Royal Downtown Honolulu: 1882 'Iolani Palace, King Kamehameha Statue, Bishop Museum & Chinatown

Just 15 minutes west of Waikiki (reached via TheBus Route 2, Route 20 or the Waikiki Trolley Red Line) lies the civic and royal heart of Hawaii: Downtown Honolulu's Capitol District, where banyan-shaded lawns preserve the grand architecture of the 19th-century Kingdom of Hawaii alongside historic Chinatown.

1. The Capitol District: 'Iolani Palace, King Kamehameha Statue & Kawaiaha'o Church

1. 'Iolani Palace (364 S King St, Open Tues to Sat, Book Ahead): completed in 1882 by King David Kalakaua ('The Merrie Monarch'), this American Florentine landmark is the only official royal residence on United States soil. King Kalakaua equipped 'Iolani Palace with electric lights in 1886 (four years before the White House), indoor plumbing with hot water, and one of Honolulu's first telephones.
   • Inside the Palace: slip on shoe covers to climb the Hawaiian Koa wood staircase, stand in the crimson-and-gold Throne Room, view the royal crowns and jewel orders in the basement gallery, and visit the upstairs Imprisonment Room where Queen Lili'uokalani (composer of 'Aloha 'Oe') was held for eight months after the 1893 overthrow, where she stitched the silk Imprisonment Quilt.
2. The King Kamehameha I Statue (Across King Street, Free): in front of 1874 Ali'i'olani Hale (home to the Hawaii Supreme Court) stands the 1883 bronze-and-gold statue of King Kamehameha the Great, who united the Hawaiian Islands in 1810. Every 11 June, fire ladders drape his arms in 30-foot flower leis.
3. 1842 Kawaiaha'o Church ('Westminster Abbey of Hawaii'): two blocks east, admire a royal church built from 14,000 coral-rock slabs hand-chiselled underwater from the offshore reef.

2. The Bishop Museum & Historic Chinatown

• Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum (1525 Bernice St): tour the three-storey 1898 Hawaiian Hall, displaying royal red-and-yellow 'I'iwi feather capes ('Ahu 'ula), outrigger canoes, Polynesian artefacts and a planetarium.
• Honolulu Chinatown (Maunakea & Smith Streets): five blocks west of the palace, browse tropical fruit markets, family flower lei shops on Maunakea Street, and dim sum at Sing Cheong Yuan Bakery or Fook Lam, or head south toward Kaka'ako and Ala Moana.