101 Things To Do in Hawai‘i

Walk Historic HonoluluO‘ahu

Honolulu, like many great cities, developed around a harbor. In the late 1700s, when Captain William Brown discovered the inlet known as Kou, the harbor was the only accessible anchorage on the Hawaiian Islands and provided refuge for Asian trade ships. The captain named it Fair Haven. In time, Honolulu replaced Fair Haven in ship charts and sailor talk. In Hawaiian, “hono” means “bay” and “lulu” means calm.

Today, the Aloha Tower and the Honolulu Harbor bring to mind a time when Honolulu was known as the “Crossroads of the Pacific.” Honolulu harbor was filled with ships—first explorers, then merchants, and now the giant vessels of leisure travelers.

Heading inland from the shoreline, history breathes in places like the ‘Iolani Palace, the Mission Houses complex, and Washington Place.

Chinatown, a 15-block Pandora’s Box of multi-ethnic influences, dates

back to the 1800s, when immigrant Chinese families began to establish stores in the area. It grew with the arrival of the first wave of contract laborers who came to Hawai‘i to work on the sugar plantations.

The Hawai‘i Theater, first opened in 1922, has been restored and is now a striking multi-purpose performance center with a lively bill of fare.

The Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, established in 1843, is the oldest cathedral in continuous use in the United States. Hawai‘i’s first saint — the Blessed Father Damien — was ordained in the cathedral in 1864. Damien, who was canonized last October, died in 1889 after devoting his life to serving leprosy victims confined to Moloka‘i. The cathedral is located at 1184 Bishop St.

• Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace (808) 536-7036