Not to miss

Highway 395

Out where the Sierras drop straight down into the sagebrush of eastern California's Owens Valley, truckers, hunters and road-trippers cruise Hwy 395. Running thousands of miles from the northern fringes of the LA basin to the Canadian border, the familiar terrain was the location of many a western.

The best leg stretches 250mi (400km) between Lone Pine, in the shadow of 14,500ft (4350m) Mt Whitney, and Carson City, Nevada. You can reenact scenes from Gunga Din and How the West Was Won, both shot in the Alabama Hills just west of Lone Pine, where there's a film festival every October.

New Orleans

New Orleans has long seduced with its Caribbean colour, sultry Southern heat, sweet-tasting cocktails and voodoo potions. The unofficial state motto, laissez les bons temps rouler (let the good times roll), pretty much says it all. Then in August 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck, toppling levees, flooding much of the city and drastically changing everything.

Called by some 'The City That Care Forgot,' New Orleans has a well-earned reputation for excess and debauchery. It's a cultural gumbo of African, Indian, Cajun and Creole influences. Katrina caused a mass exodus and roughly 40% of New Orleans' residents have reportedly returned, but only time will tell how the city will ultimately repopulate.

San Francisco

San Francisco has an atmosphere of genteel chic mixed with offbeat innovation and a self-effacing quality so blatantly missing from brassy New York and plastic LA. Its hilly streets provide some gorgeous glimpses of the sparkling bay and its famous bridges.

The treats of San Francisco are not just for locals. The basic pleasures of life here - wonderful food, sparkling nightlife and those glorious views - are there for everyone. Watch the white fog fill the Golden Gate as the sunset lights up the windows across the bay, and prepare to leave your heart.

The best way to explore San Francisco's neighbourhoods is on foot. A leisurely stroll through North Beach, with its relaxed European charm, leads smack into bustling Chinatown. A hike up hoity-toity Nob Hill segues down to the troubled Tenderloin. South of Market, a busy warehouse district during the day, transforms into nightclub central at night. The Mission District is varied: many of its streets are Latino enclaves, but a continuous flow of hip young invaders has redefined many of the district's crossroads. The nearby Castro was claimed by gay men in the 1970s, and it remains predominantly gay today, projecting an assured, almost mainstream air.

Philadelphia

Somehow, suddenly, Philadelphia got cool. Rapid change has transformed Center City from the wayward capital of a defunct 'Workshop of the World' to a place teeming with stellar restaurants, comfortable cafes, world-class museums and some stunning architecture - not to mention those pretzels.

It's a city whose renaissance will thrill you: catch the symphony or watch the Phillies; dip into bars, restaurants and clubs (including a major gay scene that's being touted by the city's tourism department); stroll through leafy parks. While you're at it, get a major dose of history, too.

Boston

Calling this quaint and charming city the 'Athens of America' might seem a bit boastful, but the city's 19th century glory radiates through its grand architecture, its population of literati, artists and educators and its world-renowned academic and cultural institutions.

Disastrous 'urban renewal' projects in the 1950s provoked such a furious backlash that Boston now has some of the best preserved historic buildings and neighbourhoods in the country. Compact, walkable, historic and clean, the city blends old-world beauty and modern convenience.

Bostonians aren't trendsetters. They see themselves as civilised and their city as mature. Contrary to their reputation, however, Bostonians are not crusty or stiffly genteel, but enjoy a thriving street life, thanks to low-rise buildings and an urban core that's home to people of all classes.

It's impossible to speak of Boston without mentioning the saga of the Red Sox. This famed baseball team seemed cursed after selling Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees in 1920. The Yankees went on to win 26 titles in the following decades while the Red Sox waited 86 years win the World Series, after coming from 0-3 down to win 4-3 against the Yankees in the 2004 semi-final. And oh how they celebrated.

Miami

It used to be called 'God's Waiting Room' because of the many octogenarians eking out their last moments by the pool. Today the old folks mingle with fashion designers, bikini models and Cuban émigrés, and the city that once had the highest murder rate in the US attracts millions of tourists.

