanthemums in the fall—so there’s always something new to enjoy no matter what time of year you visit.

After making a name for himself in the local dining scene, Chef Darin created his own cooking school in 2015 with hands-on classes for cooks of all levels. The state-of-the-art facility includes a kitchen stocked with five KitchenAid dual fuel ranges and a double wall oven as well as Savannah's only local kitchen shop. Class subjects range from Lowcountry comfort food to Pan Asian cuisine.

Through scenic landscapes and over covered bridges, the authentic engines of the Chehalis–Centralia Steam Train will carry you on rails originally laid for logging. The line runs through farmland and rolling hills, and crosses several wooden bridges. There's a 13-mile round-trip ride and an 18-mile ride, plus dinner trains and special events.

The base for the Chelan National Recreation Area and Wenatchee National Forest has an information desk and a shop selling regional maps and books.

This sports-and-entertainment complex along the Hudson River between 17th and 23rd Streets, a phenomenal example of adaptive reuse, is the size of four 80-story buildings laid out flat. There's pretty much every kind of sports activity happening both inside and out, including golf (check out the multitier, all-weather outdoor driving range), sailing classes, ice-skating, rock climbing, soccer, bowling, gymnastics, and basketball. Plus there's a spa and elite sport-specific training. Chelsea Piers is also the jumping-off point for some of the city's boat tours and dinner cruises.

About 60 miles northeast of Fairbanks, the Chena Hot Springs Resort offers guests winter snow coach rides to a yurt on Charlie Dome with a 360-degree vista of nothing but wilderness—and a good chance of viewing the northern lights. The resort also offers a heated log cabin "aurorium" a short hike away. Guests can even arrange a wake-up call when staff spot the lights.

The 57-mile paved road, which starts 5 miles northeast of Fairbanks, leads to Chena Hot Springs Resort, a favorite playground of Fairbanks residents. From Mile 26 to Mile 51 the road passes through the Chena River State Recreation Area, a diverse nearly 400-square-mile wilderness. You can stop for a picnic, take a hike for an hour or venture out on an extended backpacking trip, fish for the beautiful yet gullible arctic grayling, or rent a rustic backcountry cabin to savor a truly wild Alaskan adventure. Grayling fishing in the Chena River is catch-and-release from April to May, single-hook, artificial-lure only. Several stocked lakes along the road allow catch-and-keep fishing for rainbow trout, well-suited for the frying pan. Keep a sharp eye out for moose along the roadside.

Though only slightly less grand than some of the other Newport mansions, this Italianate-style villa with a mansard roof houses a remarkable collection of art and furniture gathered by the Morris family of New York City. Its significant 19th-century American paintings include Hudson River School landscapes. Built in 1860, the home was designed by George Champlin Mason, a Newport architect, for Edmund Schermerhorn, a descendent of one of the first settlers of New Netherland, the 17th-century Dutch colony centered on New York (New Amsterdam) and first cousin of Mrs. William Astor.

Between two high-rises in the relatively quiet community of Cherry Grove, this small oceanfront park with pretty, budding landscaping has amenities for families, like a shaded gazebo, bench swings, and a ramp to the sand for strollers. Amenities: lifeguards; showers; toilets. Best for: solitude; sunrise; swimming; walking.

The historic Cherry Mansion, built in 1830, served as General Grant's headquarters during the Battle of Shiloh. The house is privately owned, but visitors are allowed to walk around the grounds and take pictures.