This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK).
Point to any part of America’s vast 50-state map and there’s an adventure to be had. Always experimenting, forever innovating — there’s never a dull moment in the US and this year brings a host of new tours, anniversaries, relaunched trains and overlooked regions to explore. From the surf-lashed West Coast to the vast forests of New York State — and all the canyons, vineyards and honky-tonks in between — travellers are guaranteed to find their perfect slice of Americana in this list of experiences for the year ahead.
1. Ride the revived Gulf Coast train
Amtrak’s Southern Gulf coast train is set to become one of the USA’s great rail routes when it reopens in spring 2025, following a 20-year hiatus thanks to the damage wrought by Hurricane Katrina. The train will link the Mardi Gras capital of New Orleans in Louisiana and the waterfront city of Mobile in Alabama. Following the southern US shoreline for most of its three-hour journey, it will pass through Louisiana’s Cajun country — known for its miles of bayous, traditional festivals and hearty gumbos (spicy chicken and seafood soups) — and coastal Mississippi. The latter is a less-visited area with white-sand beaches, fresh crawfish and walkable seaside towns, all easily accessible from stations along the line. The train will run twice a day and will also have a dining car serving Southern food for on-board meals. ES
(After 20 years, Amtrak’s Gulf Coast train line is back—here’s what to expect.)
2. Check out art in Pittsburgh’s POP District
Six blocks in the blue-collar city of Pittsburgh are being transformed into an arts district as a homage to one-time resident Andy Warhol — and the final phase is opening this year. Few know that the 20th-century artist was born in Pittsburgh; his life’s work is documented in the seven-storey Andy Warhol Museum, which provided the impetus for the POP District, its name standing for People of Pittsburgh. In 2025, the final phase will see the opening of the Factory Creative Arts Center, with over 32,000sq ft of interdisciplinary arts space, including a theatre for concerts, screenings and events. LH
Following the Black Heritage Trail, visitors will pass by Acorn Street in Beacon Hill.
Photograph by Susanne Kremer, AWL Images
3. Trace Malcolm X’s legacy in Boston
It’s 100 years since the civil rights activist was born, and starting this May, Malcolm X’s birthday is to become an annual holiday in Boston. Though born in Nebraska in 1925, he lived in the Massachusetts city on and off for 12 years during a pivotal — if controversial — era in the fight for African American rights in the US. The formative years he spent in Boston have left a lasting legacy that can still be seen in the city’s monuments and thriving Black neighbourhoods. Malcolm X lived in Roxbury during his time in Boston, but to learn about the city’s Black history that paved the way for the civil rights movement, travellers can also follow the 1.6-mile Black Heritage Trail through the historic Beacon Hill neighbourhood, home to the Museum of African-American History. Plans are underway to extend the Black Heritage Trail to Roxbury, too. RF
(Follow the civil rights history tour in Boston.)
New York City is resurrecting the Roaring Twenties from art deco classics to clandestine bars that pair cocktails with jazz.
Photograph by George Hammerstein, Getty Images (Top) (Left) and Photograph by Shannon Sturgis (Bottom) (Right)
4. Get in the spirit of Gatsby’s New York
A hundred years after F Scott Fitzgerald’s cult-classic novel The Great Gatsby shone a light on extravagant Long Island mansions and secret speakeasies in New York City, the spirit of the Roaring Twenties is returning to the Big Apple. Take a tour of the city’s hopping jazz joints, art deco temples and ritzy hotels that are channelling this glamorous bygone era; at The Plaza hotel, there’s even a Gatsby-themed suite. And on a trip out to Long Island, travellers will find mansions like Oheka Castle, said to have been one of the main sources of inspiration for Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 movie adaptation of The Great Gatsby; many are now open to the public with museums and fountain-sprinkled gardens to stroll through. ZG
(From extravagant mansions to speakeasies, New York is ready to party, old sport.)
The most spectacular view of White Face Mountain can be caught from Lake Placid in New York state.
