The Bishop Museum is Hawaii's largest museum and the largest Polynesian cultural artifact collection in the entire world. The museum is devoted to the natural science and cultural history of the region.

The Honolulu Museum of Art contains over 50,000 works pertaining to Asian and Hawaiian traditional art as well as notable Western artists such as van Gogh, Picasso, Monet and Warhol. The museum has absorbed the Contemporary Museum of Honolulu, which used to be the only such museum dedicated to contemporary art in Hawaii.

'Iolani Palace is the only official home of royalty in the United States, former monarchs King Kalakaua and Queen Liliuokalani who ruled until 1893.

The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific is a memorial to all fallen service members of the United States Armed Forces, located in the area of Honolulu known as Punchbowl Crater.

The USS Arizona Memorial is the site of the USS Arizona which was sunk during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The memorial is a "bridge" that floats above the ship's remains and is accessible only by boat. It attracts over 1 million visitors every year.

The U.S. Army Museum of Hawaii focuses on Hawaii's military history from ancient times up to the Vietnam War, located inside the former coastal artillery battery, Battery Randolph. Exhibits include the history of the battery, army aviation, and a Gallery of Heroes to honor the Medal of Honor and Distinguished Service Cross recipients.

The Aloha Tower was the tallest building, with one of the country's largest clocks, in the Islands for forty years after it was built in 1926. It was a welcoming tower and landmark for visitors coming into Honolulu Harbor and still serves a docking port for cruise ships.