Honolulu's must-see list is mostly made of history: a royal city, a war harbour, and a volcano. The ʻIolani Palace dates from 1879 and served as royal residence and capitol building; Washington Place is a Greek Revival palace in the Hawaii Capital Historic District; and the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace dates from 1843. Out at the water, the USS Missouri is a 1944 Iowa-class battleship, and the USS Arizona Memorial honors the soldiers killed on that ship during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Over all of it stands Diamond Head, a volcanic tuff cone and state monument on the southeast edge of Waikīkī. This list is for travellers who want to understand where they are, not just to lie on the sand in front of it. Most of these places are listed on the National Register of Historic Places or named National Historic Landmarks, so they ask for some attention and some respect. Check opening days before you plan anything: the palace, for one, keeps Tuesday to Saturday hours. We'd group the downtown churches and palaces into one unhurried walk and give the harbour memorials a day of their own.
-
1 USS Missouri
63 Cowpens Street, Honolulu, HI 96818Walking the decks of a 1944 Iowa-class battleship
The USS Missouri takes visitors from 08:00 at 63 Cowpens Street in the 96818, closing at 16:00, with Jan 01 and Dec 25 off. She is a 1944 Iowa-class battleship, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and her size is the reason to come: no model or museum panel prepares you for standing on the deck of a warship built at this scale, with the steel warm underfoot and the guns overhead. Skip the quick photo from the dock and give the ship a full morning, because a 16:00 close comes faster than you expect once you start climbing ladders. Plan the visit through ussmissouri.org, and wear shoes you trust on stairs.
National Register of Historic Places listed place
-
2 ʻIolani Palace
364 South King Street, Honolulu, 96813The interior of a former royal residence and capitol building
ʻIolani Palace at 364 South King Street in the 96813 dates from 1879 and served as both a royal residence and a capitol building, a National Historic Landmark that shifts how you read the rest of the city once you've been inside. The doors open Tuesday to Saturday, 09:00 to 16:00, and stay shut on public holidays, so a Sunday or Monday plan leaves you on the lawn looking up. We'd skip the tour-bus loop that slows outside the gates and rolls on. This is a building worth entering and taking slowly, room by room. Check iolanipalace.org before you set the day, and arrive near 09:00 so you have the morning to yourself.
Dates from 1879 · National Historic Landmark
-
3 Diamond Head
A volcanic tuff cone and state monument at the edge of Waikīkī
On the southeast edge of Waikīkī, Diamond Head rises as a volcanic tuff cone and state monument, and from the beach you will keep catching its outline. It sits a little over 21 degrees north of the equator and more than 157 degrees west, a volcano close enough to the hotels to feel like part of the skyline, and its designation as a National Natural Landmark tells you how to treat it: as landscape, not scenery. We'd skip the version seen from a hotel balcony or a cruise rail. The cone reads differently when you go to it, and standing close, you understand the shape of the whole coast better. Go early, carry water, and let Waikīkī wait.
National Natural Landmark
-
4 Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace
1184 Bishop St, Honolulu, HI 96813A cathedral dating from 1843, listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace at 1184 Bishop St in the 96813 dates from 1843, a cathedral in Honolulu listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Downtown has grown up around it, and its age is the reason to come: few working buildings in the city reach back this far. The locals see it as a parish church first and a landmark second, so we'd skip the hurried selfie on the steps and sit in a pew for a while. Treat it as a church in use: keep your voice low and expect people at prayer. For service times, call +1 808-536-7036 or check honolulucathedral.org before you build it into a walk.
Dates from 1843 · National Register of Historic Places listed place
-
5 Aloha Tower
Aloha Tower Drive, Honolulu, HI 96813An observation tower at Honolulu Harbor
Aloha Tower stands on Aloha Tower Drive in the 96813, an observation tower at Honolulu Harbor that dates from 1926 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The reason to visit is straightforward: the tower was built to look out over the water, and that remains its best use. We'd take it over hotel rooftops for a harbor view, because here the harbor is the whole subject rather than a backdrop to a cocktail list. Come in the late afternoon when the water starts to shimmer, and check alohatower.com for access before you go.