Photograph by Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism, Lake Placid NY
5. Return to the wild in the Adirondacks
A 9,375sq-mile patchwork of state-owned and private land, the Adirondack Park, four hours north of New York City, is bigger than Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Glacier and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks combined. Yet, with no gates or fees to enter, it retains a sense of wildness that can feel missing in those other parks. Home to Indigenous groups including the Mohawk and Mahican for millennia, the Adirondacks became more widely known with the 1869 publication of William Henry Harrison Murray’s Adventures in the Wilderness. This influential book encouraged camping for recreation rather than survival and inspired thousands of New Yorkers to ‘vacate’ their apartments and flee to the Adirondacks. The region lost its lustre during the 20th century as international travel became more accessible and the area’s Great Camps fell into disrepair, but today the region’s hiking trails and lakes are experiencing a revival thanks to a local commitment to sustainable tourism. KG
(The birthplace of the American vacation is in the midst of a revival—here’s why.)
New Mexico’s many wine-tasting rooms offer samples from the nearby vineyards.
Photograph by Chris Putnam, Alamy (Top) (Left) and Photograph by Maguey Images, Getty Images (Bottom) (Right)
6. Taste New Mexico’s wine
Framed by the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the north and the Chihuahuan Desert in the south, the US’s fifth-largest state is a land of rolling sand dunes, prehistoric petroglyphs, fairytale caves and dormant volcanoes. Equally as diverse as the topography is the culture, which reflects the history of the Indigenous, Hispanic and Anglo-American peoples who have coexisted in New Mexico for centuries. Winemakers here take great pride in their history, reflected in the cellar door experiences at local vineyards, where travellers can sample wines crafted by Native American, female and Hispanic producers. Very few of New Mexico’s wineries export overseas, meaning they’re little known outside the state – which makes tasting New Mexico’s wines an experience worth travelling for. The southern grape-growing regions of the Middle Rio Grande Valley and Mimbres Valley are home to 85% of the state’s wineries, but one of the most interesting winemaking regions is set around the high-altitude town of Taos in the north. AH
(A guide to the unexpected wine country you need to visit: New Mexico)
Mia Reona is one of the many female rappers creating a new sound based on Nashville’s country music heritage.
Photograph by Diana King (Top) (Left) and Photograph by Diana King (Bottom) (Right)
7. Listen to the new sounds of Nashville
In America’s country music capital, a new generation of trailblazing female rappers is stepping out from the shadows of Nashville’s beloved honky-tonk bars, bringing a different sound to the city’s music venues. While country music made it famous, Nashville has been a nerve centre of America’s music industry since the late 19th century, home to major songwriting publishing houses and recording studios. The National Museum of African American Music, which opened on Nashville’s Broadway in 2021, is an acknowledgement of the city’s rich Black music legacy; local artists like female rappers Sweet Poison and Meme Jenkins are some of this music scene’s pioneers, and travellers can follow in their footsteps on a tour of the city’s alternative side, from a hip-hop-themed pizzeria to vintage fashion stores and music stages hidden above the honky-tonks. ZG
(Meet the female rappers carving out a home in Nashville, America’s Music City)
Chicao celebrates the 250th anniversary of the modern skyscraper this year.
Photograph by Chicago Athletic Association
8. Explore a fresh take on Chicago
New pedestrian tours are offering a glimpse into the usually off-limits interiors of some of the city’s most celebrated buildings. Having launched in time for the 140th anniversary of the Home Insurance Building, the world’s first skyscraper, in 2025, the Inside Chicago team takes travellers on a whirlwind walking tour of the Loop. A visit of this downtown district provides access to five famous spaces that give context to the architectural marvels visitors see on the streets of the city. Stops range from the streamlined and futuristic art deco Chicago Board of Trade building to the postmodern architecture of Federal Plaza. KV
(How to get an insider tour of Chicago and its celebrated architecture.)
