USA Coast to Coast Adventure: from Washington to Los Angeles

Washington DC rises on the banks of the Potomac River, capital of the United States and political heart of the nation, a city of monumental vistas and broad green spaces best explored on foot. Its centrepiece is the National Mall, the long esplanade lining up the symbols of American democracy: the white-domed Capitol, the soaring Washington Monument obelisk, the Lincoln Memorial overlooking the Reflecting Pool, and the memorials to Jefferson, Roosevelt and the war veterans. Along the Mall stand the world-class, free-admission museums of the Smithsonian Institution, from the National Air and Space Museum to the National Gallery of Art, the Museum of Natural History and the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Nearby, the White House can be admired across the gardens of Pennsylvania Avenue. Yet Washington is far more than its institutions: its neighbourhoods tell another story. Georgetown, the oldest, lines federal townhouses, boutiques and cafés along the C&O Canal and the Potomac; Dupont Circle is the bohemian heart of galleries and bookshops; U Street keeps alive the legacy of jazz and historic venues; Adams Morgan buzzes with ethnic kitchens and nightlife. The capital's tables mirror this diversity, from markets such as Eastern Market to an international dining scene and the local classic of the half-smoke sausage. In spring the city turns pink with the cherry blossom around the Tidal Basin, a gift from Japan and the occasion for the famous Cherry Blossom Festival. Nearby, a trip to Alexandria in Virginia or to Mount Vernon, George Washington's residence, rounds off the journey. Between neoclassical marble, great museums and neighbourhoods of distinct character, Washington DC blends the solemnity of power with the vibrancy of a capital that invites discovery step by step.

Gettysburg is a small Pennsylvania town whose name is inextricably tied to American history: here, in July 1863, the bloodiest battle of the Civil War was fought, the turning point of the conflict. The vast Gettysburg National Military Park preserves the battlefields, artillery and hundreds of commemorative monuments, which can be explored on foot, by car or on horseback. The national cemetery is the site where Abraham Lincoln delivered the famous Gettysburg Address. The historic centre, with its brick streets, period inns and museums, retains the atmosphere of the nineteenth century intact. Amid historical reenactments and gentle rural hills, Gettysburg offers a profound journey into the memory and identity of the United States.

Niagara Falls, on the Canadian side, offers the most spectacular view of the famous Niagara Falls, among the most renowned and visited in the world. The imposing Horseshoe Falls plunge with power, creating clouds of spray and rainbows, in a scene of grandiose nature. Sightseeing boats carry visitors to the foot of the falls, while walkways and viewing terraces allow them to be admired from every angle, by day and night, when they are lit with light displays. The town that hosts them offers attractions, casinos, observation towers and a lively atmosphere. Nearby, the wine region and picturesque Niagara-on-the-Lake enrich the visit. Thrilling and overwhelming, Niagara Falls is one of North America's most iconic natural wonders, capable of leaving every visitor breathless.

You follow the western coast of Lake Ontario. The main highlights of the Toronto visit include the financial district, the old and new City Halls, the Parliament of Ontario, University Avenue with its most important hospitals and traditional institutions, the distinctive Yorkville district with its elegant shops, Chinatown (the second largest in Canada), and the CN Tower—the tallest structure in the Western Hemisphere at 553.33 meters, visited by more than 2 million people every year.

Cradle of the American auto industry and home of Motown, Detroit is today a city in full revival, where its industrial heritage coexists with vibrant creative energy. Downtown shows off Art Deco skyscrapers such as the Guardian Building and the Fisher Tower, overlooking the Detroit River and the RiverWalk waterfront. The Detroit Institute of Arts holds masterpieces and Diego Rivera's famous murals devoted to industry, while the Motown Museum tells the story of the musical revolution born in the studios of “Hitsville U.S.A.”. The historic Eastern Market enlivens weekends with markets and murals, and neighbourhoods like Corktown are reborn amid distilleries and restaurants. Detroit wins over those seeking culture, music and the authentic, resilient soul of industrial America.

