10457 Best Sights in USA

Truman's life and career are the focus at the Harry S Truman Museum & Library. You'll also frequently find traveling exhibits and speakers.

This free recreation area is a haven for mountain bikers, hikers, horseback riders, rock climbers, and ATV riders in the summer and Nordic skiers and snowshoers in the winter. With 8,000 acres of public land, encompassing 45 miles of single-track trails and 45 miles of road, there's enough room for everyone.

Formerly known as the Semitic Museum, this Harvard institution is an almost unknown gem, serving as an exhibit space for Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and ancient Near East artifacts and as a center for archaeological exploration. The museum's extensive temporary collections rotate, while more permanent exhibits include life-size casts of famous Mesopotamian monuments, authentic mummy coffins, and tablets containing the earliest forms of writing. Free lectures are held on a rotating schedule (taking the summer season off), and the building also houses the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations.

The tree-studded, shady, and redbrick expanse of Harvard Yard—the very center of Harvard University—has weathered the footsteps of Harvard students for hundreds of years. In 1636 the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony voted funds to establish the colony's first college, and a year later chose Cambridge as the site. Named in 1639 for John Harvard, a young Charlestown clergyman who died in 1638 and left the college his entire library and half his estate, Harvard remained the only college in the New World until 1693, by which time it was firmly established as a respected center of learning. Local wags refer to Harvard as WGU—World's Greatest University—and it's certainly the oldest and most famous American university.

Although the college dates from the 17th century, the oldest buildings in Harvard Yard are from the 18th century (though you'll sometimes see archaeologists digging here for evidence of older structures). Together the buildings chronicle American architecture from the Colonial era to the present. Holden Chapel, completed in 1744, is a Georgian gem. The graceful University Hall was designed in 1815 by Charles Bulfinch. An 1884 statue of John Harvard by Daniel Chester French stands outside; ironically for a school with the motto of "Veritas" ("Truth"), the model for the statue was a member of the class of 1882 and not Harvard himself. Sever Hall, completed in 1880 and designed by Henry Hobson Richardson, represents the Romanesque revival that was followed by the neoclassical (note the pillared facade of Widener Library) and the neo-Georgian, represented by the sumptuous brick houses along the Charles River, many of which are now undergraduate residences. Memorial Church, a graceful steepled edifice of modified Colonial Revival design, was dedicated in 1932. Just north of the Yard is Memorial Hall, completed in 1878 as a memorial to Harvard men who died for the Union cause; it's High Victorian both inside and out. It also contains the 1,166-seat Sanders Theatre, which serves as the university's largest lecture hall, site of year-round concerts by students and professionals, and the venue for the festive Christmas Revels.

Many of Harvard's cultural and scholarly facilities are important sights in themselves, but most campus buildings, other than museums and concert halls, are off-limits to the general public.

The Harvard Information Center, in the Smith Campus Center, has a small exhibit space, distributes maps of the university area, and offers free student-led tours of Harvard Yard. The tour doesn't include visits to museums, and it doesn't take you into campus buildings, but it provides a fine orientation. The information center is open year-round. Students can usually be found standing around the Harvard Square T stop, hawking their guided tours led every half hour for $22. You can also download a mobile tour on your smartphone or purchase a self-guided tour map for $3.

Historic Brooklyn, as the once-thriving African-American neighborhood here was known, is long gone, but this celebration of Black art, history, and culture serves its memory well. The exhibits change frequently, but you can always see John and Vivian Hewitt's collection of African-American visual art, including those of Harlem Renaissance–famed and Charlotte-born Romare Bearden.

An 18-foot-long rainbow flag flies above this plaza named for the man who electrified the city in 1977 by being elected to its Board of Supervisors as an openly gay candidate. In the early 1970s, Milk's camera store on Castro Street became the center for his campaign to open San Francisco's social and political life to gays and lesbians.

Milk hadn't served a full year of his term before he and Mayor George Moscone were shot to death in November 1978 at City Hall. The murderer was a conservative ex-supervisor named Dan White, who had resigned his post and then became enraged when Moscone wouldn't reinstate him. Milk and White had often been at odds on the board. The gay community became infuriated when the "Twinkie defense"—that junk food had led to diminished mental capacity—resulted in only a manslaughter verdict for White. During the so-called White Night Riot of May 21, 1979, gays and their allies stormed City Hall, torching its lobby.

Milk, who had feared assassination, left behind a tape recording in which he urged the community to continue his work. His legacy is the high visibility of gay people throughout city government; a bust of him was unveiled at City Hall in 2008, and the 2008 film Milk gives insight into his life. Keep your visiting expectations in check: this is more of a historical site than an Instagrammable spot.

On the fringe of Downtown and Old Town in the historic Sawmill/Wells Park neighborhood, Harwood Art Center is a remarkable city resource for its working-artist studios, classes, and as a gallery in its own right. Shows—predominantly of New Mexico–based artists working in nontraditional forms—take place in their historic brick school building and change monthly.

