10457 Best Sights in USA

Newport's most romantic mansion was commissioned by Tessie Fair Oelrichs, who inherited a Nevada silver fortune from her father. Stanford White modeled the 1902 palace after the Grand Trianon at Versailles. Rosecliff has a heart-shape staircase and Newport's largest private ballroom. The mansion stayed in the Oelrichs family until 1941, went through several ownership changes, and then was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. J. Edgar Monroe of New Orleans in 1947. The Monroes were known for throwing big parties before donating the mansion to charity in 1971. Scenes from the films The Great Gatsby (1974), True Lies (1994), and Amistad (1997) were shot here. The property underwent renovations in 2023.

The opulent, beautifully restored house at Rosedown dates from 1835. The original owners, Martha and Daniel Turnbull, spent their honeymoon in Europe; Mrs. Turnbull fell in love with the gardens she saw there and had the land at Rosedown laid out to match them as the house was under construction. She spent the rest of her life lovingly maintaining some 28 acres of exquisite formal gardens. The State of Louisiana owns Rosedown, and the beauty of the restored manor, including the furniture (90% of which is original), can be appreciated on an hour-long tour led by park rangers that—while thorough in some respects—mostly glosses over the lives of the enslaved people who lived on the property. Be sure to allow ample time for roaming the grounds after the tour.

This pink board-and-batten Gothic Revival-style house was built in 1846 as a summer home for New York silk merchant, publisher, and abolitionist Henry C. Bowen and his wife, Lucy. The house and outbuildings (including a carriage barn with the nation's oldest indoor bowling alley) hold a prominent place in history, having hosted four U.S. presidents: Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, William Henry Harrison, and William McKinley. The parterre garden features 21 flower beds surrounded by 600 yards of boxwood hedge.

Exquisite maple, oak, and mahogany woodwork gleams throughout this splendid 37-room mansion, with ivory glaze and gold-leaf trim. Marble fireplaces, Tiffany-glass fixtures, and frescoed ceilings complete the opulent look. The top floor—originally servants' quarters—features the odd Andrew McClelland Collection: objects of curiosity this eccentric philanthropist garnered on his worldwide travels, including an Egyptian mummy.

This 1863 three-floor town house and an adjoining building are filled with Persian rugs and 18th-century British, French, and American antiques (plus an entire living room that once belonged to poet Marianne Moore), but the real treasures are the artworks, books, and manuscripts here. Amassed by Philadelphia collectors Philip H. and A. S. W. Rosenbach, the collection includes paintings by Canaletto, Sully, and Lawrence; drawings by Daumier, Fragonard, and Blake; book illustrations ranging from medieval illuminations to the works of Maurice Sendak, author of Where the Wild Things Are; the only known copy of the first issue of Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack; and the library's most famous treasure, the original manuscript of James Joyce's Ulysses. The Rosenbach celebrates \"Bloomsday\" on June 16 with readings from Ulysses by notable Philadelphians. The library has more than 130,000 manuscripts and 30,000 rare books.

This 1895 Queen Anne Victorian is the queen of Heritage Square. Built by a physician who served a brief term as mayor, it's the sole survivor among fewer than two dozen Victorians erected in Phoenix. It was bought and restored by the city in 1974.

Adjacent to the lawns surrounding the Menil complex, this moody octagonal sanctuary designed by Philip Johnson houses 14 Mark Rothko paintings. Outside the ecumenical chapel is Barnett Newman's sculpture Broken Obelisk, symbolizing the life and death of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Sophisticated wines come from Round Pond, but the valley-floor estate also produces premium olive oils, most from olives grown and crushed on the property. Guests participating in the olive oil tasting, held across the street from the winery, pass through the high-tech olive mill and sample the aromatic oils. Hosts at the winery tasting room pour Round Pond's well-rounded red and many other wines. The flagship Estate Cabernet Sauvignon has the structure and heft of classic 1970s Rutherford Cabs but acknowledges 21st-century palates with smoother, if still sturdy, tannins. Tastings are by appointment only. The full Il Pranzo lunch incorporates products made and produce grown on-site.

All the good craft cocktail bars in Maine stock Bimini Gin, the flagship spirit of this distillery located in a 150-year-old textile mill on the Saco River, because of its smooth drinkability. The distilling process achieves this by promoting the juniper berries’ floral and fruity—not its piney—flavors. Sit at the well-designed bar for a gin tasting or cocktail and snacks, or pick up a bottle of house-made spirits to go.