Chicago rises along the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, the third-largest city in the United States and the acknowledged birthplace of the modern skyscraper: here, after the Great Fire of 1871, American architecture reinvented itself, giving rise to one of the most famous skylines in the world. Its beating heart is the Loop, the business district encircled by the elevated 'L' train, where masterpieces by Louis Sullivan, Mies van der Rohe and Frank Lloyd Wright stand side by side. A short walk leads to Millennium Park, with the gleaming 'Cloud Gate' sculpture (nicknamed 'The Bean' by locals) and the Jay Pritzker Pavilion designed by Frank Gehry. Nearby, the Art Institute of Chicago, one of America's great museums, guards Impressionist masterpieces and Grant Wood's celebrated 'American Gothic'. Along the water, the Chicago Riverwalk offers another vantage on the city, while the boats of the Architecture River Cruise glide between the façades, recounting a century and a half of building ingenuity. Toward the lake, Navy Pier with its Ferris wheel and the Magnificent Mile, the elegant stretch of Michigan Avenue lined with shops and hotels, set the rhythm of city life. Yet Chicago is also music and flavour: the home of electric blues and jazz resounds in the clubs of the South Side, while its tables serve the hearty deep-dish pizza, Chicago-style hot dogs and the food markets of lively neighbourhoods such as Pilsen and West Loop. Rising to the 412-metre Skydeck of the Willis Tower, the gaze sweeps across the lake and the boundless Illinois plain. A city of lakes and skyscrapers, of jazz and bold architecture, Chicago reveals itself on foot, amid the gusts that earned it the nickname 'Windy City' and the unmistakable energy of the American Midwest.

What remains of Route 66 and its modern version, I-55, diagonally connect the two metropolises of Chicago and St. Louis in a predominantly rural landscape, through cornfields that stretch to the horizon and flat prairies as far as the eye can see. The hinterland of the two cities is heavily industrial and rather poor, and doesn't really offer much to the traveler looking for traces of the "Mother Road". The only real city along the entire route is the capital of Illinois, Springfield, which has well-preserved sections of Route 66 as well as memories related to President Lincoln. However, there are also dozens of scattered small towns that strive to maintain a connection with Route 66, and almost all of them boast at least one landmark. St. Louis announces itself from afar with the unmistakable silhouette of the Gateway Arch, the 192-metre steel arch celebrating the westward expansion of the United States. Overlooking the banks of the Mississippi, this historic Missouri city blends grand nineteenth-century boulevards, a fervent musical past and a lively dining scene. The Forest Park district, larger than New York's Central Park, is home to museums, the zoo and the Saint Louis Art Museum, all free to enter. A cradle of blues and ragtime, it preserves historic venues where live music has never fallen silent, while the famous Anheuser-Busch brewery recounts the city's beer-making heritage. Don't miss the scenic ride to the top of the arch. St. Louis is where frontier America meets the great river metropolises.

Springfield rises in the heart of the rolling Ozarks region of southwestern Missouri and is known as the "Birthplace of Route 66," the legendary highway that was named here in 1926. This welcoming American city proudly preserves the memory of the "Mother Road," celebrated in museums and nostalgic neon signs. A must-see is the colossal Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium, among the largest aquariums in the country, dedicated to wildlife and natural habitats. The surrounding area opens onto the rural landscapes of the Ozarks, with lakes, caves, and woodland trails ideal for nature lovers. The nearby town of Branson adds entertainment and live shows. Springfield is an authentic stop for those traveling the great road-trip routes of the United States.

Oklahoma City spreads broad and modern across the heart of the Great Plains, capital of a state where cowboy culture meets contemporary urban energy. The revitalised Bricktown district, with its old brick warehouses overlooking a navigable canal, brims with restaurants, bars and galleries. The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum tells the saga of the West, while the Oklahoma City National Memorial honours, with quiet intensity, the victims of the 1995 bombing. Those drawn to tradition will find a tribute to the state's native nations at the First Americans Museum. Local cuisine celebrates grilled meats and Southwestern flavours, best enjoyed in classic steakhouses and the still-active stockyards. Oklahoma City is an authentic stop along the routes of Route 66, balancing frontier spirit and renewal.

After leaving Oklahoma City, continue along Route 66 until you reach Hydro, Texas, and visit Lucille's Service Station. Built in 1929, it is one of the few remaining historic service stations on Route 66 in Oklahoma. Continue along Route 66 to the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in Clinton. Here you will find memorabilia that tells the story and legends of the most famous highway in the United States. As you cross the state border towards Amarillo, Texas, you will travel through a part of Route 66 rich in vintage icons and references to the Wild West. Long stretches of the old road still remain, in various places with the original pavement. Amarillo rises in the heart of the Texas Panhandle, a land of endless prairies and Route 66 legends. A historic crossroads on the famous "Mother Road", the city preserves the rugged, authentic spirit of the Wild West, with its legendary steakhouses and sprawling ranches. A few kilometres south opens Palo Duro Canyon, the second-largest canyon in the United States, a spectacular red-rock gorge crossed by trails for hiking and horseback riding. Not to be missed is the quirky Cadillac Ranch, an art installation of graffiti-covered cars planted in the ground that has become an icon of road-trip culture. Amarillo is an authentic stop for those crossing the great American plains in search of endless horizons.