Self-guided trails wind through lush cottonwood-willow forests, mesquite trees, and around a 4-acre, spring-fed pond and marsh habitat. Waterfowl, herons, and Arizona's rarest raptors shelter here.

The sedimentary haberdashery sits 2 miles from the trailhead at Bryce Point. Hard gray caps balance precariously atop narrow pedestals of softer, rust-color rock. Allow three to four hours to travel this somewhat strenuous—there's a 1,380-foot elevation gain—but rewarding 4-mile round-trip trek that's part of the northernmost section of the longer Under-the-Rim Trail. Moderate–Difficult.

Situated on the wonderfully scenic Charles River Esplanade, this acoustic and artful concert venue—100 feet wide and wood inlaid—annually hosts the Boston Pops' famous July 4 concert and dozens of other free, summer classical-orchestra performances, music festivals, film screenings, and other events. It's called a shell, well, because it looks like one.

In the tradition of classic small-town museums, the modest Hatch Museum brims with odd memorabilia of local, historic interest. Witness: A corset, World War I and II military uniforms, household items, and a lot of odds and ends.

Interactive and interpretive exhibits at Oregon State University appeal to the kid in everyone. More than just showcasing sea life, the center contains exhibits and tide-pool touch tanks, and it holds classes that teach the importance of scientific research in managing and sustaining coastal and marine resources. The staff regularly leads guided tours of the adjoining estuary.

The vast 36,000-square-foot space is an ideal venue for sprawling exhibits and large-scale art projects, unlike its narrow Upper East Side town house or spare SoHo space. Some of the contemporary artists, both established and emerging, include Amy Sherald, George Condo, Cindy Sherman, and Mark Bradford.

South of the middle part of the Grand Canyon National Park's South Rim and away from the crowds, Havasu Canyon is the home of the Havasupai, a tribe that has lived in this isolated area for centuries. You'll discover why they are known as the "people of the blue-green waters" when you see the canyon's waterfalls—Fifty Foot Falls, Little Navajo Falls, Havasu Falls, Beaver Falls, and Mooney Falls. Accumulated travertine formations in some of the most popular pools were washed out in massive flooding decades ago and again in 2008 and 2010, but it's still a magical place.

The village of Supai, which currently has about 200 tribal residents, is accessed by the 8-mile-long Hualapai Trail, which drops 2,000 feet from the canyon rim to the tiny town.

To reach Havasu's waterfalls, you must hike downstream from the village of Supai. Pack adequate food and supplies. There is a café and a trading post in the village, but prices for food and sundries are more than double what they would be outside the reservation. The tribe does not allow alcohol, drugs, pets, drones, or weapons. Reservations are necessary for camping or staying at Havasupai Lodge.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the home of First Colonial Congress member William Havens was built in 1743. The Shelter Island Historical Society maintains a museum here—seven rooms with period furnishings, as well as a barn with antique fishing equipment. Kids’ programs are hosted here, and there's a Saturday morning farmers’ market.

A tour of Havre Beneath the Streets takes you to a bordello, an opium den, a bakery, and other stops in an underground business center dating from the early days of the frontier—the equivalent of a modern underground mall. The subterranean businesses were mainly built and operated by the town's Asian population, drawn to the area by the Great Northern Railroad and its attendant business opportunities. Reservations for tours are recommended (you must call to book).

The Havre de Grace Decoy Museum, housed in a converted power plant, has 1,200 facsimiles of ducks, geese, and swans made from wood, iron, cork, papier-mâché, and plastic. Three classes—decorative, decorative floater, and working decoys—are represented. A festival during the first full weekend in May includes carving contests and demonstrations by retriever dogs.

The capitol's architecture is richly symbolic: the columns resemble palm trees, the legislative chambers are shaped like volcanic cinder cones, and the central court is open to the sky, representing Hawaii's open society. Replicas of the Hawaii state seal, each weighing 7,500 pounds, hang above both its entrances. The building, which in 1969 replaced Iolani Palace as the seat of government, is surrounded by reflecting pools, just as the Islands are embraced by water. A pair of statues, often draped in lei, flank the building: one of the beloved Queen Liliuokalani and the other of the sainted Father Damien de Veuster, famous for helping Molokai's Hansen's disease (leprosy) patients. You can take a self-guided tour of the capitol using a brochure provided online or in person (Room 415 at the capitol) by the governor's office.

The Samuel Manaiakalani Kamakau Room, on the first floor in the library's mauka (Hawaiian for "mountain") courtyard, houses an extensive Hawaii and Pacific book collection and pays tribute to Kamakau, a missionary student whose 19th-century writings in English offer rare and vital insight into traditional Hawaiian culture.This beautifully renovated main library was built in 1913.