Dates from 1926 · National Register of Historic Places listed place
-
6 Washington Place
320 Beretania Street, Honolulu, 96813A Greek Revival palace in the Hawaii Capital Historic District
Washington Place, a Greek Revival palace in the Hawaii Capital Historic District, stands at 320 Beretania Street in the 96813. It dates from 1847 and holds National Historic Landmark status, which puts it among the senior buildings in the district. The style alone says something: a palace built here in the Greek Revival manner is a record of how many different influences converged in this city. Don't assume that one palace visit closes out Honolulu's royal story. This house earns its own hour, and you'll read the district differently once you've spent time inside it. The Washington Place Foundation keeps visitor information at washingtonplacefoundation.org; look it over before you go, because a visit here takes some planning.
Dates from 1847 · National Historic Landmark
-
7 Aliiolani Hale
417 King StreetA National Register of Historic Places contributing property on King Street
At 417 King Street, Aliiolani Hale is a United States historic place and a contributing property on the National Register of Historic Places. That second designation matters: the building is valued as part of a wider historic setting, not for itself alone, and seeing it in context is the point. It sits a little over 21 degrees north of the equator, close to the downtown civic sights along King Street. Don't bother with a drive-by from a trolley window. Walk the frontage, stand back across the street for the full view, and give it the slow attention its designation asks for. It rewards the walker far more than the passenger.
National Register of Historic Places contributing property
-
8 USS Arizona Memorial
A memorial to the soldiers killed on the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor
The USS Arizona Memorial exists for one reason: to honor the soldiers killed aboard the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Dating from 1962 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it sits a little over 21 degrees north of the equator, and the quiet over the water carries more weight than any exhibit could. We'd skip the packaged multi-stop tours that squeeze this between lunch and a shopping stop. This deserves a visit of its own, and some silence afterward. Start your planning at nps.gov/usar, go early, and leave time to sit with what you've seen before moving on.
Dates from 1962 · National Register of Historic Places listed place
-
9 Kawaiahaʻo Church
South King Street, Honolulu, HI 96815A working church on South King Street
Kawaiahaʻo Church stands along South King Street in the 96815, a church in Honolulu set a little over 21 degrees north of the equator, and it rewards anyone willing to slow down on a busy stretch of downtown. The congregation treats it as a working church first, so a five-second photo stop between palaces is the wrong approach here. Step inside if the doors are open, stay quiet, and look at the place as a room people still use rather than a monument behind a rope. Kawaiahaʻo keeps its own information at kawaiahao.org; check it for service times so you neither interrupt worship nor miss the chance to hear it.
-
10 Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew, Honolulu
229 Queen Emma Street, Honolulu, 96813A church on Queen Emma Street listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew, Honolulu stands on Queen Emma Street in the 96813, a church in Hawaii listed on the National Register of Historic Places, set a little over 21 degrees north of the equator. Step through the door and the street noise drops away, and that shift is much of the reason to come. We'd put it ahead of the crowded headline sights for a quiet half hour in the middle of a downtown day. Come between the palace and the harbor, sit for a while, and let the place set the pace. All it asks is that you notice it.
National Register of Historic Places listed place
-
11 National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
2177 Puowaina Drive, Honolulu, HI 96813A national cemetery dating from 1949
The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, at 2177 Puowaina Drive in the 96813, is the most sobering stop on this list. It dates from 1949 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the rows of graves do what no plaque can: they make the city's wartime history personal. Don't treat this as a scenic overlook or a quick stop between other things. Act as you would at any graveside, keep your voice low, and dress with some care. The cemetery's official page at cem.va.gov has visiting details, so read it before you arrive. Pair it with the harbor memorials if you want the whole story told in one day.
Dates from 1949 · National Register of Historic Places listed place
-
12 Co-Cathedral of Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus
Bishop Street, Honolulu, HI 96813A co-cathedral on Bishop Street dating from 1963
The Co-Cathedral of Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus on Bishop Street in the 96813 is a church in Hawaii that sits well outside the usual tour circuit. It dates from 1963, making it the youngest building on this list, and it opens a different, later chapter of the city's faith than most visitors seek out. We'd resist the habit of ranking churches by age alone; a building from 1963 can tell you as much about a place as one from long before. Walk in, sit down, and judge it on how the room feels. The parish keeps its information at cocathedral.org, so check there for service times before you go.
Dates from 1963
Last verified by automated review (v1.7.2_nonsight1017-1015-1265-20261017094504) on . What is automated review?