Greater Miami is a melting pot that would make America's founders swell with pride. Half the population is Hispanic, giving the city an international outlook that feels rare in the USA. For the casual visitor this means a city spiced with Latin American food, language, music, politics and spirit.

Most visitors head for Miami Beach, a city built on a sandbar across Biscayne Bay from Miami. Many of the beach's locals are imports from New York, people tired of sitting through five hours of snarled traffic on their way to the Hamptons, who decided that Miami Beach made a lot more sense. They brought with them a fledgling art and culture crowd whose numbers included many younger artists.

Cleveland

Drawing from its roots as an industrious, working man's town, Cleveland has worked hard in recent years to prove it rocks. But even as the city wipes the sweat from its brow, it might need more than the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and a revitalized riverfront to maintain its precarious comeback.

Today Cleveland is a unique blend of early architecture and gentrified neighbourhoods with enough urban grit and grime to add an edgy ambience. The new self-appointed informal city slogan, taken from the lyrics of a bar band's local anthem is 'Cleveland Rocks!'

New York City

They don't come any bigger than the Big Apple - king of the hill, top of the heap, New York, New York. It's got its fair share of the tired, the poor, and the huddled masses, but it also has world-class museums, big statues, even bigger buildings, outrageous excess, and a whole lot of whooo-wheee!

New York is a densely packed mass of humanity and all this living on top of one another makes the New Yorker a special kind of person. It's hard to put a finger on what makes the place buzz so hard, but the city's hyperactive rush keeps drawing more and more people to it.

In a city that is so much a part of the global subconscious, it's pretty hard to pick a few highlights - wherever you go you'll feel like you've been there before. For iconic value, you can't surpass the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, Central Park and Times Square. The Museum of Modern Art is one of the world's top museums, and the Guggenheim Museum and American Museum of Natural History aren't far behind. Bookshops, food, theatre, shopping, people: it doesn't really matter what you do or where you go in New York because the city itself is an in-your-face, exhilarating experience.

Los Angeles

Starlit and moonstruck, LA beguiles scores of curious tourists, hopeful starlets and wannabe rock gods every day. But there's a lot more to it than the siren call of fame and fortune. It's a thriving, multilayered city filled with world-class everything: museums, music, food, architecture, gardens.

Although often gridlocked by traffic, LA moves to a rhythm all of its own. A vortex of creative energy spawns a never-ending stream of movies, inventions and trends. Hollywood and Disneyland are givens, but LA's hidden enclaves have a surprising subtlety and flavour which flout the stereotypes.

Though it's a place where two-bit socialites are household names and nobodies erect billboard shrines to themselves, LA can easily satisfy those looking for more than Mickey Mouse ears. Its statuesque palms and cheery light gladden the heart. Galleries are beginning to burgeon in derelict downtown patches. Pack your sense of humour and, in between marvelling at its peculiarities and revelling in its hallowed icons, don't forget to go looking for the LA behind the tinsel.

Smithsonian Institute

Huge and often overwhelming, The Smithsonian encompasses 14 museums and galleries in DC alone. The two big drawcards are the Museum of National History and the Air and Space Museum, but leave time to explore the Asian art of the Freer Gallery, and marvel at the earnest patriotism of the Museum of American History.

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Cleveland's top attraction, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame & Museum is more than a collection of memorabilia, though it does have Janis Joplin's psychedelic Porsche and Ray Charles' sunglasses. Interactive multimedia exhibits trace the history and social context of rock music and the performers who created it.

And why is the museum in Cleveland of all places? Because this is the hometown of Alan Freed, the disk jockey who popularized the term 'rock 'n' roll' in the early 50s.

Niagara Falls

Misty sprays and the majestic scale of this roaring cascade make it a marvellous spectacle. Split between New York and Canada, the Canadian side of the Falls has the more stunning views (as well as a strip of Vegas-like attractions including a towering casino), while the New York side has a handful of low-key, natural-park offerings.

