Ramon Bass

The top attractions in Delaware are Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk, Cape Henlopen State Park, Winterthur, Hagley Museum and Library, Nemours Estate, Fort Delaware State Park, Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, the Air Mobility Command Museum, First State National Historical Park and the Delaware Art Museum. Together they cover the Atlantic coast, the du Pont estates of the Brandywine Valley, and the state’s colonial and military history. Delaware is one of the smallest states in the country, so you can see several of these in a single weekend. It also has no sales tax, which helps if your trip includes shopping at the Rehoboth outlets. The ten picks below are grouped by region, followed by a seasonal planning table and two ready-made itineraries, because several of the best sites close for part of the year. At a glance: where each attraction is and when it works best Attraction Region Best for Plan around Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk Beaches (south) Families, food, summer evenings Open year-round; summer is busiest Cape Henlopen State Park Beaches (south) Dunes, WWII history, cycling Lifeguards only in summer season Winterthur Brandywine Valley (north) Gardens, American antiques Closed to the public for part of winter Hagley Museum and Library Brandywine Valley (north) Industrial history, riverside walks Allow 90 minutes to two hours Nemours Estate Brandywine Valley (north) French gardens, mansion tour No food on site Fort Delaware State Park Delaware River (north) Civil War history, bird watching Ferry only, seasonal Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge Central Migrating waterfowl, photography Snow geese peak in late fall and winter Air Mobility Command Museum Central (Dover) Aviation fans, free outing Free admission and parking First State National Historical Park New Castle, Dover, Lewes Colonial and constitutional history Several separate sites Delaware Art Museum Wilmington Art, sculpture garden Good rainy-day option 1. Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk Rehoboth Beach is the state’s best-known resort town, and its wooden boardwalk is the center of it. The boardwalk runs about a mile along the Atlantic, was first built in 1873, and stays open all year. Funland, the family-run amusement park, has been on the boardwalk since 1962, and Dolle’s Candyland has been making its taffy and candy here since 1926. Grotto Pizza and Nicola Pizza are the usual dinner stops, and the Rehoboth Beach Bandstand hosts free summer concerts. Rehoboth is also a good base for the whole coast. Cape Henlopen is a short drive north, and the outlet shopping nearby is tax-free because Delaware charges no sales tax. Two practical notes: parking in town is metered and enforced, and dogs are barred from the beach and boardwalk for part of the summer. Check the town’s current dates before you bring a pet. 2. Cape Henlopen State Park Cape Henlopen is where Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic, and at more than 5,000 acres it is the state’s largest state park. Its beach stretches roughly six miles, and the Great Dune rises almost 80 feet, making it one of the highest points on the coast. Lifeguards patrol the designated swimming beach from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day. The park’s history is as strong as its scenery. The U.S. Army built Fort Miles here in 1941 to guard the entrance to the Delaware River, and Battery 519 now houses the Fort Miles Museum. The historic area was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. William Penn set this land aside as public ground in 1682, and the park itself was dedicated in 1964. Walk the 2.6-mile Walking Dunes Trail, borrow a bike through the Friends of Cape Henlopen program, or camp among the pines. The Cape May-Lewes Ferry terminal is next door if you want to cross to New Jersey. 3. Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library Winterthur (pronounced “winter-tour”) was the country estate of collector Henry Francis du Pont, and it holds nearly 90,000 objects made or used in America between about 1640 and 1860. The collection fills a 175-room house, so you see Federal parlors, Shaker simplicity and an elliptical staircase in one visit. The estate describes itself as the premier museum of American decorative arts, and the claim is hard to argue with. The grounds are equally important. Du Pont designed a 60-acre naturalistic garden, with massed color from early spring through fall, set within a preserve of roughly 1,000 acres of meadow and woodland. Families should look for Enchanted Woods, the children’s garden with fairy-sized houses and hideaways. Winterthur is closed to the public for part of the winter (the 2026 closure ran January 5 to February 27), though members can still walk the grounds. Confirm hours and admission packages on winterthur.org before you go, and plan on half a day. 4. Hagley Museum and Library Hagley is where the du Pont story begins. In 1802, E. I. du Pont founded a gunpowder works on 235 acres beside the Brandywine River, and the site today includes restored mills, a workers’ community, the family’s Eleutherian Mills residence and period gardens. That mix is the point: you see how the factory hands lived as well as the owners. Machinery demonstrations bring the powder yard to life, and the contrast between the workers’ vegetable gardens and the ornamental plantings at the du Pont home tells the social history without a word of signage. Budget at least 90 minutes, and closer to two hours if you want the residence and the mills. The Belin House Cafe on site handles lunch. Hagley pairs naturally with its neighbors. Many visitors do Hagley in the morning and drive a few minutes to Nemours in the afternoon, a combination that covers the du Pont family’s industrial and domestic worlds in one day. 5. Nemours Estate Nemours is the most formal of the Brandywine Valley estates. Alfred I. du Pont built the 77-room mansion for his second wife, Alicia, and it was completed in 1910. The house is furnished with 18th-century pieces and even includes a bowling alley, and guests can move freely between rooms while docents answer questions. The gardens

