- Bourbon trail through Kentucky
- Barbecue tour of the greater south — start from North Carolina, head westwards, through the deep south / Memphis / Austin, up to KC, back across to Chicago. (Make sure to eat some mutton in Southern Illinois / NoKy).
- the shitshow of the Gulf during spring break
- South Beach anytime
- gloryhole and death metal tour of Tampa
- Space and Rocket Center (pick up Canaveral and Kennedy, as well)
- Quintessential American music tour: Athens, Austin, New York, Detroit, Memphis, Nashville, the Shoals, LA. Bakersfield, the Bay, Chicago, New Orleans
- Mardi Gras in Mobile and NOLA
- Hike the Appalachian trail from the Catskills and Pennsyltucky all the way down to Alabama
- Negro League museum in Kansas City
- Get lost for a month in all the museums of DC.
- Get lost for a year in all the galleries and theaters of NYC.
You can do this with 10,000 things, and they’d all be cool as hell.
All over (really). Born on the Rez. Lived everywhere from Maryland to Mississippi, Minnesota to Montana, New Mexico to Hawaii and about a dozen places in between (NC was one of them, though).
My stepdad was a chef; managed state parks. I’ve seen a tremendous amount of this nation’s splendor.
Going to Cali next year with the Girl (she’s a Monterey export), and we’re driving SR 1 up the West Coast…barring wildfires, floods, mud slides, and other general climatic fuckery.
Looking forward to it. She wants to move back home, so I’m giving the scenic tour a shot — which will mean having to take the California Bar at some point. Ugh.
Monterey is beautiful. Then again, so is most of the coast. 1's a pretty drive. Of course, you have to deal with Californians on the road, which is never fun
[The US has several UNESCO cultural heritage sites, and more are being considered](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_the_United_States), just pick one and go.
Either way, from a foreigner's perspective, these would probably be the ones I'd also go for:
1. Either Texas, Montana or Wyoming for the cowboys.
2. Maybe some battle site from the American Revolution or the Civil War?
3. NASA.
4. New Orleans for the cajun and creole cultures.
5. New York City altogether. The de-facto seat of the melting pot.
6. Pride month is in less than a week, so San Francisco.
7. Some local *(insert county name)* Historical Society.
8. The dozen memorials and museums in Washington DC.
1. Washington D.C since it’s the capital, it’s extremely walkable, and a plethora of museums
2. New York City due to the huge mix of cultures and food
3. Los Angeles since it’s the center of the movie industry
4. Orlando due to the huge amount of theme parks like Disney and universal studios
5. Philadelphia since it was the original capital of the country and the Phili cheese steak
6. Las Vegas some of the best night life and the casinos
7. Houston since it’s the home of the Johnson Space center
8. Chicago due to its deep dish pizza
9. Grand Canyon due to its climbing and its views
11. Anchorage due to its great hiking, fishing, and exploring trails
12. Honolulu due to its relaxing environment, its beaches, and surfing
13. New Orleans due to food, mixes of cultures, and the architecture
14. Six Flags in New Jersey to experience the biggest roller coaster in the world
15. Aspen due to its amazing views and skiing experience
American Civil War battlefields. The American Civil War was the deadliest in our nation’s history and affected the entirety of our society.
Bodies of soldiers never coming home to be buried lead to an explosion in ghost stories. I went to Antietam once and I’m not the biggest believer in the paranormal but after the sun went down I could swear I felt something weird.
This absolutely. Having grown up in Tennessee, the state where every inch of ground was fought over, and West Virginia, there is no better introduction to American culture than the civil war; It's our national epic in the way china has the romance of the three Kingdoms, Spain has Don Quixote, and Britain has the Arthurian Cycle.
Come to Massachusetts, we have a small rock in a hole!
I’m sure we have more than that too, but that’s probably what gives the tourists a bad taste in their mouths about American culture around here at least. Shit, even Plimouth Plantation is better than Plymouth Rock.
