10450 Best Sights in USA

Comprising nearly a half million acres, Chugach State Park is the third-largest state park in the United States. On the edge of Anchorage, the park is Alaska's most accessible wilderness, with nearly 30 trails for hikers of all abilities. Totaling more than 150 miles, the hiking trails range in length from 2 miles to 30 miles. Although Chugach, connected as it is to Alaska's largest city, is technically an urban park, this is far from being a typical urban setting. Hardly tame, this is real wilderness, home to Dall sheep, mountain goats, brown and black bears, moose, and several packs of wolves. Miners who sought the easiest means of traversing the mountain peaks and passes initially blazed most of the park's trails. Today they are restored every spring and maintained by park rangers and various volunteer groups. Hiking in the park is free whether you're here for an afternoon or a week, though a $7 daily parking fee is charged at several popular trailheads. The park serves up some truly intoxicating views, and, depending on what perch you're looking down from, you can see across the bay to the looming white mountains of the Alaska Range, the great tides of Cook Inlet, and, on clear days, Denali in all its glory. One of the best and most easily accessible places to seek out such a view is from Flattop Mountain, on the park's western edge. The peak is the most popular destination within Chugach Park. A 1-mile hike leads to the top, and hikers of all abilities make the trek, but be aware it is strenuous, particularly toward the top.

Just south of Santa Ynez on the Chumash Indian Reservation lies this Las Vegas–style casino with 2,300 slot machines, three restaurants and a food court, a spa, and a 12-story upscale hotel with a rooftop pool.

In this angular 1980s building just west of Temple Square, you can view artifacts and works of art relating to the history and doctrine of the Mormon faith, including personal belongings of church leaders Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. There are also samples of Mormon coins and scrip used as standard currency in Utah during the 1800s and beautiful examples of quilting, embroidery, and other handicrafts. Upstairs galleries exhibit religious and secular works by Mormon artists from all over the world. In the courtyard out front, you can visit the Deuel Cabin, an 1847 pine structure that's one of two surviving homes built by Salt Lake City's earliest pioneers. The courtyard also has access to the church's Family History Library, where anyone is welcome to research their genealogy. 

Completed in 2000, this massive center features a 21,000-seat auditorium with a 7,000-pipe organ and a 850-seat theater. Equally impressive are the rooftop gardens landscaped with native plants and streams to mirror the surrounding mountains. Visitors can see the center on 45-minute tours; all guests must be accompanied by a guide. The Center is home to the biannual General Conference and regular concerts by the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.

The Church of San Geronimo, or St. Jerome (the patron saint of Taos Pueblo), was completed in 1850 and is the fourth church to stand at Taos Pueblo. The original church, built in 1627, was destroyed in 1640 by the Pueblo people in protest of Spanish attempts to missionize them. After this, the Taos people left their village and did not return until 1660, when they were persuaded by Governor Lopez de Mendizibal to come back. The second church was then built, but it was destroyed in 1680 during the Pueblo Revolt when Pueblo Natives throughout the region united in a successful effort to force the Spanish to leave the area. A third church was begun by Spanish Franciscans after they returned to Taos twelve years later. This church, finished by 1726, stood until 1847. At that point, during the Taos Rebellion (aka Taos Revolt), U.S. soldiers attacked what they believed were the men who had killed Governor Bent and other Americans. In reality, most of these men had fled to the mountains and the people inside the church were mainly women and children. The ruins of this third church can be seen today, and have become a cemetery site to the left of the Pueblo’s public entrance. The fourth church that stands today on the Pueblo’s plaza was built in 1850. With its smooth symmetry, stepped portal, and twin bell towers, the church is a popular subject for photographers and artists.

This 1867 Gothic Revival church, a National Historic Landmark at the corner of Newbury and Berkeley streets, has one of the largest collections of liturgical windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany in the country. It's crowned by a 236-foot-tall steeple—the tallest in Boston—that Oliver Wendell Holmes called "absolutely perfect." Inside, a 14-foot-high Tiffany lantern hangs from a breathtaking 100-foot ceiling. The church is now Presbyterian and United Church of Christ.

Standing together along the highway are seven houses of worship with primarily Native Hawaiian congregations. Notice the unadorned, boxlike architecture so similar to missionary homes.

A small urban block originally earmarked for yet another Downtown skyscraper has been repurposed into a delightful little pocket park that offers organized arts, music, and fitness programs for children and adults throughout the week.

The streets of Athens are lined with many gorgeous old homes, some of which are open to the public. Most prominent among them is the Federal-style Church-Waddel-Brumby House. Built in 1820, it is the town's oldest surviving residence. The museum is home to the Historic Athens Welcome Center, where you can pick up information and arrange for tours.

A wraparound mural inspired by the colorful garden that fronts the Culinary Institute of America's Oxbow District facility brightens its facade. Check out the ground floor's well-curated culinary shop, nearby Vintners Hall of Fame wall, and self-serve wine stations—then head upstairs to the Chuck Williams Culinary Arts Museum. Named for the Williams-Sonoma kitchenwares founder, it holds an eye-popping collection of cooking, baking, and other food-related tools, tableware, gizmos, and gadgets, some dating back more than a century.

