10457 Best Sights in USA

Here you can see many manatees and several species of fish through a floating glass observatory known as the Fish Bowl—except, in this case, the fish are outside the bowl and you are inside it. The park's wildlife walk trails lead you to excellent manatee, alligator, and other animal programs.

Among the species are bobcats, a western cougar, white-tailed deer, a black bear, pelicans, herons, snowy egrets, river otters, whooping cranes, and even a hippopotamus named Lu—a keepsake from the park's days as an exotic-animal attraction. Boat cruises on Pepper Creek lead you to the Homosassa wildlife park, (which takes its name from a Creek word meaning "place where wild peppers grow").

Architect Horace Trumbauer modeled this imposing 48-room French neoclassical home and its grounds after the Château d'Asnières near Paris. The Elms was built in 1901 for Edward Julius Berwind, a coal baron from Philadelphia and New York. It was one of the first Newport mansions to be fully electrified. At the foot of the 10-acre estate is a spectacular sunken garden, marble pavilions, and fountains. The Servant Life tour, which offers a glimpse into the lives of the Elms' staff members and the operation of facilities like the boiler room and kitchen, is one of the best of the mansion tours.

The six large public parks known as Boston's Emerald Necklace stretch 7 miles from the Back Bay Fens to Franklin Park in Dorchester, and include Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Pond, Olmsted Park, and the Riverway. The linear parks, designed by master landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted more than 100 years ago, remain a well-groomed urban masterpiece.

This stunning architectural site and museum, tucked just off Rainey Street overlooking Lady Bird Lake, was closed for two years for a multimillion-dollar renovation that expanded its physical space and scope of programming. Dedicated to celebrating Latino artists and empowering a new generation of Mexican-Americans, the museum boasts a phenomenal education department and offers popular youth and family programs. Live performances and community events are available throughout the year, ranging from flamenco recitals and hillside music concerts to Día de los Muertos celebrations.

Palmer Emmitt and Michael Scorsone operate their boutique winery out of a warehouse-like facility whose garden sits above a sharp Russian River bend. The two make the wines, and guests at tastings meet one or both, learning firsthand how they started their winery “with no investors, consultants, or employees,” no mean feat these days. Cabernet Sauvignon drives the Judge Palmer brand (Emmitt's namesake grandfather was a Gold Country judge), which also produces Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Cabernet Franc. The reds of the Domenica Amato label, named for Scorsone's Sicilian grandmother, include blends, Barbera, and a Grenache that critics consistently praise. The whites come from distinctive Italian grapes like Cortese, Falanghina, and Fiano.  It's okay to bring a picnic; a noted chef pairs the wines with his food on weekends.

Give yourself seven to eight hours to complete this rugged 10½-mile round-trip alpine trek to the park's highest peak, at 7,832 feet. The initial 3½-mile stretch follows the Pinnacles Trail, which eventually leads to the South Rim—a rewarding 12- to 14½-mile round-trip adventure that can be done in a very long full day but is more easily managed with a night of camping. For Emory Peak, you pick up a 1-mile spur that affords some dazzling vistas as it zigzags up to the summit. Note there's a bit of scrambling over rocks the final 25 feet, but the panoramic views are worth the effort. Difficult, 2,470-foot elevation gain.

There is currently no access from Chisos Basin through 2027; you should be able to access Emery Peak via trails outside the basin, such as Juniper Canyon and Blue Creek, but confirm with park rangers before setting out.

Relive the days of gold, grit, and glory, when this mine was one of North America's biggest and most prosperous hard-rock gold mines. The Empire-Star Mine complex yielded an estimated 5.8 million troy ounces of gold from 367 miles of underground passages. You can walk into a mine shaft, peer into dark, deep recesses and almost imagine what it felt like to work this vast operation. The grounds have the Bourn Cottage (exquisite redwood interior; call for tour times), picnic tables, and gentle trails—perfect for a family outing.