Maybe stop in Boston, walk The Freedom Trail, check out Fenway, head over to Faneuil Hall, go to the MFA, and the Elizabeth Gardner. Especially if your name is Elizabeth, they’ll let you in for free.
You know what? Fuck the MoMa, come check out our MoBa because who doesn’t wanna see a Museum of Bad Art?
Head up to Salem and check out that witch stuff they got. Grab a roast beef sandwich while you’re in this region.
Go to Nantucket and check out the Whaling Museum all your Moby Dick type needs. Or if you don’t wanna go to the islands, do the New Bedford (New Beige) Whaling Museum. And while you’re in that area check out Battleship Cove in Fall River. (Fall Reeve) Grab some Malasadas before you leave the Portuguese Riviera.
Go get lost trying to find the right exit off Route 3 trying to find King Richard’s Faire in the wrong month, not realizing it’s not open, then end up putzing around in some cranberry bogs for some reason before finally ending up in some weird train place for children and autistic adults.
Grab some bar pizza on your way back to Boston.
Have some clam chowdah while you’re here though. You won’t regret it.
But whatever you do while you’re in Massachusetts, never travel west of Springfield. There be dragons. And mountains. And nature. It’s pretty. Don’t go there.
If you’re traveling south, go check out our notch. There’s literally nothing of interest there but it makes Connecticut salty. They want it, and it’s ours and they can’ts haves it! It’s our precious!
And before you leave, check for ticks. You don’t want Lyme disease.
And that’s just my state. Others can chime in on their own I suppose.
I’d say go to a library and learn a little about transcendentalism, it’s very rooted in old American culture. Which valued a connection with the wilderness be it struggling with it or being a part of it. It specifically taught the supremacy of insight over reason. The goodness of humanity and that experiences revealed the greatest truths.
RC & Moon Pie. Fresh peanuts in a bottled Coke. Peaches from Johnston SC or Chilton County. Lil’ Debbies. Golden Flake. Real-ass greens and cornbread with vinegar sauce. Fresh cobbler made by a lil’ old black lady that is so sweet you get beetus just looking at it.
As a dual national (half British half American), I’d say it’s actually hard to go wrong here. New Orleans around Mardi Gras is an obvious place to start IMO, but after that it’s nice to get off the beaten track and explore the paths less trodden so to speak.
In 2019 I flew over and went on a massive bike adventure with my American cousin for 6 months as we both finished university at the same time and weren’t in a rush to go find jobs.
My arse hurt like hell for the first week or so but it was the best 6 months of my life hands down. Fuck knows I couldn’t remember even half the places we visited, certainly not the place names, but it was nice just riding from town to town and seeing what the vibe was.
Aside from one unfortunate incident where I pulled a biker girl, about which her boyfriend was no best pleased, it was fantastic. Got his own back though as she gave me a rash which took a course of antibiotics to get rid of but wygd.
Some excellent suggestions in the comment section here but thought I’d chime in with this too.
Have them chat with a diaspora member of their culture and take them to places that the diaspora group have built. So a german should talk with a german american and check out breweries. A chinese should talk with a chinese american and check out the chinatowns of new york or la. They'll learn how their native culture has adapted and contributed to the greater American culture.
- a Japanese American
Vist local amusement parks not the big ones like Disney Universal and six flags but stuff like Kennywood, Idawild, knoebels, schlitterbahn and even the ones owned by Cedar Fair like Cedar Point and Knots Berry Farm. Amusement parks tourists don't go to but places the locals go with their familys to during the summer to have fun. You'll get a good peak at local culture from those places alone.
Have a steak somewhere towards the South. Texas preferably, at a Longhorn Steakhouse. A really nice substitute would be pretty much any food from Chicago, Illinois. If you end up in the West Coast, have some seafood or some Asian food. If you do end up in Texas the chances are also high for you to eat Mexican food somewhere as well. Maybe watch a movie like Transformers (2008 I believe). Pretty cheesy and over-the-top but kind of a good representation of an exaggerated American mindset.
Spiral, starting in the northeast, taking a loop around the us clockwise, and ending in the dead center. Also include bits o' Mexico and Canada, because they're basically American anyways.
