10457 Best Sights in USA

UConn's large, sprawling main campus offers lots for visitors to see and do. The William Benton Museum of Art's permanent collection includes centuries-old European and American paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, and sculptures, and the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts presents a series of 25--30 music, dance, and theater programs during the academic year. The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry has more than 2,500 puppets on display (UConn is one of two colleges in the country that offer a puppetry degree); and, depending on the season, you might catch a Connecticut Huskies football game at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, or watch the amazing national championship-winning men's and women's basketball teams play at home in Storrs.

Athens has several splendid Greek revival buildings, including two on campus: the university chapel, built in 1832, just off North Herty Drive, and the university president's house that was built in the late 1850s. Easiest access to the campus in downtown Athens is off Broad Street onto either Jackson or Thomas Street, both of which run through the heart of the university. Maps are available at the visitor center in the Four Towers Building on College Station Road.

On campus are two art galleries: the Ridderhof Martin Gallery, which hosts art exhibitions from various cultures and historical periods, and the duPont Gallery in Melchers Hall, which houses paintings, drawing, sculpture, photography, ceramics, and textiles, by art faculty, students, and contemporary artists. Free parking is available for visitors in the lot at the corner of College Avenue at Thornton Street.

One of the largest campuses in the country, the University of Maryland at College Park has an enrollment of about 37,000. The College Park campus began as an agricultural college in 1856, and became part of the University of Maryland in 1920. The university's athletic teams (the Terrapins) participate in the highly competitive Atlantic Coast Conference and draw large crowds to Byrd Stadium and the 17,950-seat Comcast Center. In Turner Hall, visitor-center staff provide information about the university and maps for getting around the sprawling campus of 1,200 acres and 270 buildings. At the dairy, ice cream made from campus cows' milk is available by the cone or carton.

Franklin Street runs along the northern edge of the campus, which is filled with oak-shaded courtyards, stately old buildings, and tucked-away gems like the mystical Forest Theatre and the gorgeous Coker Arboretum. Regarded as one of the top public institutions in the United States, UNC–Chapel Hill is also one of the country's oldest public universities and was the first to admit students in 1795. To this day, it remains the very heart of Chapel Hill, which has grown up around it for more than two centuries.

The true heart of Eugene lies southeast of the city center at its university. Several fine old buildings can be seen on the 250-acre campus; Deady Hall, built in 1876, is the oldest. More than 400 varieties of trees grace the bucolic grounds, along with outdoor sculptures that include The Pioneer and The Pioneer Mother. The two bronze figures by Alexander Phimster Proctor were dedicated to the men and women who settled the Oregon Territory and less than a generation later founded the university.

A highlight of this sprawling university is its original campus, founded in 1801. Stroll the historic buildings and gardens of the Horseshoe, or dive into the special collections at the South Caroliniana Library, built in 1840 as the first stand-alone college library in the nation. The McKissick Museum on campus features exhibits on geology, gemstones, and local folklife.

Crowning the hilltop above Burlington is the University of Vermont, known as UVM for the abbreviation of its Latin name, Universitas Viridis Montis, meaning the University of the Green Mountains. With more than 12,000 students, this is the state's principal institution of higher learning. The most architecturally impressive buildings face the main campus green and have gorgeous lake views, as does the statue of founder Ira Allen, Ethan's brother.

The Morgan horse, Vermont's official state animal, has an even temper, high stamina, and slightly truncated legs in proportion to its body. This farm, about 2½ miles west of Middlebury, is a breeding and training center where in summer you can tour the stables and paddocks.

