We often take visiting friends to one or both of these places, depending on their interests: The Barnes Foundation (in Philadelphia), and Longwood Gardens. The former is one of the most interesting art museums in the country, and the latter is one of the most beautiful gardens. They're always a big hit.

Most people who come to Charlottesville want to see Monticello. We try to get to the annual July 4 celebration there featuring the swearing in of new citizens. The level of security and organization has increased greatly from the casual affair it used to be but it’s still a wonderful event with the municipal band, an interesting speaker (Sam Waterson was especially notable) root beer floats, and patriotism . A nice time to run into friends you haven’t seen in a while.

The Getty Villa, the Getty Museum, Norton Simon Museum, Huntington Library and Gardens, UCLA campus and Hammer Museum, the Venice Boardwalk and Santa Monica Pier, Gehry Music Center and Broad Museum. Possibly Olvera Street and a visit to the Siqueiros mural.

Rides up Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu are off the list now as are hikes in Topanga State Park.

The Cisterns. Space Center. The Water Wall.

Rose Garden, Japanese Garden. Powells Books. NW 23rd, Mississippi, Alberta, Hawthorne Streets (shopping streets). Club 1905 (jazz club). Laurelhurst Park. Mt Tabor Park. Irvington, Laurelhurst neighborhoods (historic districts). Blue Moon Camera & Machine (vintage film caneras). Ace Typewriters (vintage typewriters). Baghdad Theatre (best moviehouse). Pedalapoozza (summer bike festival). Portland International Raceway (car, motorcycle racing). For kids, Oaks Park (old timey amusement park, roller skating). Oregon coast (90 min). Hood River (50 min). Skiing on Mt Hood (60-75 min).

It depends on who they are. We are proud of our county forest preserves with their walking trails and our town’s beach. Sometimes we take visitors on a ”John Hughes tour”, driving by iconic locations from his movies. If they are so inclined, the military cemetary that goes back to the late 1800s, and includes six German POWs. We usually couple that with a forest preserve walk to the lake and back.

The Bahá’i House of Worship, if visitors are so inclined. Not only is the building extraordonarily beautiful, but the interior space is quiet and peaceful, and there is a very good survey of the history and precepts of the faith. There only one Bahá’i temple in North America, so this is indeed unique.

Falling Water

Plan A Trip | Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill in Harrodsburrg or Raven Run Nature Sanctuary outside of Lexington. Multiple Hiking paths, some go down to a river.

My previous offerings were within a half hour. Within an hour’s drive, well well, gee, downtown Chicago. The architectural boat tour on the river and lake, Millenium Park, the bandshell designed by Geary, ”the Bean”. Chicago Cultural Center, just about any museum, although the aquarium has a great view back towards the city. Riverwalk, although nowhere near as intesting as San Antonio’s. Theaters, especially if my son has a performance of some kind, somewhere.

Thirty minutes away, the most famous Civil War battle was fought at Gettysburg. There are so many interesting educational tours and museums to visit. As a kid, this was our field trip every other year, with DC being the alternate year.

Less than 30 minutes in the other direction is the sweetest place on earth, Hersheypark where I have gone since I was four years old.

One of our nieces always wanted to drive by Michael Jordan's house and visit the Nike store downtown. We were happy to oblige.

Too many to list. Within an hour there are several medieval cathedral cities, numerous historic houses, miles of walks, the Cotswolds, Bath, Stonehenge and other prehistoric sites, the SS Great Britain (the first iron ship to cross the Atlantic), canals, rivers, beaches. And then there's Wales, another country altogether.

Nothing but drives through absolutely gorgeous scenery.

Within an hour - Joshua Tree National Park, Anza Borrego State Park, Palm Springs Tram to the top of Mount San Jacinto, Taquitz Canyon (with seasonal waterfalls), Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Reserve, Cabazon Dinosaurs, The Integraton (for a sound bath), Cabot's Pueblo, date farms (and stores) in Indio for fresh dates, and several seasonal desert art installations.

When I lived in San Francisco, I was half a block from Mission Dolores and practically across the street from the Basilica, of which I had a great view from my roof.

I lived in Venice (like Nancy) for 15 years, but I lived in San Francisco for only 12.

Jasper National Park, Banff National Park, Kananaskis Country, Tyrell Museum, Lake Louise, Cold Lake, Elk Island, Glenbow Museum, Peace River Region. A lot more. Much more than an hour apart but relaxing to get to. Well, except for Banff. It’s become a zoo! Worth seeing but a lot of traffic in the summer. I was born in Calgary and spent a lot of time in Banff as it was an hour away. I now live closer to Jasper.

