Things to Do in Usa

Approximately 15 minutes south of downtown Washington, the 18th-century Old Town – the local nickname for the historic center of Alexandria -- hugs the western bank of the Potomac and blends the area’s cultural melting pot with America’s Colonial era. Originally laid out in 1749, this condensed commercial district full of cobbled streets and the well-preserved 18th century buildings features boutique and mall shopping, restaurants, nightlife, and lots of opportunities for sightseeing.

Many of the neighborhood’s most popular dining destinations offer sustainable takes on American cuisine, like Hank’s Oyster Bar and Restaurant Eve, and vintage pubs and taverns harken back to the area’s early days. Thai, Vietnamese, Mexican and Afghan eateries are common sights in Old Town, reflecting a steady influx of immigrants to Alexandria since the late 1980s.

Local attractions include steamboat tours on the Potomac; Colonial homes that offer daily tours, such as the Carlyle House (1753); and the Torpedo Factory Art Center, which used to be a center for munitions manufacturing and now houses a warren of artists’ studios.  From 7 a.m. to 12 noon every Saturday, one of the country’s oldest farmers’ markets is held in Old Town’s Market Square.

Free 24-hour parking passes called “proclamations” are available at the Alexandria Visitors Center (221 King Street), provided only to non-Alexandria residents. Proclamations are valid at two-hour metered spaces around Old Town and may be renewed once.

The area’s Metrorail stop is King Street-Old Town, which serves the Yellow Line from downtown Washington, D.C. From the King Street station, visitors can catch the Free King Street Trolley, which is free to ride, runs every 15 minutes, and stops at 20 different points around Old Town.

A festive chaotic Mexican marketplace, Olvera Street is part of colorful and car-free El Pueblo de Los Angeles, the vibrant historic district near the spot where LA's Mexican colonists first settled. Gaudy decoration and souvenir stalls abound here, alongside dozens of little eateries serving tacos, tortas, and burritos. This is not a mere tourist trap: Olvera Street is a wonderful place to walk, eat and explore. It's a great add-on to a downtown LA visit.

On Olvera Street, you can shop for Chicano art, slurp thick Mexican-style hot chocolate, or pick up handmade candles and candy. Stop in Avila Adobe, the oldest surviving house in LA, which includes an exhibit on Christine Sterling who helped save the historic district.

Olvera Street spills into the Old Plaza, El Pueblo's central square with a pretty wrought-iron bandstand. Sleepy during the week, the square turns into a full-blown fiesta zone on Saturdays and Sundays, drawing crooning mariachis, costumed dancers, kissing couples, and strolling families. Historic buildings and statues surround the square.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places  and often called merely  "Old Town", this graceful valley swath beside the San Gabriel Mountains was first developed in the 1880s by railroad barons and hoteliers intent on luring winter-weary, cultured Easterners out west. Their efforts were ultimately successful, and Old Town Pasadena remains full of museums, scholarly institutions and well-manicured public spaces created by wealthy tourists who simply never left.

Old Town Pasadena today includes a popular mixed-use commercial district known for a largely upscale mix of restaurants and chain stores, as well as inexpensive and plentiful public parking. Along the main shopping streets, Orange Grove and Fair Oaks Boulevards, the buildings are largely examples of Art Deco architecture from the 1920s, carefully restored during the district's urban revival in the 1980s.

Fanning out from the commercial center, area attractions include the Norton Simon Museum, home to the eclectic and fabulously expensive art collection of millionaire industrialist Norton Simon; the Pasadena Museum of California Art, a modern, spare and expertly-curated museum where each exhibition provides an in-depth history of a single facet of the state; the Pasadena Playhouse, a Spanish Colonial Revival-style theater with a mosaic-inlaid dome, perfect acoustics and a rotating stage; the Gamble House, a 1908 Arts & Crafts mansion that was joinery-built without a single traditional nail, designed for the co-founder of Procter & Gamble by famed architecture firm Greene & Greene and Vroman's, the largest and oldest independently-run bookstore in Southern California.

The only mint in existence to hold the designation of printing both U.S. and Confederate coinage, the Old U.S. Mint has a story all its own. Built in 1835 and a product of Andrew Jackson’s “Bank War,” the Mint was built in the Greek Revival style and houses the history of 1838 until 1909 when minting ceased. Visitors can walk the mint exhibits and then the much applauded New Orleans Mint Performing Arts Center where new Jazz is made and the history of the art form is preserved. Located at the brink of the French Quarter and bordering the now famous Treme district, the Old U.S. Mint is a welcome reprieve from sometimes long days on your feet exploring the nuances of the Quarter, and even houses some great Jazz shows itself.