9. Find Frank Lloyd Wright in the Hudson Valley
Considered one of America’s greatest architects and a pioneer of 20th-century US modernism, Frank Lloyd Wright’s progressive designs can be seen from Arizona to Pennsylvania. In June last year, a new building opened for private tours on an island in New York State’s Hudson Valley. Although Massaro House on Lake Mahopac was only inspired by Wright’s original drawings, the building features the architect’s signature terraced levels and incorporates the natural surroundings, with a giant boulder doubling as a kitchen and bathroom wall. KV
10. Stay on a sci-fi set
To feel like you’ve wandered onto a film set, book into Outpost X — an architectural oddity in Utah, around 1.5-hour’s drive from Zion National Park. Opened late last year, it’s a wellness resort designed to mimic a dystopian sci-fi fantasy. Upon arrival, guests embark on an extensive onboarding process that immerses them in the post-apocalyptic planet’s history. Guests can stay in cave houses, Viking tents or geodesic domes, and even rent costumes. The off-grid sci-fi vibe is only enhanced by the desert-like Utah setting; there’s a day-pass option, too. KV
11. Catch a glittering new perspective on Times Square
Built as the headquarters of The New York Times, now home to the famous New Year’s Eve glitter ball, the 121-year-old One Times Square building is getting a facelift in 2025. Previously inaccessible to visitors, it will undergo works to become a museum recounting its place in the history of Times Square, complete with a viewing deck overlooking the screen-lit intersection, an augmented-reality entertainment experience and a closer look at the New Year’s Eve Ball. This way, developers aim to bring New Year’s Eve to Times Square every day of the year. It’s hoped the revamped building will be unveiled by summer. KV
The mural at the Little Haiti Culture Complex pays homage to the history of Black lives in the US.
Photograph by Jeffrey Isaac Greenberg, Alamy
12. Unravel Miami’s Black roots
Famed for its glossy bar scene, Hispanic-led culture and Floridian beaches, Miami is a city synonymous with sunshine and parties. Yet beneath this veneer lie a number of historic Black neighbourhoods that have helped shape the city’s soul. For a window into Miami’s origins, take a tour of its thriving communities, from Coconut Grove, a laid-back area on Biscayne Bay, to the 1896-founded Overtown – once dubbed the ‘Harlem of the South’. The latter is home to The Historic Lyric Theater, built in 1913, whose stage was graced by the likes of Josephine Baker and Billie Holiday; it’s now owned by the Black Archives History & Research Foundation of South Florida, and hosts history exhibitions focused on the city’s Black heritage. VD
13. Follow Motown to Detroit
Once nicknamed ‘Motor City’ due to its automotive factories and now in the throes of a cultural renaissance, Michigan’s largest city is also a cornerstone of Black history. Many of the entertainers that passed through the city would have relied on The Negro Motorist Green Book from 1936, advising African American travellers where to safely rest, dine and find entertainment at a time of racial segregation in the US. The city’s Black cultural legacy can be explored at The Motown Museum and at the namesake Charles H Wright Museum of African American History, founded by the pioneering Black Detroit physician. VD
14. Learn about Gullah heritage in South Carolina
The Gullah Geechee people have lived in South Carolina’s Lowcountry and Sea Islands since the 1600s, and their language, cuisine and traditions continue to define the region today. Descendants of enslaved Africans, the Gullah people’s legacy is protected in the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, a 12,000sq-mile federal National Heritage Area where traditional sweetgrass basket-weaving and Lowcountry cuisine keep heritage alive. Two-hour Gullah Heritage Trail Tours are led by descendants of the first Gullah settlers, who guide visitors through their family campgrounds and one-room schoolhouses, sharing their community history. VD
15. Take the Civil Rights Trail in Atlanta
Georgia’s state capital is known as the cradle of the American civil rights movement and a visit to the city is a chance to explore the forces – like political visionary Martin Luther King Jr. – that challenged segregation in the 1950s and 1960s. Visit his birth home before heading to The King Center, where the activist’s gravesite is found and his legacy is honoured. Stop by the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King was a member, before exploring the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. Beyond this, don’t miss the Madame CJ Walker Museum, celebrating America’s first female self-made millionaire. VD
Young generations of Native Americans are proudly tied to the land and heritage of their ancestors.
