10405 Best Sights in USA

More than just a prominent fixture on Hollywood Boulevard, the Dolby Theatre has a few accolades under its belt as well, most notably as home to the Academy Awards. The theater is a blend of the traditional and the modern, where an exquisite classical design inspired by the grand opera houses of Europe meets a state-of-the-art sound and technical system for an immersive, theatrical experience. Watch a concert or a show here to experience it fully, but before you do, take a tour for an informative, behind-the-scenes look and to step into the VIP lounge where celebrities rub elbows on the big night.

Pineapple plantation days are nearly defunct in Hawaii, but you can still celebrate the state's famous golden fruit at this promotional center with exhibits, a huge gift shop, a snack concession, educational displays, and one of the world's largest mazes. Take the self-guided Garden Tour, or hop aboard the Pineapple Express for a 20-minute train tour to learn a bit about life on a pineapple plantation. Kids love the more than 3-acre Pineapple Garden Maze, made up of 14,000 tropical plants and trees. If you do nothing else, stop by the cafeteria in the back for a delicious pineapple soft-serve Dole Whip. This is about a 40-minute drive from Waikiki, a suitable stop on the way to or from the North Shore.

Exhibits, which span from antique dolls to modern collectibles such as GI Joe, bring out the educational, historical, and cultural significance of these toys. The collection, which numbers in the thousands, includes Disney memorabilia, toy trains, and circus items. The museum is about 15 mi southeast of Downtown.

Built in 1775 by John Dilworth, Todd House has been restored to its 1790s appearance, when its best-known resident, Dolley Payne Todd (1768–1849), lived here. She lost her husband, the Quaker lawyer John Todd, to yellow fever in 1793. The widow later married James Madison, our fourth president. Her time as a hostess in the White House was quite a contrast to her years in this simple home. There's an 18th-century garden next to Todd House.  Open by tour only; free tickets available at the Independence Visitor Center in advance.

Attending a live musical performance is the highlight of many a visitor’s trip to Branson, and while there are dozens to choose from, a few stand apart as being among the city’s most innovative. One of these is Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede, a lively dinner show that features live horseback stunts, pyrotechnic feats, and a four-course meal of Southern finger food (vegetarian options are also available). If you get here early, you can catch free preshow performances in the lobby.

More than a dozen waterslides and thrill rides make up this expansion of Dollywood, including the corkscrew tunnels of the Mountain Scream slide and the 1,500-foot Downbound Float Trip lazy river. There's also the Mountain Waves pool and Little Creek Falls kids' area.

Hawks Cay Resort's Dolphin Connection offers three programs, including Dockside Dolphins, a 30-minute encounter from the dry training docks; Dolphin Discovery, an in-water program that lasts about 45 minutes and lets you kiss, touch, and feed the dolphins; and Trainer for a Day, a three-hour session with the animal training team.

The 1963 movie Flipper popularized the notion of humans interacting with dolphins, and Milton Santini, the film's creator, opened this center, which is home to a colony of dolphins and sea lions. The nonprofit center has educational sessions and programs that allow you to greet the dolphins from dry land or play with them in their watery habitat. You can even paint a T-shirt with a dolphin—you pick the paint, the dolphin "designs" your shirt.

Programs begin with a get-acquainted session beneath a tiki hut. After that, you slip into the water for some frolicking with your new dolphin pals. Options range from a shallow-water swim to a hands-on structured swim with a dolphin. You can also shadow a trainer—it's $350 for a half day or a hefty $630 for a full day.

Launched in 2021 as a partnership between Jean-Nicolas Méo—whose family has been involved in Burgundy's wine industry for centuries—and music-executive-turned-winemaker Jay Boberg, this Dundee Hills venture brings traditional Burgundian wine-making techniques to Oregon soil. The tasting room is casual and homey, with a few nods to Boberg’s musical background (including a record player and curated playlists), and guests are invited to step out onto a viewing platform inspired by the Monterrey Bay Aquarium to watch the wine-making process in action. There’s also a massive deck that’s great for sunny-day tastings. Tastings are kept intimate and limited to two parties at a time, and cheese plates are provided at no extra cost. 

