Our list of must-see American landmarks includes natural wonders, architectural feats and locations that played host to events that changed the country forever. These landmarks and monuments are a testament to America’s history and culture. How many have you visited?
- The Alamo, San Antonio, Texas: Built as a Spanish mission in the early 1700s, The Alamo was used by various armies as an outpost during Mexico’s fight for independence from Spain and the Texas Revolution.
- Alcatraz Island, San Francisco, California: This island in the San Francisco Bay is more than just a former federal penitentiary. It was also used as a fortress during the Civil War, is considered the birthplace of the American Indian Red Power movement and is home to the first West Coast lighthouse.
- Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina: Just one of the stunning Vanderbilt homes along the east coast open to the public, the French Renaissance chateau that is the Biltmore Estate is perhaps the most impressive.
- Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado: This network of sandstone homes built into the cliffs of Colorado’s San Juan Mountains was inhabited during the 1200s by Ancestral Puebloans.
- Cloud Gate, Chicago, Illinois: You can’t go to Chicago without visiting Cloud Gate, an iconic American landmark affectionately referred to as “The Bean.”
- Delicate Arch, Arches National Park, Utah: Just a three-mile roundtrip hike gets you to the foot of this incredible geologic landmark, which is just one of the more than 2,000 arches formed from Entrada Sandstone throughout the national park.
- Denali, Denali National Park & Preserve, Alaska: Denali towers over the national park as North America’s tallest mountain. It’s surrounded by six million acres of parklands, which include glaciers, hiking trails and wildlife-filled backcountry.
- Grand Central Terminal, New York City, New York: Grand Central was built in 1913 and the beautiful building has been bustling with commuters ever since.
- Hearst Castle, San Simeon, California: Formally known as Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument, this private estate built for William Randolph Hearst in the mid-1900s is now open to the public as a California state park.
- Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Philadelphia is home to many American landmarks. One of the most notable is Independence Hall; both the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution were signed in the building’s Assembly Room.
- Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, Hawaii: Galleries, documentaries, monuments and the USS Arizona Memorial help tell the story of the 1947 attack here.
- Taos Pueblo, New Mexico: At the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountain range sits Taos Pueblo, a 1000-year-old village inhabited by native people. The village was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1992.