On Monroe, near State Street, the ornate CIBC Theatre (formerly the Bank of America Theatre and before that the LaSalle Bank Theatre and the Shubert Theatre) stages major Broadway plays and musicals. It was the tallest building in Chicago when it opened in 1906.

Nature lovers will enjoy strolling the trails through a 100-acre nature center set aside for the conservation of natural grasslands, marshlands, and riverbeds. Educational outdoor workshops and camps are available for kids, and night hikes are also on offer. At historic Herff Farm, you can explore community gardens and trails as well as learn about land stewardship.

One of the most breathtaking stretches of highway in the state is U.S. 64 west from Cimarron through Cimarron Canyon State Park, which is actually just one small part of the immense 33,000-acre Colin Neblett Wildlife Area. The road passes through a steep and lush canyon banked by 400-foot crenellated granite palisades. Paralleling the road is the sparkling Cimarron River, which is known for its superb trout fishing. Wildlife (including elk, deer, and bear), granite cliff formations, a natural spring, an abandoned mine, and a visitor center are also draws. There's a campground beneath the pines, too, with spaces for RVs (no hookups) and tents, picnic tables, and pit toilets.

Cincinnati's National Football League team plays in state-of-the-art Paul Brown Stadium on the riverfront. In 2007 the stadium placed 101st out of 150 buildings in an American Institute of Architects survey of the country's favorite architecture.

One of the best examples of art deco architecture in the country, Union Terminal simplified a muddled infrastructure of five train stations and seven lines when it was built in 1933. Now the West End's best-known landmark houses three museums, an OMNIMAX Theater, and Cincinnati's functioning Amtrak terminal. Large mosaic tile murals dating from the 1930s adorn the interior rotunda, and come summer kids frolic around the stair-stepped fountains near the evergreen-landscaped entrance.

Cincinnati's golden years are recalled at the Cincinnati History Museum. You can walk down a re-created city street from the early 1900s, interact with interpretive historians in period dress, and view dozens of Queen City artifacts, along with vintage automobiles and a 1920s streetcar.

At the Cinergy Children's Museum kids can climb, crawl, and explore the world around them. Play areas include a forest with a two-story treehouse, a construction site, an energy zone with pedals and pulleys, and a waterworks with small boats and a series of locks. For kids up to 10 years of age.

You can get a close-up look at whales, volcanoes, Mount Everest, and other wonders at the Linder Family OMNIMAX Theater. Movies are shown on a five-story, 72-foot-wide domed screen.

Exhibits at the Museum of Natural History and Science take you on a journey back in time, from the age of the dinosaurs through the English Renaissance and the Wild West. There's a colony of bats and underground waterfalls in a replica of a limestone cave.

You can buy individual tickets or a combination ticket that gives you entry to multiple museums and the theater.

East of Cincinnati, near Milford, is a 1,025-acre nature preserve with 18 mi of trails. Hikers of all fitness levels are accommodated through trails with varying degrees of difficulty. Several ponds and lakes are also great for a picnic or rest. There are also a gift shop, bookstore, nature exhibits, and a bird-viewing area in the Nature Center.

The performing-arts organization stages productions year-round at its eponymous theater in Eden Park. Local and national actors are featured.

The oldest professional team in baseball and 1990 World Champions play at Great American Ball Park from April through October. Fans in the cheap seats get views of the Ohio River, the nineteenth-century mansions across the way in Kentucky, and the rugged hills farther south. One of the National League's newer ballparks, the Reds' $320 million marvel manages to look both retro and modern, with its brick facade, white metal light towers, and sleek black Batter's Eye Pavilion in center field. The stadium seats just over 42,000.

Famous for its white Bengal tigers, this is one of the country's most respected zoological institutions. In 1999 it was one of three facilities outside of Florida to be allowed to take in Florida manatees; the mammals can be observed at the Manatee Springs exhibit. The zoo is also home to walruses, lowland gorillas, polar bears, and Sumatran rhinos, for which it has the world's only successful captive breeding program. Rhino Emi gave birth to an unprecedented third calf in captivity in 2007. In summer there are animal shows and camel and train rides. The zoo is open evenings from mid-November to early January for its annual Festival of Lights. Be sure to put on your sneakers; there are a lot of hills in Cincinnati, and they all seem to be here. Follow the paw-print signs off I–75 Exit 6 or I–71 Exit 5, the Dana Avenue exit.

Although similar to Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle, at 189 feet this iconic structure is more than 100 feet taller, and, with its elongated towers and lacy fretwork, it's more graceful. Don't miss the elaborate mosaics on the walls of the archway as you rush toward Fantasyland from the Hub. The five panels, measuring some 15 feet high and 10 feet wide, were created from a million bits of multicolored Italian glass, silver, and 14-karat gold by mosaicist Hanns-Joachim Scharff. The mosaics tell the story of the little cinder girl as she goes from pumpkin to prince to happily ever after.