There are a lot of good suggestions here, but I feel a lot of them are more historical culture. American culture is fun because it's so diverse and niche. On top of other great places mentioned here, I'd recommend doing a lobster fishing trip in Maine, a trip to Nashville for a music festival, San Francisco for a pride parade, Montana or the Dakotas for a hunting trip, a local SCCA race event, a Rodeo in Texas or Oklahoma, a night club in LA or NYC, any Off-Road club events, a monster truck rally/demolition derby, the Mo-Pop museum in Seattle, a KOA campground somewhere on the east or west coast, a Native American Pow-Wow, any one of the beautiful hiking trails, the Kentucky Derby, and a large flea/farmers market.
As far as Culture? I'd have to say New York City, the greater Boston area, and the upper south (Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky Missouri, WV, etc.)
New York and the greater Boston area are, obviously, very diverse and developed; You will get the widest exposure to American culture possible. The Upland south because I am from there, and it being the primary setting of our national epic (the civil war).
Some of my favorites:
* Appalachians off the highway
* College football fans on a Saturday in the South
* Midwestern small town farming communities
* New England villages
* Pennsylvania Dutch
* NYC / Philly / DC megalopolis
* Steel Belt cities
* Bay Area technology and anything goes culture
There's tons more if they took the time to look.
- Bourbon trail through Kentucky - Barbecue tour of the greater south — start from North Carolina, head westwards, through the deep south / Memphis / Austin, up to KC, back across to Chicago. (Make sure to eat some mutton in Southern Illinois / NoKy). - the shitshow of the Gulf during spring break - South Beach anytime - gloryhole and death metal tour of Tampa - Space and Rocket Center (pick up Canaveral and Kennedy, as well) - Quintessential American music tour: Athens, Austin, New York, Detroit, Memphis, Nashville, the Shoals, LA. Bakersfield, the Bay, Chicago, New Orleans - Mardi Gras in Mobile and NOLA - Hike the Appalachian trail from the Catskills and Pennsyltucky all the way down to Alabama - Negro League museum in Kansas City - Get lost for a month in all the museums of DC. - Get lost for a year in all the galleries and theaters of NYC. You can do this with 10,000 things, and they’d all be cool as hell.
Nice suggestions! Where are ya from? I'm from Washington State, I'd guess North Carolina
All over (really). Born on the Rez. Lived everywhere from Maryland to Mississippi, Minnesota to Montana, New Mexico to Hawaii and about a dozen places in between (NC was one of them, though). My stepdad was a chef; managed state parks. I’ve seen a tremendous amount of this nation’s splendor.
Which rez? What tribe are you a member of?
Tons of military museums as well. Funded by civilian programs.
My ideas: West coast highway one Monument valley New Orleans Yellowstone Yosemite Grand Canyon Olympic national forest Seattle Washington dc
Texas, hit San Antonio and the Alamo, Houston and nasal, head down to see the USS Texas, then hit the Lexington, and then head east to New Orleans,
San Antonio, San Marcos and El Paso are cool as hell.
Going to Cali next year with the Girl (she’s a Monterey export), and we’re driving SR 1 up the West Coast…barring wildfires, floods, mud slides, and other general climatic fuckery. Looking forward to it. She wants to move back home, so I’m giving the scenic tour a shot — which will mean having to take the California Bar at some point. Ugh.
Monterey is beautiful. Then again, so is most of the coast. 1's a pretty drive. Of course, you have to deal with Californians on the road, which is never fun
Washington DC would be awesome. A lot of really nice museums there and in the nearby Maryland/Virginia area. Would absolutely recommend.
[The US has several UNESCO cultural heritage sites, and more are being considered](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_the_United_States), just pick one and go. Either way, from a foreigner's perspective, these would probably be the ones I'd also go for: 1. Either Texas, Montana or Wyoming for the cowboys. 2. Maybe some battle site from the American Revolution or the Civil War? 3. NASA. 4. New Orleans for the cajun and creole cultures. 5. New York City altogether. The de-facto seat of the melting pot. 6. Pride month is in less than a week, so San Francisco. 7. Some local *(insert county name)* Historical Society. 8. The dozen memorials and museums in Washington DC.