Photograph by Matt Dutile (Top) (Left) and Photograph by Matt Dutile (Bottom) (Right)
16. Explore America’s Indigenous heart on a Southwest road trip
A new road trip of the Southwest’s Indigenous heartlands offers travellers a greater understanding of the past, present and future of the country’s original inhabitants, who have called these landscapes home for thousands of years. Along the way, culturally sensitive tours with Native American guides explore ancestral towns and villages – such as Zuni Pueblo, the first place Europeans made contact with Native Americans in the Southwest – and ancient valleys like Canyon de Chelly, which sits inside a Navajo reservation that’s been inhabited for almost 5,000 years. It’s an epic journey encompassing parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, where scorched red earth morphs into cactus-studded desert and back again, passing landmarks like Horseshoe Bend and Monument Valley. JV
(Take a road trip through the Indigenous southwest.)
The Cuban sandwich, created with multicultural ingredients, is a classic in Tampa.
Photograph by StockFood
Old cigar warehouses have been turned into bars and restaurants.
Photograph by Zoonar GmbH, Alamy
17. Feast like a Floridian in Tampa
Cuban immigrants laid the foundations for Tampa’s original fusion cuisine. Now a new generation of chefs is taking innovation to the next level, fusing Floridian ingredients with influences from as far afield as Germany and Italy. On a tour of the city’s flourishing food scene, travellers should start in the historic neighbourhood of Ybor City, which in the 1880s and 1890s was part of the cigar-making capital of the world. Today, Ybor’s red-brick factories have been reincarnated as shops and restaurants where the legacy of Tampa’s immigrant communities is alive and well, not least in its food scene. The Cuban sandwich is Tampa’s most renowned speciality, but in other areas of the city including Downtown, Tampa Heights and Hyde Park, contemporary restaurants also lean on the city’s multicultural heritage in new ways. EF
(Discover how waves of immigration have created culinary magic in Tampa.)
18. Eat like a king — at a gas station in Louisiana
This Southern state officially celebrates a Year of Food in 2025. In an homage to the dishes that define Louisiana’s rich and complex food culture, The Louisiana Office of Tourism has conceived eight food trails, which act as roadmaps to the finest regional flavours. The No Man’s Land Gas Station Eats route highlights unexpected Southern hospitality, showing off its Cajun-French specialities. Follow the trail through western Louisiana’s scenic byways to discover Mesoamerican-style tamales in Zwolle and indulgent desserts baked by the Mennonite religious community. The state’s calendar of food festivals showcases everything from shrimp to watermelon via Croatian heritage cuisine. ZG
In Kansas city, Barbacoa expertly mixes Mexican influences with classic American barbecue.
Photograph by Roman Raya
19. Visit the world’s first barbecue museum in Kansas City
Kansas City’s first barbecue restaurant began smoking meats over pits in 1908, and there are now more than 100 barbecue joints in this Midwestern city. It’s built a reputation for its slow-cooked, lean-sliced brisket and burnt ends caramelised over fire, all anointed with a sweet and spicy sauce. So, it’s entirely fitting that Kansas City will house the world’s first Museum of BBQ, opening in March 2025. This hands-on venue will take visitors through ten exhibits of the country’s defining barbecue regions. While there, don’t miss Joe’s Kansas City, housed in a revamped gas station and renowned for fall-off-the bone ribs. ZG
The busy Las Vegas strip is a world-renowned mecca for entertainment and pleasure.
Photograph by Alan Copson, AWL Images
20. Hit the jackpot with a tableside show in Las Vegas
Always synonymous with glamour and spectacle, Sin City is taking its dinner-and-a-show tradition to new heights, with immersive experiences where fine dining and theatre collide at your table. At Papi Steak, 55oz of Wagyu tomahawk emerge from a bejewelled ‘beef case’, ushered in with fog machines and a resident DJ’s thumping beats for the princely sum of $1,000 (£795). Over at Superfrico restaurant, meals are accompanied by performances from the Spiegelworld circus troupe, including pirouetting acrobats in hot-pink wigs and a beatboxing clown. Extra culinary magic is conjured tableside, as chefs transform curds into gleaming mozzarella spheres. ZG
21. Tuck into Santa Fe’s Indigenous food truck scene
In New Mexico’s capital Santa Fe, a new generation of Indigenous chefs has embraced Native American cuisine delivered in food trucks. The owners of Good as Feast are of Picuris and Cochiti Pueblo heritage and are renowned for their classic Pueblo taco piled high on crispy fry bread. Meanwhile, chef Raymond Naranjo’s Manko food truck pulls up curb-side across the state. His menu of Native American fusion food is inspired by both ancient Pueblo trade routes and his grandmother’s treasured recipes. The Santa Fe School of Cooking offers a more interactive deep dive into Indigenous culinary traditions with three-hour workshops. ZG
Alaska’s natural beauty is marked by its diverse landscapes, from the Prince William glacier to lush forests.
