Best Historic Sites & Landmarks in the USA
22 historic sites & landmarks • Updated August 2026
The best historic sites & landmarks in the USA for a family day out. We have rounded up 22 historic sites & landmarks, from Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island (via Statue City Cruises) to family favorites across New York, ranked by what actually matters with kids: age suitability, ticket value and how easy they are to get to. Compare the top five below, then browse every historic sites & landmark by state. Need a different angle? Try our other things to do in the USA.
Editorial oversight by James Morgan. AI-assisted, human-edited. Our editorial standards
Historic Sites & Landmarks in the USA: what to expect
the USA has 22 historic sites & landmarks we would happily take our own kids to. 360 Chicago Observation Deck is the one most families start with. Ride the TILT and lean out over the Magnificent Mile from 1,030 feet up, where Chicago and Lake Michigan stretch out in every direction. Alcatraz Island (Pier 33 Alcatraz Landing) is the other name that comes up again and again. Board a ferry across the bay to walk the cell blocks of America's most infamous federal prison, perched on a windswept island. AT&T Stadium Tours rounds out the pick of the bunch. Step onto the field, into the Cowboys' locker room, and face to face with a hologram of Jerry Jones at this colossal stadium. Also worth your time: Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, Roaring Camp Railroads and Skydeck Chicago.
Published prices run from $15 at Bartow‚ Pell Mansion Museum up to $87 at Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island (via Statue City Cruises). 9 of the 22 listed here quote a starting price. The others vary by season or by what you add on, so check before you travel.
The historic sites & landmarks on this page are spread across New York (7), Texas (5), Illinois (4) and California (3), so it is easy to pair two into one trip.
All historic sites & landmarks
22 historic sites & landmarks across the USA
Historic Sites
Alcatraz Island (Pier 33 Alcatraz Landing)
San Francisco, California
Board a ferry across the bay to walk the cell blocks of America's most infamous federal prison, perched on a windswept island.
Historic Sites
Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site
Collinsville, Illinois
Walk among 72 earthen mounds of a pre-Columbian city that once rivaled London in size.
Historic Sites
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park
San Diego, California
Walk through five original adobe buildings and living-history demos in San Diego's birthplace.
Historic Sites
Roaring Camp Railroads
Felton, California
Ride 1890s narrow-gauge steam trains through towering redwoods to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk.
Historic Sites
Skydeck Chicago
Chicago, Illinois
Step onto a glass ledge 1,353 feet up for America's highest view of Chicago.
Historic Sites
Empire State Building Observatory
Manhattan, New York
Step onto an open-air deck 86 floors up for 360-degree views stretching as far as 80 miles.
Historic Sites
Top of the Rock Observation Deck
Manhattan, New York
Three levels of Rockefeller Center decks frame the Empire State Building and Central Park.
Historic Sites
Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island (via Statue City Cruises)
Manhattan, New York
Ferry across New York Harbor to two monuments that define American freedom and immigration.
Historic Sites
Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse
Ponce Inlet, Florida
Climb a 135-year-old lighthouse for sweeping views of Florida's coast.
Historic Sites
Waco Mammoth National Monument
Waco, Texas
See Ice Age mammoth fossils resting where they fell at this one-of-a-kind Texas dig site.
Historic Sites
Vizcaya Museum and Gardens
Miami, Florida
Tour a Gilded Age bayfront villa and its Italian-inspired gardens in Miami.
Historic Sites
Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District
Fort Worth, Texas
Watch real longhorns clatter down the street in the world's only twice-daily cattle drive.
Historic Sites
360 Chicago Observation Deck
Chicago, Illinois
Ride the TILT and lean out over the Magnificent Mile from 1,030 feet up, where Chicago and Lake Michigan stretch out in every direction.
Historic Sites
Flushing Meadows‚ Corona Park & Unisphere
Queens, New York
Picnic in the shadow of the Unisphere, the giant steel globe left behind by two World's Fairs in Queens.
Historic Sites
AT&T Stadium Tours
Arlington, Texas
Step onto the field, into the Cowboys' locker room, and face to face with a hologram of Jerry Jones at this colossal stadium.
Historic Sites
Castillo de San Marcos
St Augustine, Florida
Explore a 17th-century Spanish stone fort that has guarded St. Augustine for over 450 years.
Historic Sites
Bartow‚ Pell Mansion Museum
The Bronx, New York
Tour a 19th-century mansion and its gardens set within New York City's largest public park.
Historic Sites
Lincoln Home National Historic Site
Springfield, Illinois
Tour the only home Abraham Lincoln ever owned, in its preserved Springfield neighborhood.
Historic Sites
The Alamo
San Antonio, Texas
Stand at the San Antonio mission that became the heart of the Texas Revolution.
Historic Sites
Van Cortlandt Park & Museum
The Bronx, New York
Step inside the oldest house in the Bronx and the layered history of an 18th-century estate.
Historic Sites
One World Observatory
Manhattan, New York
Ride a Sky Pod elevator to the top of One World Trade Center for sweeping views of the city.
Historic Sites
Reunion Tower GeO-Deck
Dallas, Texas
Take in Dallas from 470 feet up, by day or night, with AR-guided views.