Art & Pop Culture

Hollywood — a district of Los Angeles — has been the center of the global film industry since the 1910s. The major studios (Universal, Paramount, Warner Bros., Disney, 20th Century Fox/Studios) were established here, the Oscars are awarded here, and tourists walk on the Hollywood Walk of Fame over 2,700 stars on the sidewalk.

The honest truth: Hollywood itself is disappointing — Hollywood Boulevard is touristy, commercial, and not particularly glamorous. The real magic happens in the studios:

• Universal Studios Hollywood — Theme park + studio tour (the famous "Tram Tour" through active film sets, with King Kong, Jaws, and Fast & Furious attractions). From $109.
• Warner Bros. Studio Tour — Behind-the-scenes tour (2 hours, $69) through the sets of "Friends", "Harry Potter", Batman, and more. More intimate than Universal.
• Paramount Pictures Studio Tour — The only major studio still in Hollywood (not in the suburbs). 2-hour tour, $65.

The TCL Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard has the famous hand and footprints of stars in the concrete in front of the entrance — free to see. The Griffith Observatory (free) offers the best view of the Hollywood Sign and the LA skyline.

Broadway is not just a street in Manhattan — it is the center of world theater. The 41 official Broadway theaters around Times Square showcase the most elaborate, expensive, and best musicals and plays in the world. Over 14 million people attend a Broadway show every year.

Current Long-Runners: "The Lion King" (since 1997, the most commercially successful show of all time), "Wicked" (since 2003), "Hamilton" (Lin-Manuel Miranda's hip-hop musical about the Founding Fathers — the cultural phenomenon of the 2010s) and "Chicago" (since 1996).

Tickets: Broadway tickets cost $80–350 for regular seats. Money-saving tips:

• TKTS Booth at Times Square — Discounted same-day tickets (25–50% off) for shows on the same day. Line up from 3 PM (evening shows) or 10 AM (matinees). Not all shows are available, but the selection is good.
• Lottery/Rush Tickets — Many shows raffle off 20–30 tickets daily for $30–40 through apps (TodayTix, show-specific apps). Hamilton Lottery: $10 for front-row seats!
• Standing Room Only (SRO) — For sold-out shows, sometimes standing room tickets are available for $25–40 on the day of the performance.

Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway (smaller theaters with 100–499 or under 100 seats) often offer more experimental, avant-garde plays at lower prices. This is where tomorrow's hits are tried out — "Hamilton" started Off-Broadway.

Jazz and Blues are America's most important musical contributions to world culture — both emerged from the African American experience and have influenced virtually every modern music form (Rock, Pop, Soul, R&B, Hip-Hop).

Jazz

Originated around 1900 in New Orleans — from a mix of African rhythms, Blues, Ragtime, and European harmonies. Frenchmen Street in New Orleans (not the touristy Bourbon Street!) is the best place in the world to hear live jazz — club after club, every night, usually no cover charge (but minimum consumption). Preservation Hall (since 1961) is the sacred site of traditional New Orleans jazz (tickets $25–50, often sold out).

Other jazz strongholds: Harlem (New York) — the Apollo Theater and Paris Blues; Chicago — Andy's Jazz Club, Green Mill (where Al Capone had his regular spot); Kansas City — the American Jazz Museum and the 18th & Vine Historic District.

Blues

Originated in the Mississippi Delta from the work songs and spirituals of the enslaved population. The birthplace: Clarksdale, Mississippi (the Delta Blues Museum, the famous "Crossroads" at Highway 61 and 49, where Robert Johnson allegedly sold his soul to the devil). The blues traveled north and became electric in Chicago — Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Buddy Guy shaped the Chicago Blues. Beale Street in Memphis is today the most famous blues mile in the world.

Elvis Presley discovered the blues and rhythm and blues of the African American community in Memphis, mixed it with country — and invented rock 'n' roll. Sun Studio in Memphis (where Elvis, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis made their first recordings, tour $15) and Graceland (Elvis's estate, from $45) are pilgrim sites of music history.

The USA has one of the most vibrant street art scenes in the world — from the graffiti beginnings in New York's subways in the 1970s to the mural renaissance of the 2000s to today's Instagram-friendly murals.

The best street art districts:

• Wynwood, Miami — The Wynwood Walls (founded in 2009 by Tony Goldman) have transformed a warehouse district into the largest open-air street art museum in the world. Hundreds of murals by international artists like Shepard Fairey, RETNA, Os Gemeos. Free access.
• Bushwick, Brooklyn (New York) — The "Bushwick Collective" includes dozens of murals on Troutman and Jefferson Street. Constantly changing works, raw and authentic.
• Arts District, Los Angeles — The factory halls east of Downtown are covered with huge murals. Especially the Row DTLA and the surroundings of 7th Street.
• Pilsen, Chicago — The Mexican-American neighborhood has one of the oldest mural traditions in the USA (since the 1960s) with political and cultural murals.
• Mission District, San Francisco — The Balmy Alley and Clarion Alley are narrow alleys whose walls are completely covered with murals — often with political messages.

The USA is home to some of the best museums in the world — and many of them are free or accessible for a bargain price (especially the Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C.).

The Essentials

• Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met), New York — One of the three largest art museums in the world. 2 million objects from 5,000 years of human history. "Pay what you wish" for New York residents, otherwise $30. One day is not enough — plan at least two visits.
• Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. — 21 museums and galleries, all free. The most important: National Air and Space Museum (Wright Flyer, Apollo 11, Space Shuttle Discovery), National Museum of American History (Star-Spangled Banner, Dorothy's Ruby Slippers), National Museum of African American History and Culture (opened in 2016, the most impressive museum in Washington — free timed tickets required), National Gallery of Art.
• MoMA (Museum of Modern Art), New York — The best collection of modern art in the world: Picasso, Monet, Warhol, Pollock, van Gogh. $25, free on Fridays from 4–8 PM.
• Art Institute of Chicago — World-class Impressionism and Post-Impressionism (Seurat's "Sunday on La Grande Jatte", Grant Wood's "American Gothic", Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks"). $25–35.
• Getty Center, Los Angeles — Spectacular architecture by Richard Meier on a hill above LA. European art from the Renaissance to the present. Free admission (only $20 parking).

Specialty Museums

• National September 11 Memorial & Museum, New York — At Ground Zero, on the site of the destroyed Twin Towers. Deeply moving. $28.
• Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland — The history of rock music in an I.M. Pei building on Lake Erie. $30.
• Country Music Hall of Fame, Nashville — Everything about country music, from Hank Williams to Taylor Swift. $28.
• National Civil Rights Museum, Memphis — In the Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968. The most important museum on the civil rights movement. $18.