Sommeliers and critics extol the Pinot Noirs and Cabernet Sauvignons of Csaba Szakál, En Garde's Hungarian-born winemaker and owner. To create what he describes as “aromatic, complex, lush, and juicy” wines, Szakál selects top Sonoma County vineyards for the Pinots and the Napa Valley's Diamond Mountain, Mt. Veeder, and other high-elevation sites for the Cabernets. The hosts at his highway's-edge tasting room provide a wealth of knowledge about his wine-making goals and methods. If you're lucky, Szakál will be around to discuss his wines (he loves to), which also include Chardonnay, other whites, and rosé of Pinot Noir.

Protruding from the earth in the form of a large pink dome, Enchanted Rock looks like something from another planet. This granite formation rises 1,825 feet—the second-largest in the nation, after Georgia's Stone Mountain—and its bald vastness can be seen from miles away. Today the massive batholith is part of the 624-acre Enchanted Rock State Natural Area and one of the most popular destinations in the Hill Country region. Once considered to have spiritual powers by the Tonkawa tribe, Enchanted Rock is traversed day in and day out by those curious about its mysterious occurrence. The park is perfect for day hikers, most of whom can't wait to scale the summit. The rock also yields a number of faces to test the skills of technical rock climbers, plus there are caves for spelunkers to explore. And even if you're not into rock climbing, the area is a perfect spot for camping, picnicking, and hiking, with 11 miles of hiking trails. Arrive early; once parking lots reach capacity, the area is closed to more visitors to protect the resources. Amenities include restrooms, an interpretative center, and campgrounds.

Though smaller than its neighbor Wynn Las Vegas, Encore pulls together some of the best touches from the sister properties. For that we owe thanks to designer Roger Thomas, who invested in antiques from all over the world to decorate the resort. The other notable design element: sunlight, which streams in through window-lined corridors (a relative rarity in Vegas). Most people come to Encore for the partying, specifically at Encore Beach Club, Encore Beach Club at Night, and XS. The high-tech Awakening show blends myth and magic with deft choreography, and a modest but beautiful shopping strip, the Shops at Encore, features Christian Louboutin, Bruno Cucinelli, and Rene Caovilla.

If you have kids in tow—or if you just love children's book illustrations—"the Carle" is a must-see. This light-filled museum celebrates and preserves not only the works of renowned children's book author Eric Carle, who penned The Very Hungry Caterpillar, but also original picture-book art by Maurice Sendak, William Steig, Chris Van Allsburg, and many others. Puppet shows and storytelling events are among the museum's ongoing programs. Children are invited to create their own works of art in the studio or read classics or discover new authors in the library.

Amusing anecdotes spice up the guided tours of Ernest Hemingway's home, built in 1851 by the town's most successful wrecker. While living here between 1931 and 1942, Hemingway wrote about 70% of his life's work, including classics like For Whom the Bell Tolls. Few of his belongings remain aside from some books, and there's little about his actual work, but photographs help you visualize his day-to-day life. The famous six-toed descendants of Hemingway's cats—many named for actors, artists, authors, and even a hurricane—have free rein of the property. Tours begin every 10 minutes and take 30 minutes; then you're free to explore on your own. Be sure to find out why there is a urinal in the garden!

The founders' appreciation for Burgundian-style food-friendly wines from cool-climate grapes informs the viticulture and wine making of this small winery with a dapper in-town tasting room. The space's muted greens and browns and furnishings inspired by mid-century modern style echo the restraint and balance of the estate Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs from West Sonoma County AVA fruit. Look also for less-seen whites like Aligoté and Petite Arvine and reds like Trousseau. The latter's grapes, from Mendocino County, are picked as soon as their sugar levels begin attracting local bears.  Healdsburg hosts pour wines by the glass, flight, or bottle; flights only are offered at the winery's shared production facility in Windsor.

This excursion offers some of the best views of the Connecticut River Valley from a vintage steam locomotive pulled by 1920s-era coaches and an old-fashioned riverboat. The train, traveling along the Connecticut River through the lower valley, makes a 12-mile round-trip from Essex to Deep River Landing. Before returning by train to Essex, you have the option of boarding the Becky Thatcher riverboat and cruising along the river past Gillette Castle, Goodspeed Opera House, and fascinating deep-water coves and inlets. (The open promenade deck on the boat's third level offers the best views.) The train also hosts themed excursions such as the seasonal North Pole Express (from mid-November until Christmas).