The best things to do in New York City are riding the free Staten Island Ferry past the Statue of Liberty, seeing the skyline from Top of the Rock or the Empire State Building, walking Central Park, spending an afternoon at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, catching a Broadway show, and strolling the High Line. Group them by neighborhood so you spend your time seeing the city instead of riding the subway between sights. Pick by what you want Most guides give you a flat list of 20 or 25 attractions. That is hard to turn into a plan. Start with your goal, then use the neighborhood sections below to build each day. If you want Start with The classic skyline view Top of the Rock or the Empire State Building Something free Staten Island Ferry, Central Park, the High Line Art Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art A rainy-day plan Museums, Grand Central Terminal, a Broadway matinee History Statue of Liberty, 9/11 Memorial & Museum Nature Central Park, New York Botanical Garden Lower Manhattan: harbor, history and the bridge Lower Manhattan packs the city’s founding story into a small area, so it works well as a half day on foot. The Statue of Liberty is the headline sight, and the National Park Service runs access to it. Tickets to the crown sell out months in advance, so book early if you want to climb. If you only want the view, the Staten Island Ferry gets you a glimpse for nothing (more on that below). rci The 9/11 Memorial & Museum is the city’s most sobering stop. Give it unhurried time and don’t schedule a party-mood activity right after. Walk the Brooklyn Bridge toward Brooklyn for harbor and skyline views, and pair it with a meal in DUMBO or Brooklyn Heights. One World Observatory and Wall Street round out the area for people who like skyscrapers and finance history. Midtown: views, Broadway and the icons Midtown is where first-time visitors spend most of their time. It holds the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Terminal, Times Square and the Theater District. For skyline views, you have two main choices. Top of the Rock sits 70 floors above Rockefeller Center, and it looks onto the Empire State Building as well as Central Park. The Empire State Building gives you the classic, but you can’t see it from its own deck. Many visitors pick one and skip the other. smartertravel Grand Central Terminal is worth a walk through even if you aren’t catching a train. The ceiling and the famous clock are the draw, and entry costs nothing. Times Square is loud and bright, and it works best after dark and in small doses. A Broadway show is the better use of an evening there. Uptown: Central Park and the museums Central Park is the city’s backyard, with lakes, lawns, bridges and paths, and you can explore it on your own or with a guide. Allow at least two hours, and more if you want to row a boat in warm months. The Metropolitan Museum of Art deserves a full afternoon. It holds more than 2 million works spanning 5,000 years, so pick two or three wings rather than trying to see everything. Along the same stretch of Fifth Avenue, Museum Mile adds more options. smartertravel The American Museum of Natural History suits families and anyone who likes dinosaurs and space exhibits. The Museum of Modern Art, in Midtown, is the better pick for modern art. The High Line and the West Side The High Line is a park built on an old elevated railway. It is an easy, flat walk with art, plantings and views over the Meatpacking District and Chelsea. Walk it south to north (or the reverse) in about an hour, then drop down to Chelsea Market for food. It pairs well with the Whitney Museum at the southern end, and it is the easiest “second half of the day” after a morning in Lower Manhattan or Midtown. Free and low-cost things to do New York is expensive, but several of its best experiences cost little or nothing. The Staten Island Ferry is the best deal in the city. It is a free commuter ferry running 24 hours a day between Whitehall Terminal in Lower Manhattan and St. George Terminal on Staten Island, and the crossing takes around 25 minutes in each direction. It passes within sight of the Statue of Liberty. To dodge commuter crowds, ride on a weekday between 9:30 and 11:30 am or after 7 pm. The Better Vacation +2 Other free or nearly free picks: walking Central Park, the High Line, the Brooklyn Bridge, Grand Central Terminal, and the public areas of Rockefeller Center. Check each museum’s own site for current admission rules and any resident or free-hour programs, because policies change. Beyond Manhattan If you have a third or fourth day, leave Manhattan. Coney Island in Brooklyn is the classic seaside amusement stop, best in warm weather. In the Bronx, the Bronx Zoo and the New York Botanical Garden sit close together, and both have indoor exhibits, so cold weather doesn’t rule them out. Baseball fans can catch a game in true New York fashion when the season is on. newyorktheatreguide Brooklyn also rewards a slow neighborhood wander. Treat it as a day on its own rather than squeezing it between Manhattan sights. A sample 3-day plan Day 1, Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. Morning at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, midday ferry past the Statue of Liberty, afternoon walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, dinner in DUMBO. Day 2, Midtown. Morning at Grand Central, then Rockefeller Center and Top of the Rock. Walk to Times Square, then see a Broadway show in the evening. Day 3, Uptown and the West Side. Morning in Central Park, afternoon at the Met, then take the High Line toward sunset. If you have a fourth day, add the Bronx or Coney Island. Book timed tickets