The University of Virginia is simply called "The University" by many associated with it, annoying its rivals. Unquestionably, though, it is one of the nation's most notable public universities, founded and designed by 76-year-old Thomas Jefferson, who called himself the university's father in his own epitaph. Even if you're not an architecture or history buff, the green terraced expanse called The Lawn, surrounded by redbrick columned buildings, is astounding. The Rotunda is a half-scale replica of Rome's Pantheon, suggesting Jefferson's Monticello and the U.S. Capitol. Behind the Pavilions, where senior faculty live, serpentine walls surround small, flowering gardens. Edgar Allan Poe's room—where he spent one year as a student until debt forced him to leave—is preserved on the West Range at No. 13. Campus tours (daily at 10, 11, 2, 3, and 4 pm) begin indoors in the Rotunda, whose entrance is on the Lawn side, lower level.

The flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin system enrolls around 40,000 students, making it the state's largest campus. Catering to visitors as well as students, the Memorial Union's setting along Lake Monona is a crowded scene on Friday and Saturday nights during summer, with live-music concerts and local craft beer on tap. Babcock Ice Cream's indulgent scoops are made daily at the campus's Babcock Dairy plant. More than 1,200 acres of natural plant and animal communities—such as prairie and forest landscapes, and horticultural collections of the Upper Midwest—reside at the University Arboretum. There are hiking trails, and free walks take place on Sunday (call for details).

The Anthropology Museum at the university takes visitors on a journey through human evolution, starting in Africa millions of years ago. Part of the museum also celebrates hunter-gatherer societies throughout world history.

Among the artworks displayed in the campus art museum are paintings, sculpture, photography, and folk art from America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Kids especially enjoy looking at the butterflies, mosquitoes, and other crawling and flying critters at the Insect Gallery at UW. The collection includes preserved insects, as well as a small zoo of live ones.

Zinfandels and wines from sometimes obscure Rhône and Italian grapes draw a loyal following to the fun casual winery of George Unti and his sociable son Mick. Hosts pour wine in or outside a rustic-not-trying-to-be-chic tasting room. The Rhône reds, particularly two Syrahs and Cuvée Foudre (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre), tend to garner more critical notice than the Italians—Aglianico, Barbera, Montepulciano, Sangiovese, and several blends—but all are well made. Reservations are recommended for weekends.

This contemporary timber-frame winery and tasting room on a sunny slope at the south end of Benton City is the brainchild of Chris Upchurch, founding winemaker of acclaimed DeLille Cellars and one of Washington's pioneers in aging wines in concrete tanks, a practice with Roman roots. Focused on sustainable vineyard management, his winery produces a short but critically acclaimed list of mostly Bordeaux-style wines.

This Smithsonian-affiliated museum gives a visual portrait of the history of the 15 counties of the South Carolina Upstate, including life-size dioramas. There are two floors of interactive displays and a small theater where special programs are regularly presented.

One of the most notable things about this popular beach is the series of large objects that look like yellow school buses buried in the sand. These are actually designed to stabilize the shoreline (this beach is known for rapid erosion). The structures, called T-groins, may not please the eye, but that doesn't keep locals from flocking here. Upham is a wide beach with tons of natural landscaping, and it's near Postcard Inn and the TradeWinds. There's a snack bar that slings burgers and beer at its north end. Amenities: food and drink; showers; toilets. Best for: partiers; sunset; swimming; walking.

The two spacious buildings here, at the head of the North East River, preserve the rich heritage of both the commercial and recreational hunter. This unusual museum houses an extensive collection of boating, fishing, and hunting artifacts native to the Upper Chesapeake Bay: sleek sculling oars, rare working decoys, and the outlawed "punt" gun and "gunning" rigs.

The first ¾-mile of this 4.3-mile round-trip trail takes you along a nature trail. It then loops around the pockmarked lower-badlands coulees. There's a slow incline that takes you up 300 feet to a grassy butte and then along a ridgeline affording fantastic views. Portions of the trail are slippery. Moderate–Difficult.

There is a handful of places here where you can sit down for a bite and a breather. A group picnic site requires advance reservations, but areas near the host site and amphitheater are first come, first served. Water is available.