LOL, an hour barely gets you to the end of the driveway! jk

Skiing, skating, ice fishing in the winter and hiking in the summer.

Calgary and Edmonton have festivals year round. The ice festival in Edmonton can be lovely.

Some folks want to go to West Edmonton Mall 🤷‍♀️ I just let them go on their own.

Well, NYC is within an hour so take your pick, there. Here, lots of beaches, with the Atlantic to the south and harbors and Long Island Sound to the north. Several ”Gold Coast” estates to visit including Teddy Roosevelt’s ”summer white house”, the Vanderbilt museum and planetarium, other gardens and arbertetums. Aviation museum at a former Air Force base. An hour gets you to the edge of our two forks which are technically out of bounds for this discussion. The South Fork has the Hamptons out to Montauk and the scene that goes with those, North Fork is more laid back but still very a nice destination, with some family farms still around and a bunch of vineyards. I’m sure I’m missing some things!

I live in the suburbs of Kansas City. The World War 1 museum is on the Missouri side of Kansas City. For people interested in that, most say it is the best of it's kind in the nation.

Oregon's wine country, Portland attractions, the waterfalls of the Columbia River Gorge, Cannon Beach at the coast.

this is illinois so there's nothing scenic but people who visit always want to go to the abraham lincoln presidential library and museum. lots of interesting exhibits there.

Nina, that is an excellent museum! And Illinois is indeed scenic, though admittedly not so much around the capital. Starved Rock, Dubuque and the National Mississippi River Museum (well, okay, that’s Iowa), Galena (Chestnut Mountain, with summer sledding and balloon rides) and I hear way downstate has some nice walking areas.

you're right but i was thinking of things within an hour of my place. starved rock is beautiful, it's 3+ hours away. southern illinois (i'm in the west central part of the state) does have some lovely places to visit, hike, trail ride if you're a horsey person.

the only really pretty area immediately around me is the illinois river bluffs 3 miles away. the fall colors are simply gorgeous although fleeting.

We always have to tailor our suggestions. Do they like walking? Views? what are their limitations, whether physical or time or budget or etc? Or do they prefer city? Tours? Museum/special exhibits? I like local history museums, and outdoor museums, but that’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

Elmer, nice thread. Where do you like to take or suggest to visitors? What do they seem to enjoy?

To the SoCal responses, I "liked" them to say, "Ditto."

LOL, Fun2BHere. I hit the ”like” for so many different reasons. It’s not always that I agree with the comment. I don’t think there is anything to disagree with on this thread, though. Sometimes it is just a ”ditto”, sometimes it is because it really made me laugh, sometimes I just like the contribution to the thread.

“A great way to do this locally is with a visit to Laguna Beach for a bit of shopping , if desired, with drinks or lunch and a view that‘s much like Italy’s coast.”

Totally agree, martinca…a favorite, special place for many years.

This is a wonderful thread indeed. We moved here 6 years ago and I could go on and on ( and often do). I don't know quite where to start, as we are about 40 minutes from Philadelphia, but I actually rarely head there.

Longwood Gardens is about 20 minutes away.Right near that, maybe 5 minutes from there is the Brandywine Conservancy and Museum of Art which is a magnificent setting ( honestly, everything here is) that includes an excellent, user friendly museum loaded with Wyeth .https://www.brandywine.org/

West Chester istelf is a very cute town.

One place that I haven't gotten to yet, but plan to is https://artistshomes.org/sites/wharton-esherick-museum/.

There is a very old and unique book store, https://bookbarn.com/ .

There are tons of beautiful trails all around, too many to pick one. There are several magnificent arboretums and gardens.

About an hour away is Daniel Boone's homestead which is amazing and really gave a sense of what it was like to live there.

I could go on and on.

Jamestown and Williamsburg

" Elmer, nice thread. Where do you like to take or suggest to visitors? "

Thanks to bpath and others. I have enjoyed reading the number and nature of comments very much. I hope more will follow on. Many wonderful suggestions and local insights. I wasn't sure what to expect but the pleasure of reading what has resulted owes to the contributors, not to me.

I said above that I didn't plan to respond to my own question nor comment directly on what others have said. As seems to be the case for many of you but in different locales, I too have been fortunate to spend my life in areas known to be tourist and travel destinations, northern and southern coastal parts of my state. Some of the coastal SoCal comments already made echo part of what I would say. NorCal though not mentioned has many well-known activities and places to visit.

