A Cajun-style Christmas on the river also involves sky-high pyres and explosives.

See a full-scale whale skeleton and experience the captivating culture of Alaska’s Native people at this heritage center in east Anchorage.

Considered by many to be one of the most dangerous highways in Alaska.

Established in 1937, the oldest candy shop in New York City boasts a rainbow-colored inventory that would make Willy Wonka envious.

The last living thing to come out of the rubble after 9/11 is now a symbol of hope and resilience.

Dine on dumplings at the oldest dim sum restaurant in New York.

The notorious headquarters of a corrupt political machine.

Touching mementoes from those who didn't make it back from World War I still hang in one of New York's oldest bars.

Unrepaired walls from a 1920 anarchist bomb attack.

This subterranean oyster house has been the pearl of Grand Central Station since 1913.

A trading post in the North Pole where children send letters.

While not recognized by Guinness, this chocolate waterfall is likely to be the world's largest.

Mind-blowing carvings and fantasy ice scenes grace the largest year-round ice environment in the world.

The king of U.S. high points towers over every other peak on the continent.

The only home that Alexander Hamilton ever owned has a history almost as troubled as his own.

This coastal port saw one of the most significant battles of the Civil War.

Wall Street has a new heroine, a bronze statue of a small but fierce girl.

Mysterious 500-year-old tapestries depict a unicorn hunt.

A terrific purveyor of natural history objects and curios.

In upstate New York, gorgeous waterfalls and a watermill are slowly being reclaimed by nature.

Pluto is still considered a planet in Ithaca, New York.

Scores of vintage street lamps shine along L.A.’s Miracle Mile.

The legendary building that needed ghostly approval before being built.

This iconic L.A. bookshop is housed in an abandoned bank—both symbolic and chic.