Things to Do in North America

Visit the spot where Calgary was born at Fort Calgary, and explore the city’s formative years from 1875 to 1914. A wooden fort was built here by the North West Mounted Police in 1875, and today, the legacy of those times is re-created with interactive exhibits, replica barracks, guided tours and an interpretive center.

Though you chose Acapulco for its beautiful beaches and exciting nightlife, the Fort of San Diego (or El Fuerte de San Diego) provides a fine, air-conditioned dose of cultural enrichment perfect for the entire family.

The fortress itself, though small, is an excellent example of classic Spanish defensive architecture, built in 1616 to repel increasingly brazen attacks by British pirates on the deep-water port. Its five photogenic stone arms topped with turrets, once protected galleons that connected the Americas to Asian ports.  

Today, they are filled with objects from that era, a part of the Museo Histórico de Acapulco. The permanent collection is solid, and the museum also exhibits shows traveling from elsewhere in Mexico.

Set in Capitol Hill in a unique building that blends Streamline Moderne and Greco Deco, this independent research library contains the world’s largest collection of William Shakespeare’s printed works. Endowed by Shakespeare memorabilia collector Henry Clay Folger (a former chairman of the Standard Oil Company and a member of the Folger Coffee family), the library was opened 316 years to the day after the Bard’s death, on April 23, 1932.

In addition to its permanent collections and rotating art exhibits, the Library houses the three-tiered, Elizabethan-style Folger Theater, which each season stages three of Shakespeare’s plays, as well as literary readings and lectures.

Portland is often lauded as one of the best cities in America for green spaces, due in no small part to 5,100-acre Forest Park, the largest urban forested area in America. Based on the landscaping advice of the legendary Olmstead Brothers (the design firm behind New York's Central Park), Forest Park was originally proposed as an expansive city park in the late 1800s; however, potential preservation costs and oil speculation kept it from becoming public land until the late 1940s.

Situated in Northwest Portland on the eastern slope of the Tualatin Mountains, the park's towering conifer canopy, basalt rock formations, rushing streams and plentiful wildlife make it a magnet for birdwatchers and nature photographers. 62 species of Coast Range-native mammals can be found here, as well as over 100 different species of birds, including the rare pygmy owl.

With 80 miles of fire roads, trails and paths, Forest Park is also enormously popular with hikers, runners, bikers and equestrians. The longest loop in the park, the 30-mile Wildwood Trail, is linked to various routes along the Columbia River, the Willamette Greenway and both Southeast and Southwest Portland.
 

Fort Adams State Park is one of Newport’s most popular playgrounds. In summer, locals and visitors alike come to swim, fish, sail, play soccer, and picnic on its 105 acres, all against a panoramic backdrop of Newport Harbor and Narragansett Bay. The park is also the site of Fort Adams, a sprawling 1820s fort that you can see on a guided tour, and the Museum of Yachting, which is housed in 19th-century stone barracks.

In August, the park hosts the famous Newport Jazz Festival and Newport Folk Festival, both of which feature performances from up-and-coming artists to big names. On the southern end of park is Hammersmith Farm, the childhood home of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis; she and President Kennedy also hosted their wedding reception here.

Featuring over 23 miles (37 kilometers) of pristine beach, visitors will have plenty of opportunities to swim and sunbathe. The Fort Lauderdale beachfront offers a wide number of experiences, like wind surfing, jet skiing, boating, snorkeling, deep sea fishing and scuba diving. If you’d rather stay on land, jogging, cycling, rollerblading and beach sports like volleyball and Frisbee are worthwhile beachfront options.

Spend some time in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, known for its scuba diving offerings and pier where you can watch fishermen reeling in fresh catch. Hugh Taylor Birch State Park is another top experience when exploring Fort Lauderdale’s beachfront, and can be accessed via the pedestrian tunnel under A1A. This park has a tropical-feel and offers chances to kayak, fish and cycle. And of course, visiting the beaches themselves is a must, like the family-friendly Deerfield Beach, trendy Fort Lauderdale Beach and adventure-focused Hallandale Beach.

In terms of accommodation, there are a number of Fort Lauderdale beachfront hotels, including the Atlantic Resort & Spa, a luxury boutique hotel overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and Intracoastal Waterway; the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Beach Hotel; and the beachfront Ocean Sky Hotel and Resort.

There are also a number of restaurants on the waterfront. After you eat, stroll down the Boulevard to peruse the many boutique shops or grab a drink at a tiki bar.

This boxy, modern 12-story office building in Midtown was designed in 1963 by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Kevin Roche and engineer John Dinkeloo; the duo’s local projects include renovations to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and American Museum of Natural History. Completed in 1968, the Ford Foundation Building is renowned for its tree-filled glass atrium, which sparked a trend of splashy indoor public spaces in Manhattan office buildings.

The Ford Foundation, created in the 1936 by automotive engineers Henry and Edsel Ford, makes considerable grants to interests in education, the arts and Third World development. Their headquarters were designed to illustrate their community involvement, and the L-shaped building, made largely of organic weathering steel, manages to integrate its garden surroundings and employ an open interior plan that encourages both employees and administrators to interact with one another.

A far cry from the busy beaches of Miami or Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers Beach is seven miles of pristine Florida coastline that has somehow managed to keep its sleepy charms well away from the busyness of other townships. Connected by bridge to sleepy Sanibel Island, here you can enjoy the sprawling sky and white sand dunes of Florida’s best beaches all while staying in a nearby resort that offers world-class amenities. Parasailing, deep sea fishing, windsurfing and spotting dolphins are all popular pastimes, but sometimes the best activity is just exploring the flour-soft sands and calling the beach your own.