Explore the USA!
As an international student, you can get to know not only the town or city near your university, but also travel to other parts of the United States. Each region of the country has its own geography, flavor, and culture. Take every chance you have to explore all that the USA has to offer! Here are some ideas of what to do across the country.
1. Seattle, Washington
Walk — and eat your way! — around Pike Place Market, see the view from the top of the Space Needle, hike Mount Rainier, kayak in Lake Union, visit the Museum of Pop Culture, see a show at The Crocodile or The Showbox, ride the Seattle Great Wheel overlooking Elliot Bay
2. San Francisco, California
Walk across the Golden Gate Bridge, drive down the crookedest street in the world, ride a ferry to Alcatraz and tour the prison, eat a burrito in the Mission, play frisbee in Golden Gate Park, hike in Muir Woods, drive down the coast to Big Sur
3. Los Angeles, California
Surf at the beach, tour Warner Brothers or Universal Studios, hike in the canyons, go to Disneyworld, shop on Rodeo Drive, see a concert at the Hollywood Bowl, eat fries at In-N-Out Burger, watch the sunset from Griffith Observatory
4. Las Vegas, Nevada
See the fountains at the Bellagio, tour of the Neon Museum, hike in a nearby state park, go to a concert by an artist in residency, ride the Big Apple Coaster at the New York-New York hotel, rent a car and drive to the Grand Canyon
5. Montana and Wyoming
Visit hot springs, try white-water rafting, go mountain climbing, fishing, camping or hiking in a national park — Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Glacier National — see wildlife, including bison, elk, bears, and wolves, visit a dude ranch, go to a rodeo
6. Boulder & Denver, Colorado
Hike the nearby mountains in the summer or ski them in the winter, see an outdoor concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, visit a brewery, meander through the outdoor Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, rent a scooter or bicycle and toodle around Denver
7. Austin, Texas
Go to SXSW, see rock and blues shows, tour a brewery, check out the bats at the South Avenue Congress Bridge, do a walking tour of street art, paddle board or canoe at Lady Bird Lake, eat tacos
8. Kansas City, Kansas & Missouri (one city, two states!)
Eat ribs at Joe’s Kansas City Barbecue, tour the American Jazz Museum, shop and eat at City Market, during the Christmas holidays see the lights at Country Club Plaza, go to a Kansas City Royals baseball game
9. New Orleans, Louisiana
Eat! — jambalaya, po’boy sandwiches, gumbo, crayfish etouffée, beignets — see live jazz, walk around the French Quarter and the Garden District, go to Mardi Gras or Jazz Fest, visit an above-ground historical cemetery, take an old-fashioned steamboat ride on the river
10. Chicago, Illinois
Take a selfie at The Bean in Millennium Park, eat deep-dish pizza, boat down the river while enjoying an architecture tour of downtown, go to The Art Institute, mosey along the Riverwalk, see the views from the Willis Tower Skydeck, bike along the Lakefront Trail
11. Nashville, Tennessee
Go to a show at the Grand Ole Opry, visit the Country Music Hall of Fame, tour the Johnny Cash Museum, shop for records — or record one! — at Third Man Records, eat barbecue
12. Atlanta, Georgia
Tour the Coca-Cola factory, visit the Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic Site, eat Southern food — like biscuits & gravy, fried chicken, and grits — experience the hip-hop and R&B music scene, visit the National Center for Civil and Human Rights
13. Washington, D.C.
Visit one of many free museums, including the Air & Space Museum, the National Gallery of Art, and Museum of African American History and Culture, tour the U.S. Capitol or the National Cathedral, walk along the Potomac to Mount Vernon, see the cherry blossoms in bloom in March
14. New York, New York
Bike across the Brooklyn Bridge, take a ferry to the Statue of Liberty, walk around Central Park, see a play (on or off) Broadway, visit a museum, walk the Highline, take the subway to Coney Island, eat bao in Chinatown, pizza in Little Italy, or a pastrami on rye at Katz’s
15. Boston, Massachusetts
Visit Revolutionary War historical spots — Paul Revere’s house, Tea Party Ships and Museum, and the Old South Meeting House — stroll around the Harvard campus, tour Fenway Park or go to a Red Sox game, eat and shop at Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market, boat on the Charles River