I'll leave it to others. But not before adding my "ditto"

To add to Bookwoman’s and Salonva’s posts for our area, I would add Chanticleer, a most amazing garden. Staying within an hour of me but heading to NJ, I recommend Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton NJ and the Hindu temple in Robbinsville NJ. Trying not to go too far afield, but I could go on and in. . There is so much to see just one hour in any direction from where I am in the suburbs of Philadelphia.

I forgot to mention Lancaster County and the Amish lifestyle people seem to love to see firsthand. A very popular destination place to visit. We are here in the southeastern quadrant of PA where America started and historians delight in the wonderful architecture and homes dating back to the 1700s and earlier. We're also in a hub where NYC, DC, Baltimore and of course, Philly are close.

We picked someone up at the airport and drove due east towards the lake, not to downtown. We specifically chose a particular street because in 10 miles, you basically drive around the world. They were enthralled (we knew they would be, that’s why we did it.)

We also sometimes take a particularly scenic route to and from downtown. And went on the iconic el! Visitors love that! Even if we just go around in a circle!

Here is a different vein: when DH accompanies someone to NYC, he takes them on his ”Elf” tour. It’s quite a trip, involving the Empire State Building, Central Park, the big Christmas tree and skating rink (if it’s that time of year), Macy’s, any coffee shop and pizza place. He draws the line at walking through the Lincoln Tunnel.

There are so many interesting and well-known spots near us in DC, but we like the the less traveled spots. We love Rock Creek Park where you can get away from the hustle bustle and not feel that you are in a city at all-if you go in May/June, the mountain laurels will be blooming and they are quite spectacular, but earlier you can also see the Virginia Bluebells, wild phlox, wild geranium, etc. and then the native azaleas. Hiking the C&O canal out to Great Falls is fun and if it has rained recently, the falls are incredibly powerful. On a hot summer day, the National Building Museum is a surprising and completely delightful spot for relief from the heat, and usually quite empty. For one of the best views of the city, go across the Memorial Bridge to the Netherlands Carillon and the Iwo Jima memorial which are just outside Arlington National Cemetery. Look back across the river. You will see the Lincoln, Washington Monument, and the U.S. Capitol lined up in a row. Spectacular spot for a photo, especially at night.

Oh and I meant to mention that once it is completed, I really would like to go to the Calder Gardens in Philadelphia across from the Barnes Museum (haven't been there since it moved from Dr. Barnes' home in Merion). I am hoping it will open this spring in time for my 55th high school reunion!

cyn, the 'new' Barnes is amazing. I lived not far from the Merion site back then, and was worried when the move was announced, but both the architecture and the way the works are hung really do the art justice, which wasn't always the case before.

I'm also looking forward to the Calder opening, but I think that won't happen until this fall, so too late for your reunion. The Parkway has changed a lot, although it still has a long way to go to be really pedestrian-friendly.

Santa Fe: it’s history, it’s architecture, it’s mountains, it’s culture, it’s Native American culture, it’s art, it’s food, it’s museums , it’s blue blue skies, the town itself, and so much more! Santa Fe is a truly unique, wonderful and beautiful place!

“I live in the suburbs of Kansas City.”

ladypat, my brother and SIL now live in Prairie Village (previously in the Brookside area for years). I think KS is such a pretty area.👍🏻

bpath! I grew up in Wilmette, a few miles west of the B'Hai Temple. My girl scout troop took a field trip there and so did a High School Comparative Religion class.

Rho, when I was the field trip coordinator for our church tweens’ ”Our Neighbors’ Faiths”, I always included the Bahá’i Temple in our visits! Oh, and years ago, we hosted two teenagers from France, here on a summer homestay. One day I picked them and a tripmate up from a group activity in the city, they had been to the Cultural Center and saw a film on Chicago. Driving home, I went up Sheridan Road (the tripmate’s host family was in Wilmette), and as we drove past the temple one of the boys was,so excited. ”Hey, we just saw that on the film!” and the tripmate was like ”I’m staying in the town that has that? wow!” (the third boy was too cool to say anything when the other two poked him and pointed. Teens!)

Eileen: Oregon? We love be vacationing there! We’ve just stayed on the coast, though. Next time I’d love to see waterfalls, too.

San Francisco - lots of stuff from museums, beach, hiking, redwoods, Alcatraz....the list goes on. One of my favorite unique things is going to Pacifica, just south of SF in late summer to watch migrating humpback whales from the shore or the municipal pier.

https://siliconvalley.hilltromper.com/article/%E2%80%98whale-bathing%E2%80%99-pacifica-spotting-humpbacks-bluffs