To reach the nearby ocean, pedestrians have to negotiate fearsome traffic. Although the sea may be turquoise, the shorefront is concrete, not beach, and you can’t wander along it for any distance. The Aloha Tower on Pier 9 used to be the city’s tallest building; the area around its base has just been converted into an expensive shopping and dining mall, fronting onto the city docks. The view from the top of the tower is little short of ugly, but is good for orientation (Sun–Thurs 9am–9pm, Fri & Sat 9am–10pm; free). 

The Hawaii Maritime Center (daily 8.30am–5pm; $8), just east of Aloha Tower, documents Hawaii’s seafaring past in superb detail, from ancient migrations through to white contact, nineteenth-century trade and twentieth-century cruises. A stunning film from 1922 (with Clara Bow in a bit part) shows the true-life drama of whaling, and there’s a wall of gigantic historic surfboards. In the adjacent dock are the fully rigged four-master Falls of Clyde and the replica Polynesian canoe Hokulea, whose voyages to Tahiti and New Zealand over the last two decades have inspired a huge revival of interest in traditional methods of navigation.

Though few tourists seem to know about it, Honolulu residents take great pride in the stunning fine art on display at the Academy of Arts, half a mile east of the capitol at 900 S Beretania St (Tues–Sat 10am–4.30pm, Sun 1–5pm; $5). Highlights of the superb collection of paintings include Van Gogh’s Wheat Field, Gauguin’s Two Nudes on a Tahitian Beach and one of Monet’s Water Lilies. The Academy also holds some fascinating depictions of Hawaii by visiting artists, including a pencil sketch of Waikiki drawn in 1838, and vivid, stylized studies of Maui’s Iao Valley and Hana coast by Georgia O’Keeffe, plus magnificent ancient Chinese ceramics and bronzes.

Bishop Museum

The anthropological collection at the Bishop Museum, back from the ocean at 1525 Bernice St (daily 9am–5pm; $15), demonstrates the reality of Polynesian culture, as opposed to the fakery of Waikiki. Three floors of one of Hawaii’s oldest houses display magnificent feather cloaks and Japanese samurai armor, and a full-size sperm whale hangs in the central well. There are also excellent special exhibitions for kids, and a planetarium. TheBus #2 from Waikiki stops two blocks away on Kapalama Street.

Punchbowl

High above Honolulu, lush lawns growing in the caldera of an extinct volcano are the emotive setting for the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (daily: March–Sept 8am–6.30pm; Oct–Feb 8am–5.30pm), in which are buried the dead of all US Pacific wars, including Vietnam. The Hawaiian shuttle astronaut Ellison Onizuka is also here. This spot is said to have held an ancient sacrificial temple, and is on TheBus route #15 from town.

It’s well worth strolling around, delving into inconspicuous alleyways to explore the area’s history. Some of the old walled courtyards are now converted into open modern malls, but the businesses remain much the same as ever, and you can still find herbalists weighing out dried leaves in front of vast arrays of bottles and wooden cabinets. Pig snouts and salmon heads are among the Oriental food specialties at Oahu Market, on N King and Kekaulike.

Eating & Entertainment

• Anna Banannas, 2440 S Beretania St (tel 808/946-5190). Reasonable bar, with live R&B and reggae most nights. $4 cover.
• Indigo, 1120 Nu‘uanu Ave (tel 808/521-2900). Top-quality restaurant in Honolulu’s Chinatown, specializing in a delicious nouvelle Chinese-Californian melange, and featuring inventive dim sum.
• Moose McGillycuddy’s, 1035 University Ave (tel 808/944-5525). Trendy students flock to this no-cover Honolulu rock ’n’ roll venue on weekends, but there’s something on most nights. The Waikiki branch, at 310 Lewers St, features mainstream sounds, with a $3 cover charge on weekends.
• A Pacific Cafe – Oahu, Ward Center, 1200 Ala Moana Blvd (tel 808/593-0035). Magnificent Pacific Rim dining in a very stylish setting, not far from Ala Moana mall; the sampler menu costs around $35.
• Sam Choy’s Breakfast, Lunch & Crab, 580 N Nimitz Hwy (tel 808/545-7979). Copious quantities of modern Hawaiian cuisine, plus a microbrewery, a mile or two west of downtown Honolulu.

Hiking Trails

• Historic Downtown Honolulu is a leisurely one-mile stroll that will take about an hour. This walk covers Honolulu’s most important historic buildings and sites near the downtown commercial center. The Mission Houses Museum at King and Kawaiahao Streets is a good place to start. The museum provides a glimpse of early missionary life in Hawai`i from the 1820s on. The nearby Missionary’s Cemetery holds the remains of many of the early missionaries and their families. The Kawaiahao Church here, built in 1842, was one of the first permanent churches and was constructed of coral stone blocks. Visitors can walk through this historic church. In front of the church is King Lunalilo’s Tomb. He died in 1874 after a short one-year reign as monarch. Across King Street is Honolulu Hale, or city hall. The building has a beautiful open courtyard and stairways designed after a 13th-century Italian palace. 

• Back along King Street is the attractive Ali`iolani Hale, or Judiciary Building, with a handsome statue of King Kamehameha the Great in front. The building was built as a home for King Kamehameha V, but he didn’t like it and turned it into an administrative office building instead. The statue of Kamehameha the Great is a duplicate of the one at North Kohala on the Big Island and one in Statuary Hall in the national capitol at Washington, DC. 

• Directly across King Street is Iolani Palace, the only royal palace on US soil. The palace is open for tours daily. It was built by King Kalakaua in 1879 and was the home of Hawaiian monarchs until Queen Lili`uokalani was deposed in 1893. Next to the palace is Iolani Barracks, which housed the royal house guards. The Coronation Pavilion/Bandstand is on the front lawn of the palace. Behind the palace is the modernistic State Capitol Building of Hawai`i, with reflecting pools and stylish decor. 

• On the Beretania Street side of the Capitol is a statue of Father Damien, the Belgian priest who ministered to the abandoned lepers at Kalaupapa on Moloka`i in the 1870s-80s. Across Beretania Street from the Capitol is Washington Place, a beautiful old estate that is now the official home of the Governor of Hawai`i. It was built in 1846 by John Dominis, a Boston merchant. His son later married High Chiefess Lydia Kamakaleha Kapalakea, who became Queen Lili`uokalani in 1891 and was deposed when the monarchy was overthrown in 1893. She later lived at Washington Place until her death in 1917. 

• Manana Trail is six miles long. Go inland toward the mountains on Waimano Home Road in Pearl City and turn left onto Komo Mai Drive to Pacific Palisades. Go to the end of Komo Mai Drive. Proceed on foot through the pedestrian passageway to water tank at end of road. The trail starts straight ahead on ridge, winding up to the Ko`olau Mountain Range summit.

• Waimano Trail is 7.2 miles long. From the junction of Waimano Home Road and Kamehameha Highway 99 in Pearl City, go inland two miles to Waimano Home grounds. Two trail routes are on the left of the chain link fence. The Lower Valley Route follows an old jeep road to the valley floor and along a stream. About .5 mile from the end of old road, a side trail climbs the valley. The Upper Valley Route goes along the main road outside a chain link fence for .5 mile. The trail turns left and follows a ditch and tunnels to the east branch of Waimano Valley. It climbs over a ridge along the stream to an old abandoned dam. The trail continues to the right, making several switchbacks to the summit. The trail passes through the Ewa Forest Reserve.

For more information on Honolulu, go to:

• Highlights of Oahu
• HNL Airport
• Honolulu Marathon
• Pearl Harbor
• Waikiki

Maps

Honolulu Central

Honolulu West