Fodor's Expert Review Federal Hall National Memorial

It's a museum now, but this site has quite a notable claim: George Washington was sworn in here as the first president of the United States, in 1789, when the building was the Federal Hall of the new nation. (You can even view the bible Washington used to swear his oath.) The museum covers 400 years of New York City's history, with a focus on the life and times of what is now the city's Financial District. You can spot the building easily—it was modeled on the Parthenon, and a statue of George Washington is planted proudly on its (south-facing) stately steps.