Formerly the Charles Street Jail, book some days and nights at the Starwood Luxury Collection Hotel. Built in 1851, the former imposing prison is now a first-class hotel and a national historic landmark. Instead of guys in striped uniforms, those confined inside these days are welcomed guests in regal surroundings, accommodations and dining.

The nearly 300 rooms and suites display the city skyline and Charles River through vintage wrought-iron window bars. Exteriors, interiors and raised catwalks where guards once strolled still entice guests to wander and sight-see the former stone buttresses. thelibertyhotel.com

When your wanderings take you to the beautiful City By The Bay, be sure to spend some moments on this winding lane that takes you through eight hairpin turns while surrounded above and beyond by the great landscape of Russian Hill.

Lombard is the most crooked street in the world, except for any time a politician walks the pavement in Washington DC. When visiting the San Francisco scene, bring camera and/or smartphone to record your wonderful winding wandering walk or drive thru.

The Washington Monument has been a tourist favorite for more than a century. The 555-foot obelisk in the US capital reopened recently after nearly three years of renovation and repairs to the 1884 structure.

The improved monument facility features a new blast-proof, glass and steel security screening and a new elevator system. The renovations followed another long period of repair after a 2011 magnitude 5.8 earthquake caused extensive damage to the structure. If your tourist wanderings include the nation’s capital city, spend some time at the towering tribute to our first president.

Take a daytime, dusk or after-dark helicopter ride to experience the famed city, mighty Hoover Dam and surrounding desert sights below. Cost of one local chopper provider is $124 per person, and includes complimentary champagne. For more info, go to maverickhelicopter.com