Once the grounds of the Domino Sugar Factory, this riverside park tastefully incorporates clunky metal remnants of its refinery past, including its Artifact Walk, an elevated walkway with Manhattan skyline views. There's also a playground, a garden, dancing fountains, and Tacocina, a walk-up eatery from Danny Meyer of Shake Shack fame. You’ll see locals at the bocce court or playing with their pooches at the dog run, but most of all, you’ll marvel at a truly spectacular view of the Williamsburg Bridge, seemingly right above your head.

This trail climbs 4,000 feet up the cool north-facing slope of the Kings River canyon, passing Sheep Creek Cascade and providing several fine glimpses of the canyon and the 11,000-foot Monarch Divide. The trail leads to Lookout Peak, which affords a panorama of the park's backcountry. This strenuous, all-day hike covers 13 miles round-trip. Difficult.

This beach gets its unusual nickname from the former Lihue Plantation Company, which once kept a herd of mules and donkeys in the pasture adjacent to the beach. If the waves are right, bodyboarders and surfers might be spotted offshore. However, the waters here are usually rough and are not recommended for swimming and snorkeling. Instead, we suggest a morning walk along the easy trail that overlooks the coast, starting at the northern end of Kealia Beach. It's not uncommon to see nude sunbathers here. Amenities: none. Best for: solitude; sunrise; surfing.

A must-stop for nautical enthusiasts, this museum is at the foot of the Highway 42/57 bridge in Sturgeon Bay, the gateway to Door County. Displays on local shipbuilding and commercial fishing over the past century show the region's significant contributions to maritime history. Allow time for the 40-minute guided tour of the John Purves, a restored tugboat that traveled around the Great Lakes, the Caribbean, and even the Bering Sea during the 1960s.

The ¾-mile round-trip trail leads through a natural opening, or door, in a badlands rock wall. The eerie sandstone formations and passageways beckon, but it's recommended that you stay on the trail. The first 100 yards of the trail are on a boardwalk. Even a patient and observant hiker will take only about 30 minutes. Easy.

If your kids are bored with the Alamo, head to the DoSeum, where they can explore 68,000 square feet of interactive indoor space in galleries connected to STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) learning and discovery, along with the arts and literacy. Exhibits are geared to ages under 11, but even grown-ups will get a kick out of the Semmes Foundation Spy Academy and the beautiful Big Outdoors section, with WaterWorks and wheelchair-accessible treehouse. Visitors 18 or older without children are welcome, but will be asked at entry to present a valid driver's license and to submit to a brief automated background check. The DoSeum Store features apparel, books, gifts, and educational toys and games.

Also on Belle Isle, the Dossin Great Lakes Museum includes a Gothic Room taken from a 1912 Great Lakes luxury liner, and the pilot house from the S.S. William Clay Ford, a Great Lakes freighter. You can also listen to ship-to-shore radio messages and view the river and city through a periscope.

The maverick wineries sharing this exposed-brick tasting space a few storefronts south of Sonoma Plaza produce reasonably priced low-intervention wines and ciders. Northern California vineyards and orchards farmed sustainably or regeneratively supply most of the fruit. An intentionally communal spot to learn about the natural wine movement that eschews commercial fermentation and aging techniques, it feels more coffee shop than wine bar, so much so that you’re apt to find a local tapping away on a laptop at one of the well-spaced wooden tables.

In the Windows section of the park, 12 miles from the park entrance, Double Arch is the tallest in the park at a towering 112 feet and has appeared in several Hollywood movies, including Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. From the parking lot you can also take the short and easy Windows Trail to view The North Window, The South Window, and Turret Arch.

If it's not too hot, it's a simple walk to here from the Windows Trail. This relatively flat trek leads to two massive arches, including the park's tallest arch, that make for great photo opportunities. The ½-mile round-trip gives you a good taste of desert flora and fauna. Easy.