Albuquerque stretches along the Rio Grande in New Mexico, where Native, Hispanic and Anglo heritage blend beneath an immense, luminous sky. Its ancient core is Old Town, founded in 1706, with the church of San Felipe de Neri, earth-coloured adobe buildings and pueblo craft shops. High above, the Sandia Peak Tramway — one of the longest aerial tramways in the world — climbs to the crest of the Sandia Mountains for sweeping desert views. The city is famous worldwide for the International Balloon Fiesta, when hundreds of hot-air balloons colour the autumn dawn. New Mexican cuisine carries the aroma of green and red chile, sopaipillas and pueblo dishes. Amid red mesas, art and Native culture, Albuquerque is the gateway to the authentic Southwest.

Holbrook is a classic town on historic Route 66, in northeastern Arizona, gateway to the striking Petrified Forest National Park. Here stands the famous Wigwam Motel, with its concrete tepee-shaped rooms, an icon of American road nostalgia. The nearby park holds vividly coloured petrified logs and the lunar landscapes of the Painted Desert. Between fossils, vintage motels and Mother Road memorabilia, Holbrook offers an authentic immersion in the atmosphere of the Southwest and the great American road trip.

Flagstaff sits at over 2,100 metres, at the foot of the San Francisco Peaks and surrounded by the world's largest continuous ponderosa pine forest. A laid-back university town, it keeps a brick-built historic centre along the legendary Route 66, lined with cafés, craft breweries and vintage shops. It is the natural gateway to the Grand Canyon, little more than an hour away, as well as to the volcanic landscapes of Sunset Crater and the ancestral ruins of Wupatki and Walnut Canyon. Crystalline skies and minimal light pollution make it one of the world's first dark-sky cities, a haven for stargazing at the Lowell Observatory. In winter, the slopes of Arizona Snowbowl offer surprise skiing in the heart of the Southwest. Flagstaff is an authentic base for exploring both desert and mountain on a single trip.

Las Vegas rises like a luminous mirage in the Mojave Desert, the world capital of entertainment, where excess becomes spectacle and the night never ends. Its pulsing artery is the Strip, the famous Las Vegas Boulevard lined with themed resorts that recreate the planet's great icons in miniature: at the Bellagio, fountains dance in choreographies of water and music before an artificial lake; the Paris Las Vegas is crowned by a replica of the Eiffel Tower; at the Venetian, gondoliers glide along Venetian-style canals beneath painted skies; at the Luxor, a black glass pyramid and a great sphinx evoke ancient Egypt, while the Mirage and the other gaming giants animate the scene with dazzling casinos. By night the city becomes a continuous stage: Cirque du Soleil shows, concerts, magic acts and residencies by major stars fill the theatres, while celebrated restaurants and gaming tables keep the metropolis awake until dawn. A short distance away, historic Downtown preserves the city's original face around the Fremont Street Experience, a pedestrian arcade canopied by a barrel vault of LED lights that brings the old Las Vegas back to life amid vintage neon signs and a more intimate atmosphere. Yet Las Vegas is also the gateway to magnificent natural landscapes: nearby, the Hoover Dam blocks the Colorado River to create Lake Mead, an ideal basin for boating and outdoor activities; Red Rock Canyon offers red sandstone formations crossed by trails and climbing walls; the Valley of Fire sets the desert ablaze with scarlet rock; and to the east opens the immensity of the Grand Canyon, one of the most beloved day trips. The city's most theatrical tradition is here too, that of the wedding chapels where couples marry in minutes, now an integral part of its legend. Between lights, desert and desire, Las Vegas remains a place where anything seems possible.

San Pedro faces the Pacific Ocean in the southern part of Los Angeles, a historic port neighbourhood with an authentic seafaring character. Home to one of America's most important ports, it keeps historic lighthouses, fish markets and the picturesque Cabrillo Beach. From here cruises and ferries depart for Catalina Island. San Pedro is a maritime gateway to the Los Angeles coast, between history and ocean.