National Museum of the United States Air Force

The world's oldest and largest military aviation museum fills four enormous hangar-style buildings at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, close to where the Wright brothers developed their flying machines. Its collection began in 1923 at McCook Field in Dayton and now draws around a million visitors a year.

Galleries move chronologically from early flight through the Second World War, Korea, Southeast Asia and the Cold War, with further halls devoted to missiles and space, research and development, presidential aircraft and global reach. Landmark aircraft include the B-29 Bockscar, which dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki, the B-17 Memphis Belle, an SR-71 Blackbird and the only surviving XB-70 Valkyrie. Visitors can also walk through several presidential planes, among them the aircraft that served John F. Kennedy and on which Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in.

The scale is considerable, and aviation enthusiasts often spend a full day here. Families and history-minded visitors also find plenty to absorb in a shorter visit.