Travel ideas around the U.S. in early 2018

For travellers, the new year opens up a whole new world of places to go and things to do. Here are a few notable openings and events scheduled for early 2018 around the U.S.

In Seattle, the Space Needle completes its renovation in the spring. New features include a multi-level, floor-toceiling glass viewing experience, openair outdoor observation deck and glass benches designed to make visitors feel like they’re floating on air. Two observation levels will be connected by a steeland-wood staircase with glass oculus. The see-through glass rotating floor of the observation deck and lounge will open up a new view looking down.

Washington D.C.’s National Cherry Blossom Festival, March 20-April 15, will be hosted in a new neighbourhood, The Wharf, a 24acre (10-hectare) development along the Potomac River with three hotels, 20 restaurants, four piers, a water taxi with service to Georgetown and an electric “jitney” boat that will shuttle visitors from the Wharf to the park behind the Jefferson Memorial and Tidal Basin. On April 7, there will be a “Petalpalooza” festival with pink fireworks.

In Indianapolis, the Children’s Museum opens the Riley Children’s Health Sports Legends Experience on March 17, with 12 outside sports experiences and three indoor exhibits devoted to physical fitness and sports history.

In Richmond, Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University will open the Institute for Contemporary Art in April.

In Montgomery, Alabama, a new museum dedicated to slavery and its legacy is scheduled to open in April. The Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration is a project of the Equal Justice Initiative, a non-profit that provides legal representation to indigent prisoners, those who may have been wrongly convicted and defendants in Alabama death penalty cases.