From River Street's main pavilion you can watch a parade of freighters and pug-nosed tugs glide by along the river. River Street is the main venue for several of the city's grandest celebrations, including the First Friday Fireworks. The plaza is named for former Savannah mayor John Rousakis and fills with locals for Savannah's signature St. Patrick's Day festivities and Fourth of July celebration. Rousakis, like greater River Street, is flanked by an abundance of shops and restaurants and draws colorful street entertainers.

At Chinook Pass you can pick up Route 123 and head south to its junction with Stevens Canyon Road. Take this road west to its junction with the Paradise–Nisqually entrance road, which runs west through Longmire and exits the park at Nisqually. The route winds among valley-floor rain forest and uphill slopes; vistas of Puget Sound and the Cascade Range appear at numerous points along the way.

Entering Yosemite National Park via this road, which follows an ultimately curvy course 55 miles from Fresno through the Yosemite gateway towns of Oakhurst and Fish Camp, presents you with an immediate, important choice: turn right to visit the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias 4 miles to the east, or turn left to travel via Wawona to Yosemite Valley, 31 miles away. Try to do both. (You can get by with an hour in Mariposa Grove if you're really pressed for time.)

As you approach the valley, you'll want to pull into the Tunnel View parking lot (it's on the east side of the mile-long tunnel) and marvel at what lies ahead: from left to right, El Capitan, Half Dome, and Bridalveil Fall. From here, the valley is another 5 miles. The drive time on Wawona Road alone is about an hour. Make a full day of it by adding Glacier Point to the itinerary; get there via a 16-mile seasonal road that shoots east from Route 41 and passes the Badger Pass Ski Area.

Built from 1833 through 1837, this series of Greek Revival and Federal row houses along Washington Square North, between University Place and MacDougal Street, once belonged to merchants and bankers, then to writers and artists such as John Dos Passos and Edward Hopper. Many are now owned by NYU and used for housing and offices. Although the facades remain beautifully preserved, the interiors have been drastically altered over the years.

Get a feel for "lifestyles of the rich and famous" at Rowes Wharf, where a six-story arched rotunda frames gorgeous views of Boston Harbor complete with megayachts and a water-set gazebo. Well-heeled patrons stay and dine at Boston Harbor Hotel and its upscale restaurants. During summer months, stop by any weekday night for free live music performances or film screenings, hosted by the hotel.

A ride on the Royal Gorge Route Railroad takes you under the bridge and through one of the most dramatic parts of the canyon. From the Santa Fe depot in Cañon City, the train departs up to four times a day for 1½-to-3-hour rides. The breakfast, lunch, and dinner rides are pleasant, and the food is good, although not exactly "gourmet" as advertised. Ticket options include Coach, Deluxe, and Vista Dome. Coach class does not have tables, and ticket fares do not include the cost of food and beverages available for purchase during the ride. Seasonal rides like the Oktoberfest train and Santa Express offer additional entertainment. Railfans may want to pay an extra fee to ride in the cab with the engineer.

Come here to learn how growers create the perfect cup of Kona coffee through a multilayered process, with coffee cherries getting pulped, sorted, and dried in preparation for roasting, both by hand and with machinery. Take an easy, self-guided tour of this mill by following the descriptive plaques around the property. Then stop off at the coffee center to see coffee-making relics, peruse the gift shop, and watch an informational film. Visitors can also enjoy the beautiful views and stroll through a real lava tube on the grounds.

A center for New York's Arts and Crafts movement at the turn of the 20th century, this 9-building community (it originally held 14 buildings) was once home to as many as 500 craftsmen, aka Roycrofters. The community was founded in 1895 by Elbert Hubbard, who had met William Morris during his travels in England. Existing campus buildings include the Roycroft Inn, the 1902 blacksmith shop and the furniture-making and bookbinding building (both now housing artisan and antiques shops); and the old chapel, now the town hall.

The self-proclaimed home of the world's richest quarter-horse race, has a fabulous mountain vista as the setting for cheering the ponies. On Labor Day the track is the site of the All-American Quarter Horse Futurity, with a total purse of as much as $3 million. Revenues from the Billy the Kid Casino, which has some 300 slot machines, funds the races. Casino gambling allowed at horse-racing tracks is credited with reviving the sport in New Mexico by attracting quality horses and competition. The casino is decorated with murals suggesting nearby historic Lincoln, where Billy the Kid once hung out. The facility offers year-round, full-card simulcasting from the nation's largest tracks.