The same West County Goldridge sandy loam soil that produces world-class wine grapes does the same for the 20 apple varieties in this cidery's 3½-acre certified-organic orchard. Topics at tastings include the regenerative farming practices the owners believe yield healthier fruit. The dry (as in not sweet) ciders crafted here might contain the juice of several apple types or only one, with herbs, spices, oak aging, or particular yeasts employed to enhance texture, flavor, and vibrancy. The tank area doubles as the tasting room (reservations recommended); picnic tables are just outside. Ethic also produces two apple brandies and always has a nonalcoholic alternative available.

This modern cidery on the west side of town honors the prolific orchards that have thrived in and around Torrey and Capitol Reef since pioneers began settling here in the late 19th century. And the name honors Etta Place, the storied companion of the Sundance Kid, who holed up with the notorious, though charming, outlaw at his hideout with Butch Cassidy near Torrey. Since planting its first 50 trees in 2012, this boutique cider operation has developed a critical following for its clean and crisp dry, off-dry, and gingered hard ciders. One-hour tours provide an interesting look at the cider-making process and include a tasting; it's recommended that you book online, at least a couple of hours before you arrive. The on-site bottle shop also sells cheeses, meats, and other foods to snack on while you sip.

A mile from downtown Greenville, the 1890s Victorian Eveleth-Crafts-Sheridan Historical House has changed little since the last resident of a prominent Greenville family lived here, though renovations to some rooms over the decades prior reveal evolving 20th-century lifestyle trends, adding interest to the delightfully guided tours. Each year there’s a new changing exhibit within the period rooms. The original kitchen, state of the art back in the day, is a highlight; cooks will also savor the collection of old utensils and kitchen items in a basement gallery. Rare South American oak furniture and wainscoting match in the dining room. You can even check out the attic. In the carriage house, Moosehead Lumbermen's Museum showcases the region's storied logging history. A highlight is the 30-foot bateau used on log drives until the 1960s. Tools of the trade are displayed, from axes and saws to Peavys, a pole with a hook used to move logs downriver. In the barn are exhibits on outdoor subjects like Maine Warden Service flight rescues and wildlife—check out the bobcat, moose, and caribou mounts. On the large grounds, a sunken garden invites.

In a striking, high-ceilinged space, EVOKE ranks among the more diverse contemporary galleries in town. It veers away from the standard Southwestern focus seen in many Santa Fe galleries and more toward modern pieces that evoke (wink, wink) conversation and personal reflection. Single artist and group exhibitions rotate through the schedule, featuring creatives from around the globe. Intriguing lectures on varied topics also draw crowds.

Informal lectures take place on the Zion Human History Museum patio twice a day (10:30 am and 2:30 pm) and daily at 4 pm at Zion Lodge and may cover anything from wildlife and geology to the stories of early settlers. Talks usually last from 20 to 30 minutes, though some run longer.

The tribe operates this enlightening 7,000-square-foot museum, which is set inside a geodesic dome–shape structure that is meant to recall a traditional Navajo hogan. Inside the dome is a vast trove of artifacts, photos, artwork, and memorabilia. One of the more poignant exhibits tells of the infamous "Long Walk" of 1864, when the U.S. military forced the Navajo to leave their native lands and march to an encampment at Fort Sumner, New Mexico, where they were confined for more than four years. Admission also includes entry to the small Navajo Code Talkers Memorial Museum in the back of the Tuba City Trading Post next door. Both facilities are adjacent to the NavajoLand Hotel (formerly the Quality Inn Navajo Nation).

The massive rock formations of Face Rock Wayside, formed only by wind and rain, have names such as Elephant Rock, Table Rock, and Face Rock. To reach them, follow signs from Bandon south along Beach Loop Road; then walk down a stairway to the sand and enjoy the stone sights along this dramatic stretch of beach.