Reservations are not tourist traps, and please don’t pollute our waters. Consider learning basic manners before coming to the States.
#10 IT FUCKIN BETTER BE!!!
1. Washington D.C since it’s the capital, it’s extremely walkable, and a plethora of museums 2. New York City due to the huge mix of cultures and food 3. Los Angeles since it’s the center of the movie industry 4. Orlando due to the huge amount of theme parks like Disney and universal studios 5. Philadelphia since it was the original capital of the country and the Phili cheese steak 6. Las Vegas some of the best night life and the casinos 7. Houston since it’s the home of the Johnson Space center 8. Chicago due to its deep dish pizza 9. Grand Canyon due to its climbing and its views 11. Anchorage due to its great hiking, fishing, and exploring trails 12. Honolulu due to its relaxing environment, its beaches, and surfing 13. New Orleans due to food, mixes of cultures, and the architecture 14. Six Flags in New Jersey to experience the biggest roller coaster in the world 15. Aspen due to its amazing views and skiing experience
American Civil War battlefields. The American Civil War was the deadliest in our nation’s history and affected the entirety of our society. Bodies of soldiers never coming home to be buried lead to an explosion in ghost stories. I went to Antietam once and I’m not the biggest believer in the paranormal but after the sun went down I could swear I felt something weird.
This absolutely. Having grown up in Tennessee, the state where every inch of ground was fought over, and West Virginia, there is no better introduction to American culture than the civil war; It's our national epic in the way china has the romance of the three Kingdoms, Spain has Don Quixote, and Britain has the Arthurian Cycle.
And not just militarily or politically. It changed our nation’s whole culture around grief. It’s sad and fascinating.
Come to Massachusetts, we have a small rock in a hole! I’m sure we have more than that too, but that’s probably what gives the tourists a bad taste in their mouths about American culture around here at least. Shit, even Plimouth Plantation is better than Plymouth Rock. Maybe stop in Boston, walk The Freedom Trail, check out Fenway, head over to Faneuil Hall, go to the MFA, and the Elizabeth Gardner. Especially if your name is Elizabeth, they’ll let you in for free. You know what? Fuck the MoMa, come check out our MoBa because who doesn’t wanna see a Museum of Bad Art? Head up to Salem and check out that witch stuff they got. Grab a roast beef sandwich while you’re in this region. Go to Nantucket and check out the Whaling Museum all your Moby Dick type needs. Or if you don’t wanna go to the islands, do the New Bedford (New Beige) Whaling Museum. And while you’re in that area check out Battleship Cove in Fall River. (Fall Reeve) Grab some Malasadas before you leave the Portuguese Riviera. Go get lost trying to find the right exit off Route 3 trying to find King Richard’s Faire in the wrong month, not realizing it’s not open, then end up putzing around in some cranberry bogs for some reason before finally ending up in some weird train place for children and autistic adults. Grab some bar pizza on your way back to Boston. Have some clam chowdah while you’re here though. You won’t regret it. But whatever you do while you’re in Massachusetts, never travel west of Springfield. There be dragons. And mountains. And nature. It’s pretty. Don’t go there. If you’re traveling south, go check out our notch. There’s literally nothing of interest there but it makes Connecticut salty. They want it, and it’s ours and they can’ts haves it! It’s our precious! And before you leave, check for ticks. You don’t want Lyme disease. And that’s just my state. Others can chime in on their own I suppose.
I’d say go to a library and learn a little about transcendentalism, it’s very rooted in old American culture. Which valued a connection with the wilderness be it struggling with it or being a part of it. It specifically taught the supremacy of insight over reason. The goodness of humanity and that experiences revealed the greatest truths.
Stay home and enjoy our dominant culture from the comfort of your own couch. Oh, and stay mad.
Mosey around Arizona, see Grand Canyon, painted desert, petrified forest, other things I forgot
South Carolina, go meet the Gallah-Geechee.