This was one of the first of the Upper Keys to be permanently settled. Early homesteaders were so successful at growing pineapples in the rocky soil that, at one time, the island yielded the country's largest annual crop. However, foreign competition and the hurricane of 1935 killed the industry. Today, life centers on fishing and tourism, and the island is filled with everything from bait shops and charter boats to eclectic galleries and fusion restaurants.

In 1805–06 Lewis and Clark explored the upper Missouri River and camped on its banks. Today the stretch designated the Upper Missouri National Wild and Scenic River runs 149 miles downriver from Fort Benton. Highlights include the scenic White Cliffs area, Citadel Rock, Hole in the Wall, Lewis and Clark Camp at Slaughter River, abandoned homesteads, and abundant wildlife. Commercial boat tours, shuttle service, and boat rentals—including rowboats, powerboats, and canoes—are available in Fort Benton and Virgelle. Be aware of seasonal restrictions that prohibit motorized boats and limit campsites on the river.

A pair of 1909 sandstone buildings in the town of Harlowton, 25 miles southwest of the mountains, house the Upper Musselshell Museum. The collection primarily contains artifacts of the people who lived in, worked, and developed the land around the Upper Musselshell River. There are also fossils of bison and dinosaurs (including a full-size reproduction of "Ava," from the recently discovered species Avaceratops). The museum is one of the 15 stops on the Montana Dinosaur Trail.

If you are driving the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway, this is a good place to stop en route to Mirror Lake, near mile marker 24, where you can stroll the boardwalk to the terraced falls cascading with clear mountain water.

The one-room Uptown Theatre is the place to catch independent and foreign-language films.

Uptown and KONO (Koreatown/Northgate) is where nightlife and cutting-edge art merge. Dozens of galleries cluster around Telegraph Avenue and north of Grand Avenue into KONO, exhibiting everything from photography and installations to glasswork and fiber arts. The first Friday of each month, thousands of people descend for Art Murmur ( oaklandartmurmur.org), a late-night gallery event that has expanded into First Fridays ( www.oaklandfirstfridays.org), a festival of food trucks, street vendors, and live music along Telegraph Avenue.

Restaurants with a distinctly urban vibe make Uptown/KONO a dining destination every night of the week. Favorites include outstanding cocktails and contemporary Colombian dishes at Parche ( 2295 Broadway); the deservedly world-famous spicy fried chicken sandwiches at World Famous Hotboys ( 1601 San Pablo Ave.); some of the East Bay's top New York–style pizzas at Mama's Boy ( 15 Grand Ave.); the terrific Afro-Caribbean and Jamaican cooking of Calabash ( 2300 Valdez St.); a fantastic burger and cups of soft serve at Lovely's ( 2344 Webster St.); and sushi hand rolls offered by Yonsei Handrolls ( 1738 Telegraph Ave.).

Toss in the bevy of bars and there's plenty within walking distance to keep you busy all evening, such as Drake's Dealership ( 2325 Broadway), with its spacious, hipster-friendly beer garden; excellent cocktails and Japanese whisky paired with a suave setting and hi-fi vinyl soundtrack at Bar Shiru ( 1611Telegraph Ave.); and The Punchdown ( 1737 Telegraph Ave.), a nationally-recognized wine bar and bottle shop.

Summer concerts, yoga, pop-up beer gardens---there's a lot to do on top of the Kendall Center Green Garage. To access the hidden roof garden, use the elevators in the garage and find your way up to the top for a spot of green grass and flowers (and a even a new pickleball court) in the most unlikely place.

Easily the fastest growing brewery in the region, Urban South sells its Holy Roller IPA (a juicy New England–style) and the extremely popular Paradise Park lager (a light beer adored for its colorful can design) all over town. Stop by the large warehouse taproom for more playful and interesting specials, with everything from triple and grapefruit IPAs to Juvie Juice, a hard iced tea collaboration with Rapper Juvenile. Keep an eye out for crawfish pop-ups during spring.