Stop by a venerable general store across from the ferry dock that serves excellent fresh seafood.

This colorful, creative aquatic playground gives kids plenty to discover through a wide range of toys and activities that'll keep them busy and entertained. There are shallow wading areas, low-pitched slides (that probably seem stupendously huge from their perspective), spray guns, bubbling geysers, and dump cups. For people with disabilities: Guests in wheelchairs can transfer into the wading areas.

Cascading near Two Medicine, these are actually two different waterfalls from two different sources. In spring, when the water level is high, the upper falls join the lower falls for a 40-foot drop into Two Medicine River; in summer, the upper falls dry up, revealing the lower 20-foot falls that start midway down the precipice.

It's easy to overlook this three-track flume ride hidden on the far red slope of Mt. Gushmore. Yet, if you have the courage to carry your tube all the way up to the top, you'll eventually come upon three twisting, turning, 600-foot-long flumes—even one that's in the dark (keep in mind the tunnel slide is for single riders only, while the open slides are for one- or two-passenger tubes). Once you're in, it's way more fun than scary. Still, guests who are pregnant or who have heart, neck, or back problems should skip it. For people with disabilities: Guests using wheelchairs must transfer to inner tubes. Your water chair will be sent to the bottom of the hill for you. It's worth riding both an open slide and the tunnel slide, but remember that the tunnel slide is only for single riders.

Run by Louisiana State University, the Rural Life Museum is an outdoor teaching and research facility that aims to represent the rural life of early Louisianans. Three major areas—the Barn, the Working Plantation, and Folk Architecture—contain more than 32 rustic 19th-century structures spread over 25 acres. A visitor center adjoins the Barn, which holds a collection that includes old farm tools, quilts, 19th-century horse-drawn carriages, items once belonging to enslaved people, and much more. The plantation section's buildings include a gristmill, a smithy, and several outbuildings. The tranquil Windrush Gardens were created by the late landscape designer Steele Burden, and sometimes hosts special events with food and music.

Stalagmites, stalactites, flowstone, ribbons, columns, helictites, and the "Big Room" are all part of the worthwhile tour into this privately owned cave. In 1876, miners found the opening to the cave while digging a flume into the mountainside to carry water to the gold mines below. The cave was opened to the public in 1927, just before the carving of Mount Rushmore began. The attraction also features the Soaring Eagle Zipride, Rushmore Mountain Coaster, Wingwalker Challenge Course, and other theme-park-style activities.

Beginning and ending in Helen, the Russell-Brasstown Scenic Byway is a 41-mile loop through some of the most dramatic mountain scenery in northeastern Georgia. Start the counterclockwise drive from Route 17/74 north of Helen, turn left on Route 180, left again at Route 348, and another left at Route 75 Alternate back to Helen. The loop passes the Raven Cliff Wilderness, wildlife management areas, the headwaters of the Chattahoochee River, and a section of the Appalachian Trail, and goes near the state parks of Vogel, Unicoi, Smithgall Woods, and Brasstown Bald Mountain.

The Russian–American Company built this registered historic landmark for Bishop Innocent Veniaminov. Completed in 1843 and one of Alaska’s few remaining Russian-built log structures, the house, which faces the harbor, contains exhibits on the history of Russian America. In several places, portions of the structure are peeled away to expose Russian building techniques. The ground level is a free museum. The National Park Service operates the house and rangers lead guided tours of the second floor, which holds the residential quarters and a chapel.

Live music on Fridays and weekends attracts an eclectic clientele to this winery specializing in single-vineyard Russian River Valley Pinot Noirs, but it's worth a stop anytime. In good weather, most guests enjoy tastings under pergolas, shade trees, and umbrellas as woodpeckers pilfer acorns from nearby oaks, caching their booty in the redwood roof of the property's hop-barn-style structure. The countrified setting has been known to induce "couch lock," causing patrons to while away hours sipping wine and nibbling on gourmet food boards, sandwiches, and salads (lunch is served daily). Some folks even settle in with a book, an option that wine service by the glass or bottle makes all the more tempting.

Reflecting a time when the South End was the most prestigious Boston address, this slice of a park is framed by lovely Italianate bowfront houses.

The payoff for hiking to the top of Ryan Mountain is one of Joshua Tree's best panoramas. From here, you can see Mt. San Jacinto, Mt. San Gorgonio, Lost Horse Valley, and the Pinto Basin. You'll need two to three hours to complete the 3-mile out-and-back trail with 1,062 feet of elevation gain. Difficult.