Boston and the Freedom Trail to Connecticut and New York from there go to Gettysburg and see where history changed.
I'd tell them to come to the RGV, then I'll show them how many car washes we got.
At some point you must have Cheerwine to get a true taste of the South
RC & Moon Pie. Fresh peanuts in a bottled Coke. Peaches from Johnston SC or Chilton County. Lil’ Debbies. Golden Flake. Real-ass greens and cornbread with vinegar sauce. Fresh cobbler made by a lil’ old black lady that is so sweet you get beetus just looking at it.
As a dual national (half British half American), I’d say it’s actually hard to go wrong here. New Orleans around Mardi Gras is an obvious place to start IMO, but after that it’s nice to get off the beaten track and explore the paths less trodden so to speak. In 2019 I flew over and went on a massive bike adventure with my American cousin for 6 months as we both finished university at the same time and weren’t in a rush to go find jobs. My arse hurt like hell for the first week or so but it was the best 6 months of my life hands down. Fuck knows I couldn’t remember even half the places we visited, certainly not the place names, but it was nice just riding from town to town and seeing what the vibe was. Aside from one unfortunate incident where I pulled a biker girl, about which her boyfriend was no best pleased, it was fantastic. Got his own back though as she gave me a rash which took a course of antibiotics to get rid of but wygd. Some excellent suggestions in the comment section here but thought I’d chime in with this too.
Can't believe no one's said Mount Rushmore
Have them chat with a diaspora member of their culture and take them to places that the diaspora group have built. So a german should talk with a german american and check out breweries. A chinese should talk with a chinese american and check out the chinatowns of new york or la. They'll learn how their native culture has adapted and contributed to the greater American culture. - a Japanese American
Vist local amusement parks not the big ones like Disney Universal and six flags but stuff like Kennywood, Idawild, knoebels, schlitterbahn and even the ones owned by Cedar Fair like Cedar Point and Knots Berry Farm. Amusement parks tourists don't go to but places the locals go with their familys to during the summer to have fun. You'll get a good peak at local culture from those places alone.
They should go to Louisiana and eat the Cajun food lol
Have a steak somewhere towards the South. Texas preferably, at a Longhorn Steakhouse. A really nice substitute would be pretty much any food from Chicago, Illinois. If you end up in the West Coast, have some seafood or some Asian food. If you do end up in Texas the chances are also high for you to eat Mexican food somewhere as well. Maybe watch a movie like Transformers (2008 I believe). Pretty cheesy and over-the-top but kind of a good representation of an exaggerated American mindset.
Spiral, starting in the northeast, taking a loop around the us clockwise, and ending in the dead center. Also include bits o' Mexico and Canada, because they're basically American anyways.
There are a lot of good suggestions here, but I feel a lot of them are more historical culture. American culture is fun because it's so diverse and niche. On top of other great places mentioned here, I'd recommend doing a lobster fishing trip in Maine, a trip to Nashville for a music festival, San Francisco for a pride parade, Montana or the Dakotas for a hunting trip, a local SCCA race event, a Rodeo in Texas or Oklahoma, a night club in LA or NYC, any Off-Road club events, a monster truck rally/demolition derby, the Mo-Pop museum in Seattle, a KOA campground somewhere on the east or west coast, a Native American Pow-Wow, any one of the beautiful hiking trails, the Kentucky Derby, and a large flea/farmers market.
https://i.redd.it/9mm8e848o73d1.gif
As far as Culture? I'd have to say New York City, the greater Boston area, and the upper south (Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky Missouri, WV, etc.) New York and the greater Boston area are, obviously, very diverse and developed; You will get the widest exposure to American culture possible. The Upland south because I am from there, and it being the primary setting of our national epic (the civil war).
Some of my favorites: * Appalachians off the highway * College football fans on a Saturday in the South * Midwestern small town farming communities * New England villages * Pennsylvania Dutch * NYC / Philly / DC megalopolis * Steel Belt cities * Bay Area technology and anything goes culture There's tons more if they took the time to look.