The top 10 attractions in California are the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco, Yosemite National Park, Disneyland Resort, Hollywood and Griffith Park, Big Sur and Highway 1, Lake Tahoe, San Diego’s Balboa Park and Zoo, Death Valley National Park, Joshua Tree National Park, and Sequoia National Park. Together they cover cities, coastline, mountains, desert and theme parks. Most lists stop at ten names. The harder part is that California is huge, so this guide also tells you when to go, how long each stop deserves and which attractions fit into the same trip. Quick Comparison: California’s Top 10 at a Glance # Attraction Region Best for Best time to visit Time to allow 1 Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco Bay Area First-time visitors Late summer to fall 2 to 3 days 2 Yosemite National Park Sierra Nevada Waterfalls, granite walls Spring for falls, summer for high country 2 to 3 days 3 Disneyland Resort Anaheim Families Weekdays outside school holidays 2 to 3 days 4 Hollywood and Griffith Park Los Angeles Film fans, city views Clear days, any season 1 to 2 days 5 Big Sur and Highway 1 Central Coast Scenic drives Spring and fall 1 to 2 days 6 Lake Tahoe Sierra Nevada Lakes in summer, skiing in winter Summer or winter 2 to 4 days 7 San Diego (Balboa Park and Zoo) San Diego Families, museums Year-round 2 to 3 days 8 Death Valley National Park Mojave Desert Extreme landscapes Late fall to early spring 1 to 2 days 9 Joshua Tree National Park Mojave and Colorado Deserts Hiking, stargazing Fall to spring 1 to 2 days 10 Sequoia National Park Southern Sierra Giant trees Late spring to fall 1 to 2 days Seasons are general guidance. Road closures, wildfire smoke and reservation rules change from year to year, so confirm on the official park or attraction site before you book. 1. Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco The Golden Gate Bridge opened in 1937 and remains California’s most recognizable landmark. You can walk or cycle across it, or view it from Battery Spencer, Crissy Field or a bay cruise. Fog is part of the experience, so treat a clear view as a bonus rather than a promise. San Francisco rewards a slower look. Pair the bridge with a cable car ride from Union Square, Fisherman’s Wharf, Alcatraz Island and the Presidio. Alcatraz, the former federal penitentiary, is reached by ferry, and tickets are sold through the official operator, so book ahead rather than turning up on the day. Dress in layers even in summer. The city’s microclimates mean a warm afternoon can turn cold quickly near the water. 2. Yosemite National Park Yosemite is the Sierra Nevada’s headline act: Yosemite Falls, Half Dome, El Capitan, Tunnel View and the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias. Yosemite Falls drops a combined 2,425 feet, which makes it one of the tallest waterfalls in North America. Timing changes everything. Spring snowmelt gives the biggest waterfalls, while some late-summer visitors find the falls reduced to a trickle. High-elevation roads such as Tioga Road close in winter, and the park has used reservation systems at busy times, so check the National Park Service page before planning. Stay inside the park or in a gateway town such as Mariposa or Groveland. Driving in and out from the Central Valley in a single day is tiring and leaves little time at the viewpoints. 3. Disneyland Resort Disneyland Resort in Anaheim is two parks: Disneyland Park, which opened in 1955, and Disney California Adventure. It is the state’s flagship family destination and a major driver of tourism in Orange County. Plan around crowds rather than rides. Weekdays outside holidays are calmer, and the official app lets you check wait times and use paid line-skipping options. Prices and ticket tiers change often, so read the current pricing on the official site instead of relying on an old blog post. If you only have one day, choose a single park and do it well. Two parks in a day is possible, but most first-timers enjoy it more when they split the visit. 4. Hollywood and Griffith Park Hollywood Boulevard, the Walk of Fame and the TCL Chinese Theatre are free to walk, though many visitors find them busier and grittier than expected. Set expectations accordingly and treat it as a quick, iconic stop. The better payoff is Griffith Park. The Hollywood Sign went up in 1923 as an advertisement for a housing development, and the park offers the best legal viewpoints, plus the Griffith Observatory, which is free to enter and has a skyline view of Los Angeles. For something more behind the scenes, Universal Studios Hollywood and the studio tours in Burbank give a closer look at how films are made. Book timed entries in advance for popular tours. 5. Big Sur and Highway 1 Big Sur is a roughly 90-mile stretch of the Central Coast where the Santa Lucia Mountains meet the Pacific. Highlights include Bixby Creek Bridge, McWay Falls at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park and the coves near Pfeiffer Beach. This is a drive, not a destination, so build in extra time for pullouts. Cell service is patchy, fuel is limited and landslides have repeatedly closed sections of Highway 1. Check Caltrans road conditions before you set out, and have a backup route. Combine Big Sur with Monterey, Carmel-by-the-Sea and the 17-Mile Drive for a classic coastal trip that fits neatly between San Francisco and Los Angeles. 6. Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe straddles the California and Nevada border and is the largest alpine lake in North America. It is also among the deepest lakes in the United States, with water famous for its clarity. It works in two seasons. Summer brings swimming, paddleboarding and beaches such as Sand Harbor on the Nevada side and Emerald Bay on the California side. Winter brings ski resorts around Palisades Tahoe, Heavenly and Northstar. Choose a side of the lake and stay put. Driving