A Coast-to-Coast Holiday in the USA

With attractions that never cease to fascinate and amaze, and with so many states to choose from, you'd better make your USA holiday a long one... You'll need all the time to explore!

Chicago. Pay tribute to the City of the Big Shoulders' favourite son by taking the Presidential Chicago tour. You'll wind up on the lakefront where the First Family used to take strolls, the basketball courts at Hayes Drive where the President used to shoot some hoops, or his old neighbourhood which is lined with museums. Pick a tome from the shelves of 57th Street Books in Hyde Park, which the First Lady herself calls "wonderful." You should also try the deep-dish pizza, all-beef hotdogs, and other kinds of soul food the "Hog Butcher for the World" is known for.

Las Vegas. If you want to go all out and over the top, then this is the place. The City of Sin, Las Vegas is the pleasure park you've always dreamed of, where you can drink, party, and play until you can't take any more. Play at the casino, attend a bacchanalian feast, watch a Cirque du Soleil performance, listen to live music, or catch a bawdy dance number. You can also make a side trip to the Grand Canyon from here. Because of its majesty, some people even considered it a religious site.

Los Angeles. "Spider-Man", "Mr. & Mrs. Smith", and "Memoirs of a Geisha" were shot in the glamorous town of LA, but there are actually a lot of things to do for free here. Be seen at Cabrillo, Venice, or Surfrider beaches; check out the fossils at La Brea Tar Pits; or saunter along the Hollywood Walk of Fame. You'll marvel at the street performers at Venice Oceanfront Walk, get bug-eyed at the fresh produce in LA Farmers Market, and discover the mini-nations (China, Ethiopia, Japan...) which have formed LA's neighbourhoods. A drive down Muholland Drive, from Hollywood to the Pacific Ocean, is a must to enjoy the sights fully.

New York City. We've already seen the Big Apple from so many angles, whether on Gossip Girl or Sex and the City, "Two Weeks Notice" or "You've Got Mail", MTV's TRL or the New Year Ball Drop. But somehow, New York's Times Square, Broadway, and Statue of Liberty - and even that ridiculous shirt with an "I HEART NY" on it - keep taunting us to take a big, crunchy bite out of the real thing. For a little "culture", visit during the Lower East Side Festival of the Arts, or pop inside the Museum of Modern Art or the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Catch a concert at Madison Square Garden, or take it all in from the Top of the Rock Observation Deck.

Don't forget the flamboyant disctricts of San Francisco, the historic streets of Boston, and the mysterious swamps of New Orleans!