10450 Best Sights in USA

Locals chuckle at visitors who try to show off their French savvy when they pronounce it "Mont-in-or-ay." The estate, originally a ranch, was established by a tycoon who'd made his money in the Montana mines before he retired to Oregon; he decided to call his estate "Montana in Oregon." Montinore (no "ay" at the end) has 232 acres of vineyards, and its wines reflect the high-quality soil and fruit. Highlights include a crisp Gewürztraminer, a light Müller-Thurgau, an off-dry Riesling, and several lush Pinot Noirs. Adventurous cooks may want to pick up a bottle of their verjus, an acidic alternative to typical vinegar that's great for cooking.

Just outside Orange is the lifelong residence of James Madison (1751–1836), the fourth president of the United States. He grew up here, lived here with his wife, Dolley, and retired here after his presidency. A massive renovation was completed in 2008, removing parts of the mansion added by its 20th-century owners, the duPont family. In her will, Marion duPont Scott left the estate to the National Trust for Historic Preservation with the stipulation that it be returned to its original state. The mansion is now restored to its early 19th century Madisonian state, a project that totaled $24 million. Some of the Madisons' possessions, as well as a tribute to the "Father of the Constitution," have been set up in an Education Center on the grounds. The walking tour includes a stop at the cemetery where James and his wife, Dolley, are buried. Exotic conifers planted by the duPonts dot the meadowlike grounds, and a walking path wanders amid an old-growth forest. The annual Montpelier Hunt Races, a steeplechase, have been held here since 1934 on the first Saturday in November.

On 70 acres of parkland, Montpelier Mansion is a masterpiece of Georgian architecture that George Washington used as a guesthouse on the way to and from the Constitutional Convention. It was built and owned by the Snowdens, who earned their wealth through farming and an iron foundry. Interesting features include a 35- by 16-foot reproduction of a hand-painted canvas floor cloth and an offset central hall staircase. Also on the property is an 18th-century summerhouse where ladies took their tea, boxwood gardens, an herb-and-flower garden with plants grown in the 1800s, and a cultural arts center with three galleries and artists' studios.

For great views with minimal effort, hike Monument Mountain, famous as a spot for literary inspiration. Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville trekked it on August 5, 1850, seeking shelter in a cave during a thunderstorm. There they discussed ideas that would become part of a novel called Moby-Dick. While poet William Cullen Bryant stayed in the area, he penned a lyrical poem, "Monument Mountain," about a lovesick Mohican maiden who jumped to her death from the cliffs. Most hikers find the 2½-mile loop an easy stroll.

The handsome center contains an extensive crafts shop and exhibits devoted to ancient and modern Native American history, including a display on the World War II Navajo code talkers. Most of the independent guided group tours, necessary to go deep into the valley, leave from the center. You can generally find Navajo guides—who will escort you to places that you are not allowed to visit on your own—in the center or at the booths in the parking lot. The center adjoins the stunning View Hotel (and restaurant), which sits on a gradual rise overlooking the valley and its magnificent red rock monoliths, with big-sky views in every direction.

Moody Gardens is a multifaceted entertainment and educational complex inside pastel-color glass pyramids. Attractions include the 13-story Discovery Pyramid, showcasing marine life from four oceans in tanks and touch pools; Rainforest Pyramid, a 40,000-square-foot tropical habitat for exotic flora and fauna; Discovery Pyramid, a joint venture with NASA featuring more than 40 interactive exhibits; and two theaters, one of which has a space adventure ride. Outside, Palm Beach has white-sand beach, landscaped grounds, man-made lagoons, a kid-size waterslide and games, and beach chairs. Attraction admissions can be purchased individually, or there are also combo tickets and a daypass.

Moody Mansion, the residence of generations of one of Texas's most powerful families, was completed in 1895. Tour its interiors of exotic woods and gilded trim, filled with family heirlooms and personal effects.

Dating from as early as AD 480, this parallelogram-shaped structure is a stunning example of a luakiniheiau, used for ritualized human sacrifice to the Hawaiian war god Ku. The isolated National Historic Landmark within Kohala Historical Sites State Monument is so impressive in size and atmosphere that it's guaranteed to give you what locals call "chicken skin" (goose bumps). The place feels haunted, and even more so if you are the only visitor and the skies are dark and foreboding. Visit with utmost care and respect. Nearby is Kapakai Royal Housing Complex, the birthplace of Kamehameha the Great. Although it is now under the care of the National Park Service, family descendants still watch over the site.  Don't drive out here if it's been raining; even with a four-wheel drive, you could easily get stuck.