Just 3 miles south of downtown Bellingham and at the beginning of Chuckanut Drive (Highway 11), this bustling historic district was an independent city until 1903 and still retains its distinct identity as an intellectual and artistic center. The beautifully restored 1890s redbrick buildings of the Old Fairhaven District, especially on Harris Avenue between 10th and 12th streets, house restaurants, galleries, and stylish boutiques. The action is centered on Fairhaven Green, the site of festivals, concerts, outdoor movies, and other fun gatherings throughout the year.

About an hour and a half southeast of Pittsburgh is Frank Lloyd Wright's residential masterwork—a stone, concrete, and glass house dramatically cantilevered over a waterfall. In 1936, Edgar J. Kaufmann—who'd made a fortune as owner of Kaufmann's, Pittsburgh's premier department store—hired Wright to design a weekend retreat for his family on a piece of land in Mill Run. Wright's design incorporated much of what was already on the site, including rocks, trees, and a rushing creek. Battles of will between Kaufmann and Wright over the details of the house design became legendary. Wright wanted to cover the concrete parapets of the house with gold leaf; Kaufmann didn't. Kaufmann wanted a swimming pool on one of the balconies; Wright didn't. And so on. Despite their many differences, they produced an amazing house. The only way to see the house is on a guided tour; children under six cannot tour the house. Reservations are essential for the detailed tour.

In this urban outdoor oasis, sloping green hills, giant boulders, and winding walkways offer great views of the Reedy River, but the best views of the waterfalls are along the architecturally ingenious Liberty Bridge. The Peace Center amphitheater hosts moonlight movies, Shakespeare plays, and open-air concerts during the summer.

Faneuil Hall (pronounced Fan-yoo'uhl or Fan-yuhl) was erected in 1742, the gift of wealthy merchant Peter Faneuil, who wanted the hall to serve as both a place for town meetings and a public market. It burned in 1761 and was immediately reconstructed according to the original plan of its designer, the Scottish portrait painter John Smibert (who lies in the Granary Burying Ground). In 1763 the political leader James Otis helped inaugurate the era that culminated in American independence when he dedicated the rebuilt hall to the cause of liberty.

In 1772, Samuel Adams stood here and first suggested that Massachusetts and the other colonies organize a Committee of Correspondence to maintain semiclandestine lines of communication in the face of hardening British repression. In later years the hall again lived up to Otis's dedication when the abolitionists Wendell Phillips and Charles Sumner pleaded for support from its podium. The tradition continues to this day: in presidential-election years the hall is the site of debates between contenders in the Massachusetts primary.

Faneuil Hall was substantially enlarged and remodeled in 1805 according to a Greek Revival design of the noted architect Charles Bulfinch; this is the building you see today. Its purposes remain the same: the balconied Great Hall is available to citizens' groups on presentation of a request signed by a required number of responsible parties; it also plays host to regular concerts.

Inside Faneuil Hall are dozens of paintings of famous Americans, including the mural Webster's Reply to Hayne and Gilbert Stuart's portrait of Washington at Dorchester Heights. Park rangers give informational talks about the history and importance of Faneuil Hall every half hour. There are interactive displays about Boston sights, and National Park Service rangers at the visitor center on the first floor can provide maps and other information.

On the building's top floors are the headquarters and museum and library of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts, which is free to visit (but a donation is welcome). Founded in 1638, it's the oldest militia in the Western Hemisphere, and the third-oldest in the world, after the Swiss Guard and the Honourable Artillery Company of London. The museum is open Wednesday through Friday from 11 am to 3 pm.

When such men as Andrew Jackson and Daniel Webster debated the future of the Republic here, the fragrances of bacon and snuff—sold by merchants in Quincy Market across the road—greeted their noses. Today the aroma of coffee wafts through the hall from a snack bar. The shops at ground level sell New England bric-a-brac. This is Freedom Trail stop 11.

