Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco

engineering marvel, art deco icon, monument to progress: The Golden Gate Bridge does much more than connect San Francisco to Marin County. Named for the strait it spans -- the 3-mile passage between San Francisco Bay and the Pacific -- the bridge is a grand symbol of one of the world's most striking cities. Completed in 1937, the $35 million structure of concrete and steel embodied a city's unquenchable spirit -- and, by extension, the nation's. Set off by its signature orange paint job, twin 750-foot towers that seem to disappear into the heavens and spidery cables that stretch like harp strings, the Golden Gate was unlike anything else ever built. At 4,200 feet, the main suspension span was easily the world's longest. (Almost 70 years later, it ranks seventh.) Facts and figures tell only a partial story: Admired as a practical feat, the bridge is beloved as a work of art, one of the greatest the 20th century produced in any medium. For more, go to sfvisitor.org.

The upper Mississippi River

For third-place honors, we turn to an area less celebrated than others, but nonetheless packed with the unique beauty our nation abounds in. Its low profile makes it all the more charming. To truly appreciate the Mississippi, we leave the familiar territory of Huck and Tom and take a spin on the Great River Road as it runs alongside Old Muddy's upper reaches through Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota. One of the nation's most scenic routes, it winds over hills, atop towering bluffs and through one 19th-century river town after another. The sites along the way read like chapters in American history. Ancient Indian burial mounds punctuate rolling parkland, sidewheelers ply the river, and villages on either bank present fine examples of Steamboat Gothic, the ornate architectural style born in the heyday of river travel. In Galena, Ill., 85% of the buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places. At Trempealeau, Wis., the Trempealeau Hotel has offered haven to watermen since 1888. The whole laid-back region's real draw is the river itself. Steady and timeless, it makes one fine traveling companion as it rolls toward the Gulf.

Nighttime view from Mount Washington in Pittsburgh

in a nation with a wealth of stunning cities full of compelling stories, ranking Pittsburgh as the No. 2 beauty spot is perhaps our most surprising choice. But the Steel City's aesthetic appeal is undeniable, as is its very American capacity for renewal. Standing on top of Mount Washington, the steep hill that rises giddily on the city's south side, sightsee enjoy unforgettable panorama of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers flowing together to create the mighty Ohio, that waterway so important in the nation's resolve. Rivers cup of downtown's glittering Golden Triangle, where landmark skyscrapers thrust upward like rockets. At night, lights flash on no fewer than 15 bridges. Almost as glamorous as Vista itself is the urban renewal that made it possible. A century ago, a Pall of smoke was so thick over the city that street lights burned all day. As Pittsburgh continues an evolutionary course that has taken it from trading post to the transportation hub for industrial Goliath, we salute its reinvention of the one of America's most scenic and livable communities. The life of a city, there is nothing more beautiful or inspiring than a renaissance. For more, go to pittsburgh.net.

Hawaii's Na Pali coast

At its extreme west end, half a world away from the cradle of the American Revolution, we get a flash of insight into the restlessness that led our ancestors from New England to the Pacific and beyond. They pushed west in search of paradise. Amid the coral reefs, beaches and mist-shrouded volcanic peaks of Hawaii's oldest island, they certainly found it. Along the Kalalau Trail on the Na Pali coast of Kauai, Verdant mountains plunge 4,000 feet into the sparkling Pacific. A short stroll home where Hanakapi'ai Falls pours into a crystal pool and tropical flowers dapple the lush slopes, the play of color and light creates the effect of an Impressionist painting gone native. Experience the splendor at your own risk: The hardest thing about a trip to Kauai is boarding the plane to go home. For more, go to kauaivisitorsbureau.org.