Amid shady oaks you can picnic alongside duck ponds, rent a boat and tool around the lagoon, and view a bronze replica of James Earl Fraser's iconic End of the Trail sculpture, which depicts a Native American warrior on horseback. The indoor-outdoor Tulare County Museum contains several re-created environments from the pioneer era, displays of Yokuts tribal artifacts (basketry, arrowheads, clamshell-necklace currency), and exhibits that chronicle farm history and labor.

The drive runs along a bluff above the ocean, paralleled by a 3-mile boardwalk that winds along the beach. On this photogenic walk you might glimpse sea lions and sea otters, and perhaps a gray whale during winter and spring. Year-round, birds fly about, and tiny creatures scurry amid the tidepools.

Built in 1887 by Captain William Moore and his son Ben Moore, the tiny cabin was the first structure erected in Skagway. An early homesteader, Captain Moore prospered from the flood of miners, constructing a dock, warehouse, and sawmill to supply them, and selling land for other ventures. Next door, the larger Moore House (1897–98) contains interesting exhibits on the Moore family. Both structures are maintained by the Park Service, and the main house is open daily in summer.

In 1938, Chester "Cactus Slim" Moorten, an original Keystone Cop, and his wife, Patricia, opened this showplace for desert plants—now numbering in the thousands—that include an ocotillo, a massive elephant tree, and a boojum tree. Be sure to stroll through the Cactarium, the world's first as the Moortens coined the term, to spot rare finds such as the welwitschia, which originated in southwestern Africa's Namib Desert.

Covering nearly 16,000 acres of the Green Mountain National Forest, this area northeast of Brandon attracts hikers, mountain bikers, and cross-country skiers who enjoy the 70-plus miles of trails through wondrous terrain. If there is anywhere to stop and smell the flowers in Vermont, this is it.

This 1909 mansion that forms the centerpiece of Rosario Resort was constructed as the vacation home of Seattle shipping magnate and mayor Robert Moran. On the second floor is this fascinating museum that spans several former guest rooms and includes old photos, furniture, and memorabilia related to the Moran family, the resort's history, and the handsome ships built by Moran and his brothers. A highlight is the music room, which contains an incredible two-story 1913 aeolian pipe organ and an ornate, original Tiffany chandelier. The surrounding grounds make for a lovely stroll, which you might combine with lunch or a cocktail in one of the resort's water-view restaurants.

This point was named for American landscape artist Thomas Moran, who was especially fond of the play of light and shadows from this location. He first visited the canyon with John Wesley Powell in 1873. "Thomas Moran's name, more than any other, with the possible exception of Major Powell's, is to be associated with the Grand Canyon," wrote noted canyon photographer Ellsworth Kolb. It's fitting that Moran Point is a favorite spot of photographers and painters.

On the grounds of the Fonthill estate, the tile works still produces Arts and Crafts–style tiles from Mercer's designs. These tiles adorn such well-known structures as Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, as well as many of the homes and sidewalks of Doylestown. The late author and Bucks County resident James Michener described them as follows: "Using scenes from the Bible, mythology, and history, Henry Chapman Mercer produced wonderfully archaic tiles about 12 or 14 inches square in powerful earth colors that glowed with intensity and unforgettable imagery." You can watch a 17-minute video and take a partially guided tour (every half-hour) past artisans at work in the 1912 factory, which resembles a Spanish mission. You can also purchase tiles at the works.

This 3-acre downtown historic site dating to 1785 includes President Andrew Johnson's birthplace and the Mordecai family's Greek revival plantation home. Moses Mordecai, a well-respected lawyer, married two granddaughters (in succession) of Joel Lane, the "Father of Raleigh." Mordecai's descendants lived in the house until 1964. Exhibits acknowledge the struggle of the enslaved people who once toiled here. There are guided tours hourly from 10 to 3.

The historical figure's name is pronounced MOR-de-key. Using a long "i" will mark you as a newcomer immediately.

The original Apollo astronauts trained here, at one of the largest planetariums in the country. A $9.2-million renovation, completed in 2020, expanded the exhibition areas. You can see planetarium shows, science demonstrations, and interactive STEM exhibits for children and adults.

In Shepherdstown's historic Morgan's Grove neighborhood, this park has been an important meeting space for the local community for centuries, which earned it a place on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. A 20-acre parcel of what was once the local fairground was transformed into a park in 1961, and today the space features a walking path, playground, soccer fields, volleyball court, and covered pavilion, complete with its own kitchen. Community picnics are often held at the park on Labor Day and the Fourth of July.

Settled by homesteaders between 1896 and 1907, this area received its name because many of them were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as Mormons. The remaining barns, homes, and outbuildings are representative of early homesteading in the West. You can wander around, hike the row, and take photographs. The century-old T.A. Moulton Barn is said to be the most-photographed barn in the state.