Opened in 1922, this theater earned rave reviews for its neoclassical design, with Corinthian columns, marble statues, and plush carpeting and drapery. The so-called Pride of the Pacific was rescued from demolition in the early 1980s, underwent a massive renovation, and is now listed on both the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The 1,400-seat venue hosts concerts, theatrical productions, dance performances, and film screenings. Guided tours of the theater end with a miniconcert on the historical orchestral pipe organ and can be booked through the box office. If you're interested in the guided tours on Thursdays at 11 am, call a few days ahead to reserve.

Located off Highway 11 at mile marker 70.5, the Kahuku section of the park takes visitors over many trails through ancient lava flows and native forests. Ecological wonders abound in this beautiful but isolated region that encompasses more than 116,000 acres. Guided hikes with knowledgeable rangers are a regularly scheduled highlight.

You can grab a bite and take in the unique street art here at any time of the year. Formerly known as the POW! WOW! Worldwide art collective, this project was founded in Hawaii in 2010 and has spread to cities globally. Its most visible Oahu endeavor is a multiblock area where colorful, eclectic, and innovative murals are painted on once-derelict-looking warehouses and other buildings. Every year, artists from all over come to refresh existing murals and add new ones. In 2023, the projects moved out of Kakaako for the first time (to Kalihi-Palama in the first year).

Starting in the 1800s, immigrants seeking work on the sugar plantations came to the Islands like so many waves against the shore, and this open-air museum examines the lives and cultures of the arrivals. Just 30 minutes from downtown Honolulu (without traffic), visit more than 25 authentically furnished buildings, original and replicated, that re-create and pay tribute to the plantation era. See a Chinese social hall; a Japanese shrine, sumo ring, and saimin stand; a dental office; and historic homes. You can explore on your own or take a guided tour (included in admission, but reserve ahead; several offered each day).

Determined missionaries arrived in Hawaii in 1820, gaining royal favor and influencing much of Island life, and their descendants became leaders in government, business, and education. Here you can learn about their influence and walk through their original dwellings, including Hawaii's oldest Western-style wooden structure, a white-frame house that was prefabricated in New England and shipped around the Horn. A hale pili (traditional Hawaiian dwelling) sits nearby. Be sure to sign up in advance for one of the hourly guided tours: docents not only paint an excellent picture of what mission life was like, but they also take you to areas of the museum you wouldn't otherwise be able to see. Special Hawaiian, architectural, and history tours are also offered on certain days, and you can take a self-guided tour of the cemetery across the street. Rotating displays showcase such arts as Hawaiian quilting, portraits, and even toys, and a rich archival library is also open to the public.

At 4,050 feet, Hawksbill Summit reigns as the highest point in the park, rewarding visitors with far-reaching 270-degree views, including Massanutten Mountain to the west and Old Rag Mountain to the northeast.

There is more than one route to reach Hawksbill Summit, the highest point in the park at an elevation of 4,050 feet. The most popular is the 1½-mile out-and-back hike under a dense forest canopy that leads to Byrds Nest Shelter #2, a day-use shelter with a picnic table, then on to a stone viewing platform for 270-degree views of the Shenandoah Valley, as well as craggy Massanutten and Old Rag Mountains. Hiking time is 90 minutes. Moderate.

The historic one-room schoolhouse, in use from the late 1800s through 1963, underwent a massive renovation—led by former students—after its closure, earning it a place on the National Register of Historic Places. Operated by the Washington County Historical Society, tours showcase a typical schoolday for children in the Stillwater area, many of whom were Swedish immigrants. Also on the site is the Erickson Log Home, constructed in 1868 by immigrant Johannes Erickson and his 13-year-old son. After the historical society purchased the home in 1974 it was moved to its current location.

Loud, self-promoting vendors pack this exuberant maze of a marketplace at Marshall and Blackstone streets on Friday and Saturday from dawn to dusk (most vendors are usually gone by 5 pm). As they have since 1820, pushcart vendors hawk fruits and vegetables for much cheaper than grocery stores against a backdrop of fish, meat, and cheese shops. The accumulation of debris left every evening has been celebrated in a whimsical 1976 public-arts project—Mags Harries's Asaroton, a Greek word meaning "unswept floors," a term used for Roman floor mosaics depicting banquet debris—consisting of bronze fruit peels and other detritus smashed into pavement. Another Harries piece, a bronze depiction of a gathering of stray gloves, tumbles down between the escalators in the Porter Square T station in Cambridge. At Creek Square, near the Haymarket, is the Boston Stone. Set into a brick wall, this was allegedly a marker used as milepost zero in measuring distances from Boston.

Want to learn a new craft? This school 6 miles from Deer Isle Village offers one- and two-week courses for people of all skill levels in crafts such as blacksmithing, basketry, ceramics, jewelry making, printmaking, weaving, and writing. Artisans from around the world present free evening lectures throughout summer. Tours of the school and studios are available on Wednesday.

One of the most spectacular views in the state can be seen from the 34-foot high stone tower atop Haystack Mountain (1,716 feet). You can see the Berkshires in Connecticut and Massachusetts, as well as peaks in New York and the Green Mountains of Vermont. A winding road will get you halfway there; then hike the rugged, half-mile trail to the top.