The fantasy castle has absolutely real foundations, made of solid steel beams, fiberglass, and 500 gallons of paint. Instead of dungeons, there are service tunnels for the Magic Kingdom's less-than-magical quotidian operations, such as Makeup and Costuming. These are the same tunnels that honeycomb beneath much of the park.

Within the castle's archway is the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, where the "royal treatment" transforms little girls age 3 and older into princesses or divas. Hair and makeup are by a Fairy Godmother's Apprentice. The valiant Knight Package offers a heroic makeover that includes hairstyle, sword, and shield. If you have reservations to dine at Cinderella's Royal Table, you enter the castle by way of an ascending spiral staircase. You are attended by costumed waiters and joined by Cinderella and other princesses in one of Disney's most popular character-dining experiences. For people with disabilities: For those with limited mobility, elevator access to the dining experience is provided. Call or book online 180 days ahead, if possible, to reserve the character breakfast, lunch, or dinner at Cinderella’s Royal Table.

Most of Austin moves at a relaxed pace, but here, just 14 miles southeast of downtown, things speed up considerably. The Circuit of The Americas, set on 1,500 acres, was primarily built for Formula One Grand Prix racing, and when F1 rolls around as part of a 19-country worldwide tour, 500 million pairs of eyes are suddenly on Austin and thousands of global travelers arrive in the capital city. A wide range of other motor-racing events also take place here, including NASCAR, and the grounds have hosted ESPN’s X-Games. The 14,000-seat amphitheater is a year-round venue for countless big-name music acts, from Taylor Swift to the Rolling Stones.

The first church building erected on this site in the 1680s gave bustling Meeting Street its name. The present-day Romanesque structure, dating from 1890, is configured on a Greek-cross plan and has a breathtaking vaulted ceiling. While the sanctuary is not open to visitors except during Sunday morning service, you are welcome to explore the graveyard, which is the oldest English burial ground in the city, with records dating back to 1695.

The microconglomerate of Cisco Brewers, Nantucket Vineyard, and Triple Eight Distillery makes boutique beers, wine, and vodka on-site. Tours and tastings are available (fee) and the brewery hosts live music and on-site food trucks in season.

Since 2004, the Philadelphia Phillies have played in Citizens Bank Park, a 42,792-seat stadium that has a 13,000-square-foot interactive kids' baseball experience called The Yard. Ticketed tours are available all year long and feature stops in the Phillies’ dugout, the Diamond Club, the Hall of Fame Club, the broadcast booth, and the media room.

Northwest of Tranquility Park, this 1939 modernist structure of Texas limestone was designed by Joseph Finger, Houston's premier architect of the time. There's a visitor center on the ground floor.

What once marked the northernmost point of Manhattan today houses the office of the mayor and serves as a gathering place for demonstrators and the news crews who cover their stories. This is the one of the oldest City Halls in the country, a striking (but surprisingly small) building dating from 1803. Free tours are available  weekly---just sign up in advance online and arrive early to check out the fantastic exterior details. Inside, highlights include the Rotunda where President Lincoln lay in state in 1865 under a soaring dome supported by 10 Corinthian columns; the Victorian-style City Council Chamber; and the Governor's Room, an elegantly preserved space with portraits of historic figures, as well as a writing table that George Washington used in 1789 when New York was the U.S. capital.

American architect Henry Hobson Richardson, who also developed the state's capitol, designed this 1881 Romanesque revival–style structure. A 49-bell carillon, one of about 200 in the country, was added in 1927.

The intersection of Meeting and Broad streets is known as the Four Corners of Law, representing the laws of nation, state, city, and church. On the northeast corner is the Adamesque-style City Hall, built in 1801. Highlights of the historic portraits that hang in the second-floor council chamber (the second-oldest continuously used council chamber in the country), include John Trumbull's 1791 portrait of George Washington and Samuel F. B. Morse's likeness of James Monroe.

This gorgeous 1928 landmark building is a TV star—it was in the opening scenes of Dragnet and served as the Daily Planet building in the original Adventures of Superman. During extensive renovations, the original Lindburg Beacon was put back in action atop the hall's 13-story tower. The revolving spotlight, inaugurated by President Calvin Coolidge from the White House via a telegraph key, was used from 1928 to 1941 to guide pilots into the Los Angeles airport. The observation deck, located on the 27th floor, is free to the public and has a stellar view of the greater Los Angeles area.

Over the years, various plans—involving gardens, restaurants, music, and hotels—have been floated to make this a more people-friendly site. Possibly the only thing that would ameliorate Bostonians' collective distaste for the chilly Government Center is tearing it down. Locals got their wish, as the entire City Hall Plaza area (one of the largest civil spaces in Boston) has just completed a several-stage, multiyear makeover. The brutalist redbrick plaza was torn up and revamped to create a more aesthetically pleasing array of tree canopies, terraces, and improved public spaces including a playspace with soft sidewalks, funhouse mirrors, musical structures, a water feature, and the Internet-famous "Cop Slide" (a slide that created a viral video of a police officer's very speedy exit). The plaza continues to be the home of many of the city's famed festivals, rallies, and outdoor concerts.