Shaped somewhat like a morning glory, this pool once was a deep blue, but the color is no longer as striking as before due to tourists dropping coins and other debris into the hole. To reach the pool, follow the boardwalk past Geyser Hill Loop and stately Castle Geyser, which has the biggest cone in Yellowstone. Morning Glory is the inspiration for popular children's author Jan Brett's story Hedgie Blasts Off, in which a hedgehog travels to another planet to unclog a geyser damaged by space tourists' debris.

A 20-minute drive west of Palm Springs, this casino has nearly 4,000 slot machines, high-limit gaming, big-money tournaments, table games, a poker room, and some fast-casual dining options. It sits on 44 acres alongside a 308-room luxury resort, a pool with sandy beach and lazy river, a full-service spa and salon, a coffee shop, Cielo restaurant, 12,000 square feet of meeting space, and a state-of-the-art venue that draw big names in music and comedy.

A 2½-mile hike (one-way) leads to the lovely cascades of Morrell Falls. It is actually a series of falls, with the longest about a 100-foot drop. This is a moderately difficult family hike, perfect for a picnic, and often used by bicyclists and horse riders. Maps and travel information are available at the Seeley Lake Ranger District office. Don't forget your bear spray.

One of the country's best arboretums, more than 3,500 trees and shrubs from around the world inhabit this 92-acre arboretum that's based on Victorian-era garden and landscape design, with romantic winding paths, a hidden grotto, a fernery, a koi pond, and natural woodland. The highlights are the spectacular rose garden, the swan pond, and \"Out on a Limb,\" a 50-foot-high canopy where you can commune with the birds—and gleeful children. Large modern sculptures, some of which are spectacular, are sprinkled throughout the property, with outdoor sculptural exhibits during the year such as October's Scarecrow Walk. Twice annually, the popular Garden Railway exhibit features an elaborate model railroad surrounded by miniature replicas of historic Philadelphia landmarks. You'll want to drive, as the entrance is a good hike from the top of Chestnut Hill. Various tours, workshops, and events are happening year-round.

This is a splendid collection of Southern art, from early landscapes, antebellum portraits, and the Civil War period through neo-impressionism and modern contemporary art. The first institution dedicated to Southern art and artists, the museum also holds up to 10 special exhibitions each year bringing important, though sometimes little-known, artists to the forefront.

During the Revolutionary War, General Washington used this wooden, pillared, 8,500-square-foot house (1765) as his headquarters, and when he visited as president in 1790, he brought along John Quincy Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton. Inside, rooms are furnished with period decorations; upstairs, keep an eye out for the hand-painted wallpaper (original to the house) and a "commode chair," stuck in a corner of the dressing room. Outside, behind the house, is a Colonial-era marker that says it's 11 miles to New York—a reminder of what a small sliver of Manhattan the city was at that time. West of the house is the block-long Sylvan Terrace, a row of crisp two-story clapboard houses built in 1882.

Manhattan's oldest surviving house was built in 1765 for the Morris family, on the ancestral homeland of the Lenape people, and if walls could talk, this house would have stories. In fact, it has songs: Lin Manuel-Miranda composed part of Hamilton here. This National Historic Landmark once served as headquarters to General George Washington and then the British military and Hessian troops during the American Revolutionary War. It survived the Battle of Harlem Heights in 1776 and a few months later, its barn held American prisoners after the Battle of Fort Washington. At war's end, the house was confiscated, and for a while it lived a life as a tavern and rest stop for travelers. In the early 1800s, the house was owned by wealthy French merchant Stephen Jumel, who spent time restoring the house while living out of wedlock for several years before marrying a woman of no station who spent a lot of money trying to be accepted by New York society. The home welcomed such notable figures as Louis Philippe (King of France), Joseph Bonaparte (elder brother of Napoléon Bonaparte), and Henry Clay. When Jumel died and left everything to his wife, she married Aaron Burr. Yes, that Aaron Burr. She divorced him after four months after he made a dent in her bank account. Today the house is a museum with eight period rooms on display, fine furnishings and portraits, beautiful architecture, and all those stories to tell.  Call ahead to confirm access while the building undergoes exterior restoration work and accessibility upgrades throughout 2025 and 2026.

At this tiny but fascinating museum in a parking lot across from the harbor you can learn about Morro Bay's colorful maritime history, dating back thousands of years to the indigenous peoples that fished along the coast. Displays include a tule boat constructed by Salinan tribal members, explorers and traders, commercial fishing, abalone diving, and recreational sailing and boating. If the museum is closed, you can still check out the outdoor exhibits, including a tugboat that rescued sailors from a sinking oil tanker torpedoed by the Japanese during World War II.

The museum's entertaining interactive exhibits explain the natural environment and how to preserve it—in the bay and estuary and on the rest of the planet. Kids age 17 and under are admitted free.