Mt Rushmore National Monument

Carved 18m (60ft) tall in the granite of a Black Hills outcrop, the stony faces of past presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt, look like they're emerging from the mountain. One of the most famous images in the USA, Mt Rushmore is visited by over 3 million visitors a year.

You can't help but be overwhelmed by its sheer scale and the massive physical effort of the team (led by sculptor Gutzon Borglum) that created it. If Washington were depicted from head to toe, he would be 142m (465ft) high!

Black Hills National Forest

The majority of the Black Hills' attractions lie within a 1875-sq-mile mixture of protected and logged forest, perforated by pockets of private land along most roads. The best way to explore is on any of the 568km (353mi) of hiking trails or along the many scenic byways and gravel 'fire roads'. Good camping abounds in the forest.

Statue of Liberty

This great statue is an American icon and New York's best-known landmark. Unfortunately, visitor experience has been significantly marred by post-September 11 concerns. You can no longer go up into the body of the statue, just glimpse it from the base, where a specially designed glass ceiling lets you look up into the striking interior.

Central Park

This enormous gem of a park right in the middle of Manhattan is for many what makes New York liveable and lovable. The park's 843 acres were set aside in 1856 on the marshy northern fringe of the city. The landscaping was innovative in its naturalistic style, with forested groves, meandering paths and informal ponds.

Highlights include Strawberry Fields, at 72nd St, dedicated to John Lennon, who lived at (and was murdered in front of) the Dakota apartment building across the street; the sparkling Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir, encircled by joggers daily; the zoo; Shakespeare in the Park performances in the Delacorte Theater; major concerts on the Great Lawn; and the formal promenade called the Mall, which culminates at the elegant Bethesda Fountain. A favourite tourist activity is to rent a horse-drawn carriage at 59th St.

Historic Voodoo Museum

This fascinating museum explores the history of voodoo, the exotic form of spiritual expression first brought to New Orleans by West African slaves who came on ships via Haiti. Live out all your spell-casting fantasies. It is still operational post-Hurricane Katrina, but call ahead for tours.

Getty Center

This sprawling campus presents triple delights: a respectable art collection (Renaissance to David Hockney), the fabulous architecture of Richard Meier and beautiful gardens. On clear days, you'll be treated to breathtaking views of city and ocean.

Death Valley National Park

The name itself evokes all that is harsh and hellish - a lifeless place hotter than Satan's hoof. Well, not quite. Closer inspection reveals Death Valley as a timeless medley of canyons, sand dunes, oases and sculpted mountains. Bring plenty of water for yourself and your vehicle. Wildflower groupies will want to visit in March and April.

It holds the US records for hottest temperature (56°C or 134°F, measured in 1913), lowest point (Badwater, 86m/282ft below sea level) and largest national park outside Alaska (12,139 sq km/4687 sq mi).

Hostelling International-American Youth Hostels (HI-AYH)

HI-AYH runs about 125 hostels in the US. Reservations are accepted and advised during the high season. If you're in the US, you can reserve most affiliated hostels through the central booking service; you need the hostel's access code, which is listed online and in the HI-AYH handbook.

UK Embassy

Visa office situated around the corner from the embassy, at 19 Observatory Circle NW.

Kampgrounds of America

A national network of private campgrounds with a full range of facilities.

Adventure Cycling Association

The Adventure Cycling Association is the best point of contact for two wheel junkies visiting the US. They organise tours for cyclists, sell great bike routes and they also publish the Adventure Cyclist Magazine.

Council on International Educational Exchange

Access-Able Travel Source

An excellent website with many links for disabled travellers.

Planned Parenthood

Offers advice on medical issues and referrals to clinics throughout the country.

Mobility International USA

Advises disabled travellers on mobility issues and runs an educational exchange program.

Gay & Lesbian National Hotline

A national hotline for help, counselling, information and referrals.

Australian Embassy