Photograph by Marisa Marulli
22. Reach the end of the road in Alaska
Often described as the US’s final frontier, travelling in Alaska can feel like jumping through a wormhole. Time here is marked not by the clock, but by the changing of the seasons. Though cruising is a popular way to explore, travelling by land allows more exposure to the wild landscapes of south-central Alaska. From the glaciers of Prince William Sound, where residents offer boat trips through scenic passages, to close hiking encounters with grizzly bears in Lake Clark National Park, and epic, cloud-shrouded mountain exploration in Denali National Park, this remote state offers many incredible experiences. Only 20% of Alaska is accessible by road, yet visitors keep finding ways to explore further. MM
(In pictures: overlanding in Alaska, where glaciers meet bear country)
Lake Clark National Park is a rare place where travellers can get relatively close to grizzlies in the wild.
Photograph by Marisa Marulli (Top) (Left) and Photograph by Marisa Marulli (Bottom) (Right)
23. Raise a glass in Fishtown
Originally settled by fishermen, this ex-industrial neighbourhood is now one of Philadelphia’s best days out. Many come to Fishtown solely for the restaurants — try Suraya for contemporary Lebanese in a garden, Picnic for happy-hour oysters or Bastia for dinner. Traditional pubs, breweries and cocktail dens are all found in the city’s narrow streets, while thrift stores, book shops and specialist outlets are what Fishtown excels at. Try Philadelphia Record Exchange, a mainstay since 1985, for everything from folk, soul and gospel to R&B and rock, and round out the night at Johnny Brenda’s for pool and indie bands. PR
(Read the full guide: how to spend the perfect day in Philadelphia’s Fishtown.)
Palouse Falls is along one of the US’s longest stretches of rail-road conversion.
Photograph by Edmund Lowe
24. Ride into the West
Running from Washington State to Washington, DC, the 3,700-mile Great American Rail-Trail moves from Pacific waves and old-growth forests at its western end to the White House and the Capitol in the east. This east-west spine is made up of abandoned rail corridors that morph into urban greenways, national parks, forested canyons and prairie lands. Due for completion in 2028, the rail-trail is still a work in progress, however, with its varied terrain, Washington offers an epic taster. Start with natural highs along the Olympic Discovery Trail, before entering Seattle on the 20-mile Burke-Gilman Trail. The Great American Rail-Trail then passes through Snoqualmie Valley before reaching the Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail. MM
From Trixie Motel to Drag Queen brunches, Palm Springs hosts a plethora of LGBTQ+ friendly entertainment.
Photograph by Yasara Gunawardena (Top) (Left) and Photograph by Yasara Gunawardena (Bottom) (Right)
25. Party in Palm Springs
This liberal, Californian desert town has a reputation as one of America’s greatest LGBTQ+ destinations – which has been further cemented by the recent opening of Trixie Motel, a 1950s-style high-camp wonderland launched by drag queen and former RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant, Trixie Mattel. Just two hours from Los Angeles, the city has cultivated a spirit of freedom and acceptance since the 1920s, when it became a hang-out for Hollywood stars. Travellers today come for decadent drag brunches, kitsch pool parties, retro-fabulous interiors stores and bars that riff on old Hollywood legends and gay icons who have loved the city. Palm Springs is also home to the annual ‘lesbian spring break’, Club Skirts Dinah Shore Weekend – the world’s largest queer women and non-binary festival, which has been welcoming all comers to Palm Springs for more than a century. ZG
(Party goes on: your guide to America’s greatest LGBTQ+ city break.)
Published in the USA guide, available with the Jan/Feb 2025 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK).
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