Top Things to Do and See in the United States

Few countries pack in as much variety as the United States: world-class cities, desert canyons, geysers, granite valleys and music scenes that shaped popular culture. These ten experiences are grouped by region so you can fit them into a realistic route.

New York and Washington, D.C.

• Manhattan's icons: take the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, stroll the High Line, and see Times Square after dark. An observation deck at sunset gives the classic skyline view.
• The National Mall: walk from the Capitol past the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial, then spend time in the Smithsonian museums, covering everything from air and space to natural history.

The Southwest: canyons and desert

• Grand Canyon: most visitors head to the South Rim, which is open all year and has the classic viewpoints and a paved rim trail. Try to catch one sunrise or sunset over the canyon.
• Las Vegas and beyond: the Strip is a spectacle at night, and the city is a handy base for day trips to the Hoover Dam or longer drives to Zion National Park in Utah.
• Southern Utah and Monument Valley: red sandstone buttes, natural arches and slot canyons make the drive through Arches, Bryce Canyon and Monument Valley one of the most photogenic road trips anywhere.

California: coast and mountains

• Yosemite: granite walls like El Capitan and Half Dome rise above a green valley, and the waterfalls are at their fullest in spring and early summer.
• Big Sur and the Pacific Coast Highway: the stretch of Highway 1 between Monterey and San Luis Obispo is one of the world's great coastal drives. Landslides sometimes close sections of the road, so check its status before you set off.

The Rockies: Yellowstone and Grand Teton

• Yellowstone: the first national park in the world has Old Faithful, the rainbow-colored Grand Prismatic Spring and herds of bison roaming the valleys. Many of its roads close to regular traffic in winter, so most people visit between late spring and early fall.

Grand Teton National Park sits just south, with jagged peaks rising above lakes and meadows; the two parks combine easily in one trip of four or five days.

The South: music and Florida

• Nashville and Memphis: catch live country music in the honky-tonks of Nashville's Lower Broadway and visit the Country Music Hall of Fame, then drive to Memphis for blues on Beale Street and Elvis Presley's Graceland.
• Florida: glide through the Everglades on an airboat, watch for alligators and wading birds, and pair it with Orlando's theme parks or the Kennedy Space Center on the Space Coast.

Booking tips

• Some popular national parks have used timed-entry or vehicle reservation systems in peak season, so check the park's official website before you travel.
• Lodges inside parks such as Yellowstone, Yosemite and the Grand Canyon book up many months ahead; gateway towns just outside are the backup.
• An annual national parks pass can pay off if you're visiting several parks on one trip.
• Book Statue of Liberty ferry tickets, Broadway shows and theme park days in advance through official sellers.
• Build in realistic driving times: distances between Western parks are long, and phone signal can vanish for hours between towns.

Stay connected in the United States

Timed-entry passes, ferry tickets and park alerts increasingly live on your phone, and a mobile connection helps you find the next viewpoint or check whether a road has reopened. A HelloSIM eSIM is data-only and prepaid: install it at home over Wi-Fi, and it connects once you land in the US. Download offline maps before heading into remote parks, where signal can drop.