Things to do in Honolulu
Top sights and attractions to build your days around once you know when to go.
USS Missouri
USS Missouri (BB-63) is an Iowa-class battleship built for the United States Navy (USN) in the 1940s and is now a museum ship. Completed in 1944, she is the last battleship commissioned by the United States. The ship was assigned to the Pacific Theater during World War II, where she participated in the Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa and shelled the Japanese home islands. Her quarterdeck was the site where the Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed, officially ending World War II.
ʻIolani Palace
The ʻIolani Palace was the royal residence of the rulers of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi beginning with Kamehameha III under the Kamehameha Dynasty (1845) and ending with Queen Liliʻuokalani (1893) under the Kalākaua Dynasty. It is located in the capitol district of downtown Honolulu in the U.S. state of Hawaiʻi. It is now a National Historic Landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places. After the monarchy was overthrown in 1893, the building was used as the capitol building for the Provisional Government, Republic, Territory, and State of Hawaiʻi until 1969. The palace was restored and opened to the public as a museum in 1978. ʻIolani Palace is the only royal palace on US soil.
Honolulu Museum of Art
The Honolulu Museum of Art is an art museum in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. The museum is the largest of its kind in the state, and was founded in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke. It has one of the largest collections of Asian and Pan-Pacific art in the United States, and since its official opening on April 8, 1927, its collections have grown to more than 55,000 works of art.
USS Arizona Memorial
The USS Arizona Memorial, at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, marks the resting place of 1,102 of the 1,177 sailors and Marines killed on USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and commemorates the events of that day. The attack on Pearl Harbor led to the United States' involvement in World War II.
Aloha Stadium
Aloha Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Hālawa, Hawaii, a western suburb of Honolulu. Located just south of Aiea off the northeastern corner of Pearl Harbor next to the Kamehameha Highway, it was the largest stadium in the state of Hawaii. The stadium ceased fan-attended operations in December 2020, and demolition commenced in December 2025. It is set to be replaced by a 31,000-seat multi-purpose stadium that will be constructed on the same site.
Bishop Museum
The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, designated the Hawaiʻi State Museum of Natural and Cultural History, is a museum of history and science in the historic Kalihi district of Honolulu on the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu. Founded in 1889, it is the largest museum in Hawaiʻi and has the world's largest collection of Polynesian cultural artifacts and natural history specimens. Besides the comprehensive exhibits of Hawaiian cultural material, the museum's total holding of natural history specimens exceeds 24 million, of which the entomological collection alone represents more than 13.5 million specimens. The Index Herbariorum code assigned to Herbarium Pacificum of this museum is BISH and this abbreviation is used when citing housed herbarium specimens.
USS Bowfin
USS Bowfin (SS/AGSS-287), is a Balao-class submarine of the United States Navy named for the bowfin fish. Since 1981, she has been open to public tours at the Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, next to the USS Arizona Memorial Visitor Center.
Honolulu Zoo
The Honolulu Zoo is a 42-acre (17 ha) zoo in Queen Kapiʻolani Park in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. It is the only zoo in the United States to be established by grants made by a sovereign monarch and is built on part of the 300-acre (121 ha) royal Queen Kapiʻolani Park. The Honolulu Zoo features over 1,230 animals in specially designed habitats.
Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace
The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace is the mother church and cathedral of the Diocese of Honolulu.
Waikiki Aquarium
The Waikīkī Aquarium is an aquarium in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. It was founded in 1904 and has been an institution of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa since 1919. The aquarium is the second-oldest still-operating public aquarium in the United States, after the New York Aquarium.
Aloha Tower
The Aloha Tower is a retired lighthouse that is considered one of the landmarks of the state of Hawaii in the United States. Opened on September 11, 1926, at a cost of $160,000, the tower is at Pier 9 of Honolulu Harbor. It is a guiding beacon welcoming vessels to the City and County of Honolulu. Just as the Statue of Liberty greeted hundreds of thousands of immigrants each year to New York City, the Aloha Tower greeted hundreds of thousands of immigrants to Honolulu. At 10 stories and 184 feet (56 m) of height topped with 40 feet (12 m) of flag mast, Aloha Tower was Hawaii's tallest structure for four decades. It was built in the Hawaiian Gothic architectural style.
Washington Place
Washington Place is a Greek Revival palace in the Hawaii Capital Historic District in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was where Queen Liliʻuokalani was arrested during the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Later it became the official residence of the governor of Hawaii. In 2007, it was designated as a National Historic Landmark. The current governor's residence was built in 2008 behind the historic residence and is located on the same grounds as Washington Place.
Places from Wikidata and Wikipedia.
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