A well-known complex of historical significance, shopping, eating, and street performers, Faneuil Hall Marketplace is a place for all things Boston. Stretching out in front of historical Faneuil Hall, the largest area known as Quincy Market attracts huge crowds of tourists and locals throughout the year. In the early ’70s, demolition was a distinct possibility for the decrepit buildings. Fortunately, with the participation of the Boston Redevelopment Authority, architect Benjamin Thompson planned a renovation of Quincy Market, and the Rouse Corporation of Baltimore undertook its restoration, which was completed in 1976. Try to look beyond the shop windows to the grand design of the market buildings themselves; they represent a vision of the market as urban centerpiece, an idea whose time has certainly come again.

The market consists of three block-long annexes: Quincy Market, North Market, and South Market, each 535 feet long and across a plaza from Faneuil Hall and ending at the horseshoe-shaped building of Marketplace Center Shops. The structures were designed in 1826 by Alexander Parris as part of a public-works project instituted by Boston's second mayor, Josiah Quincy, to alleviate the cramped conditions of Faneuil Hall and clean up the refuse that collected in Town Dock, the pond behind it. The central structure, made of granite, with a Doric colonnade at either end and topped by a classical dome and rotunda, has kept its traditional market-stall layout, but the stalls now purvey international and specialty foods: sushi, frozen yogurt, bagels, calzones, sausage-on-a-stick, Chinese noodles, barbecue, and baklava, plus all the boutique chocolate-chip cookies your heart desires. ArtsBoston's BOSTIX Booth can also be found in the marketplace; stop by for same-day, discounted theater and sight tickets. 

In between Quincy Market and South Market colonnades, be sure to stop and take a seat next to the sculpture of legendary Boston Celtics coach, Red Auerbach, smoking one of his famous stogies.

Along the arcades on either side of the Central Market are mostly kiosk-based vendors selling sweatshirts, photographs of Boston, and arts and crafts—some schlocky, some not—alongside a couple of patioed bars and restaurants, including the new Sam Adams Brewery (perfectly poised within sight of his famous statue). The North and South markets house a mixture of chain stores and specialty boutiques.

Faneuil Hall provides a splash of color; during the winter holidays, trees along the cobblestone walks are strung with thousands of sparkling lights and the interior Quincy Market rotunda is home to a 20-foot Christmas tree. In summer up to 50,000 people a day descend on the market; the outdoor cafés are an excellent spot to watch the hordes if you can find a seat. Year-round the pedestrian walkways draw street performers, and rings of strollers form around magicians and musicians.

Taste, touch, and feel your way through orange and mandarin groves on a guided tour of this 180-acre working citrus farm. Tours last 60 minutes; tractor-pulled wagon tours are also available, as are more expensive walking tours. Kids and adults love the challenge of navigating the nation's only orange-grove maze, answering questions at a series of checkpoints to earn a prize at the end. You must book tours in advance online.

If you're in town on a Wednesday or Saturday, don't miss one of the Southwest's largest and most impressive farmers markets, where some 300 vendors sell produce, handcrafted items, baked goods, and even geodes and fossils along a lively seven-block stretch of the city's lively downtown. Mingle with the locals and enjoy the scene, which is open between 8:30 am and 1 pm.

One of the most highly regarded small museums in the country, the Farnsworth's collection is largely devoted to works by three generations of the famous Wyeth family, who have spent summers on the Maine Coast for a century. N.C. Wyeth was an accomplished illustrator whose works were featured in many turn-of-the-20th-century adventure books; his son Andrew was one of the country's best-known and -loved painters; and Andrew's son Jamie is an accomplished painter in his own right. Galleries in the main building always display some of Andrew Wyeth's works, such as The Patriot, Witchcraft, and Turkey Pond. Across the street, the Wyeth Center, in a former church, exhibits art by Andrew's father and son. The museum's collection also includes works by such lauded Maine-connected artists as Fitz Henry Lane, George Bellows, Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper, Louise Nevelson, and Rockwell Kent. Changing exhibits are shown in the Jamien Morehouse Wing.

The museum also operates two related properties that are currently closed for renovation: the Farnsworth Homestead, home of the museum's original benefactor, and the Olson House, home of Christina Olson, who was depicted in Andrew Wyeth's famous painting Christina's World.