One of Oregon's best regional history museums, this engaging place surveys 10,000 years of human activity. The fossil collection is worth a stop, as is the state's second-largest photo collection, numbering more than 24,000 images, some dating to the 1840s.

This challenging 6-mile trail, steep in some parts, leads almost due east into the Rincon Mountains. After a half mile through a dense concentration of saguaros, you reach the open desert. About 3 miles in is Bridal Wreath Falls, worth a slight detour in spring when melting snow creates a larger cascade. Moderate.

African American entrepreneur Charles H. Douglass built this theater in 1921. A host of great American musicians have performed here, among them Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, and locals Little Richard and Otis Redding. It's currently a venue for movies, plays, and other performances. You can take a guided tour of the building for a small fee on Mondays or as available during the week. Call ahead for an appointment.

A city landmark that offers a little something for history buffs, architecture fans, and public-art lovers alike, this 1914 library was the first to be funded entirely by the city. It also houses one of the largest collections of African American literature and history on the West Coast, including a dynamic collection of Black and social justice-focused childrens books. Local artists Marita Dingus and Vivian Linder created sculptures and three-dimensional relief panels for the branch, which can be seen in the spacious corridor connecting the two buildings. Paintings of former slaves and abolitionists Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth by artist Eddie Ray Walker are also on display. Don't miss the recently restored Soul Pole, a totem pole depicting African American history, located outside on the grassy area on the corner of 23rd Avenue and East Yesler Way.

In 1905, Paul Doullut was inspired to build a home that resembled the great steamboats of the Mississippi, where he spent his time as a riverboat captain. In 1913, he built a similar home for his son, down the street at 503 Egania. Towering over the Mighty Mississippi and the rest of the neighborhood with wraparound verandas fitted with guardrails and high-perched widow's walks, these houses are architectural oddities specific to their environment. Because the first floors are constructed of ceramic tile, the Doullut houses are uniquely equipped to withstand flooding, and both survived Hurricane Katrina with little damage. Today these are private residences that can only be toured from the outside, but walking along the industrial canal levee from the St. Claude bridge toward Holy Cross is a great way to get a bird's-eye view.

The grandstands can accommodate up to 5,000 spectators for exciting NASCAR racing in spring and fall. If spectating is not enough, you can find out what it's like to drive by getting behind the wheel of a real race car on the 1-mile Monster Mile track. The track also hosts the Firefly Music Festival in June. Also on-site is the Dover Downs Hotel and Casino.

From late June through September, this public-arts project presents visual and performing arts events including exhibitions, video screenings, site-specific installations, and opening galas and performances.

You've got to really look for the garage doors that mark the entrance to this zero-frills local taproom. Once you make it inside the industrial space, you can sample flights of Downeast's fresh, unfiltered cider varieties—many of which are only available at the cider house. While many breweries these days welcome the whole family, this isn't one of those places. Of course kids are allowed, but they must remain seated and Downeast does not serve any food.  There's limited seating and no standing room so you may have to wait for a table.

A Landry's property with a themed restaurant, this one's a lot of fun for the kids. There's a giant Ferris wheel, arcade games, and rides, plus an enormous aquarium with exhibits that include a Louisiana swamp, a 17th century shipwreck, a tropical rain forest, a shark voyage, and an exhibit featuring white tigers.

On the north side of the South Platte across from Elitch Gardens, this is the only million-gallon aquarium between Chicago and the West Coast. It has four sections that show aquatic life in all its forms, from the seas to the river's headwaters in the Colorado mountains. The 250-seat Aquarium Restaurant surrounds a 50,000-gallon tank filled with sharks and fish. Other highlights include an expanded stingray touch pool, a gold-panning area, animatronic creatures, and an interactive shipwreck. The aquarium also has a lounge with a weeknight happy hour, and the truly adventurous can learn how to scuba dive or snorkel in the tanks.