A tour to explore the city's country music scene is essential in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo / Getty Images
A tour to explore the city's country music scene is essential in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo / Getty Images
In a country as diverse as the US, you'll find tours to suit all tastes and interests, writes Brett Atkinson
From Oregon to Orlando and Nevada to Nashville, team up with savvy and authoritative local guides to discover the food, art, history and culture of cities throughout North America.
Explore Portland's craft beer scene
Dubbed "Beervana", Oregon's biggest city is one of the world's best destinations for travelling hopheads. Getting around the city in a minibus, options with City Brew Tours include the Pacific Northwest is Best tour, exploring the hoppy beer styles influencing craft beer around the planet, and the Original Brew Tour, including up to 16 different beer tastings and the opportunity to chat to local brewers harnessing hops, grain, yeast and water to create Oregon craft beer alchemy. Breweries visited could include innovative Portland icons such as Von Ebert, Ex Novo and Unicorn. citybrewtours.com
JFK Historical Tours provides detailed and poignant insights into the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy in Dallas in November 1963, beginning at Dealey Plaza and the building then known as the Texas Book Depository – allegedly where shots were fired by Lee Harvey Oswald and now the Sixth Floor Museum – before continuing to the Grassy Knoll where debate continues over whether additional shots were also fired from there. Following the weekend timeline that unfolded after the Friday afternoon shooting, other Dallas locations visited during comprehensive and informative tours include the Texas Theatre where Oswald was arrested by Dallas police. discoverdallastours.com
The Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas is the starting point for the JFK Historical Tour. Photo / Getty Images
Join a rollicking country music road trip in Nashville
Equal parts comedy show, interactive music gig and city tour, an experience with Music City Rollin' Jamboree is a great way to explore the home of country music. Hosted by a country music uber-fan and a Grammy award-winning singer, it's a hugely fun way to spend 90 minutes. Sing along to country classics you'll be surprised you know all the words to, and definitely pack a robust sense of humour for all the jokes delivered along the way. A few of the jokes mean the Rollin' Jamboree experience is restricted to country music fans 21 years and older. musiccityrollinjamboree.com
Go behind the scenes at Orlando's Kennedy Space Center
Options at Nasa's Kennedy Space Center – around 80km east of Orlando – include guided bus tours around the facility's main installations. These include the Apollo/Saturn V Center which enabled travel to the moon in the 1960s and 1970s, and more contemporary multi-user areas now being contracted by private space exploration companies such as Elon Musk's SpaceX. Other highlights of the centre include the Race to the Moon exhibition and the Gateway gallery focusing on journeying to Mars and further into deep space. kennedyspacecenter.com
There's plenty to see on a guided tour inside Orlando's Kennedy Space Center. Photo / Getty Images
Experience the food scene of downtown Los Angeles
Six different food stops across three hours provide plenty of local flavours on a walking tour of downtown Los Angeles. Also incorporating the cultural and architectural heritage of this revitalised and re-emerging area, tasty dishes could include slow-cooked beef tacos, authentic Naples-style pizza topped with farm-fresh Californian ingredients, and oven-fresh French baking. A highlight of LA's historic Grand Central Market is Texas-style barbecue from Horse Thief BBQ, while the hip Corporation Food Hall includes plant-based burgers at Plant-It Burger and Japanese dumplings at Gyoza Boyz. sidewalkfoodtours.com
Ride across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco
Dominating the San Francisco skyline, arguably the world's most famous bridge is best explored on two wheels. Golden Gate & Sausalito bike tours with Streets of San Francisco meander for 13km over three hours, beginning with the famous California sea lions around Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf and ending across the bay in the picturesque seaside village of Sausalito. Options for lunch in Sausalito include oceanfront seafood at Salito's Crab House & Prime Rib before catching one of San Francisco's famous Blue & Gold ferries back to Fisherman's Wharf. sosfbiketours.com
Cycle over the iconic bridge on a tour of San Francisco. Photo / Getty Images
Discover culinary fusion in Hawaii
With the food cultures of more recent arrivals from Japan, Korea and the Philippines all blending with local Polynesian traditions, Hawaii offers delicious culinary fusion. Beginning in Honolulu, Oahu Circle Island Food Tours combine exploring Hawaii's most populous island – including essential sights like the Halona Blowhole and Kualoa Regional Park – with foodie stops for garlic shrimp at Fumi's food truck, malasadas (Portuguese-style doughnuts) at the legendary Leonard's Bakery, and traditional Hawaiian dishes such as kalua pork. Macadamia nuts and organic coffee complete a flavour-packed day. andyoucreations.com
Eat your way around the world in Toronto's Kensington Market
More than 170 different languages are represented in Canada's biggest city, and a great way to explore Toronto's cultural diversity is on a walking tour around Kensington Market. Experiences with Local Toronto Food Tours spend around three hours exploring the market, combining historical and cultural insights with a global menu of tastings. It's probably the only place in the world where Native American bannock (fry bread)) at the Pow Wow Cafe can be followed by traditional Tibetan momos (dumplings) and spicy Jamaican-style meat patties. localfoodtours.com/toronto
Quirky and colourful shops in Toronto's Kensington Street, home to the popular Kensington Market. Photo / Getty Images
Uncover the roots of punk and hip-hop in New York
Exploring the legacy of iconic New York bands including The Velvet Underground and Talking Heads, Birth of Punk tours with Walk on the Wild Side take in legendary venues like CBGB, the local spots where the New York Dolls and the Patti Smith Group first formed, and gritty urban locations where classic album covers for the Ramones and Television were photographed. Other tours focus on exploring the rap and hip-hop legacy of Public Enemy, the Beastie Boys and Run-DMC, and the graffiti-influenced art of Jean-Michel Basquiat. walkonthewildsidenyc.com
Cruise past Chicago's architectural heritage
Best seen while cruising along Chicago's river system – a labyrinthine network of rivers and canals actually covering 250km – the soaring architectural heritage of Chicago spans more than 150 years. Proto skyscrapers erected following 1871's Great Fire of Chicago were followed by soaring 20th-century edifices designed by legendary architects including Mies van der Rohe, while 21st-century temples to commerce and ego include Aqua and Chicago's very own Trump Tower. Ninety-minute tours run throughout the day, while two-hour Saturday night tours also include fireworks. architecturetourchicago.com
Be immersed in the after-dark neon spectacle of Las Vegas
At sunset, Nevada's Sin City of nightlife and gambling is illuminated by shimmering neon, a spectacle best experienced on a Bright Lights: Las Vegas at Night tour with Pink Adventure Tours. Look forward to getting around the desert city in a bright pink Jeep Wrangler, and after kicking things off with a photo stop at the famous Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign, continuing past Wedding Chapel Row and on to ride the High Roller Ferris wheel, soaring 180 metres above the Las Vegas strip. pinkadventuretours.com
Explore Las Vegas at night with Pink Adventure Tours. Photo / Getty Images
Understand African-American history in Memphis
Exploring the influence of African-American culture and heritage in Memphis, two-and-a-half-hour tours with ATOP Memphis – standing for "A Tour of Possibilities" – showcase the impact of black America in music, sports and history in the Tennessee city. Poignant stops include visiting the National Civil Rights Museum and the Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum, while there's a music focus at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, and Beale Street, the historic birthplace of the blues. atopmemphis.com
Historic Beale Street is a must-see in Memphis. Photo / Montoya Hudson, Memphis Tourism
