For many of us, architecture is one of the most exciting aspects of travel. We enjoy seeing how cities convey space and how designers have played with styles and shapes to create the surroundings where we live and do our business.

Cultures and societies showcase their distinctive tastes through architecture and design. From classical to futuristic, and from traditional to eclectic, the variety of form and expression seen in the iconic American structures reviewed below is eye-catching, diverse and enlightening. Don't miss the chance to visit one or more of them during your travels.

1. Empire State Building

Here's a building recognized around the world as the ultimate American symbol of pride and determination. Architect William Lamb designed the 102-story tower, and construction began in 1930. It was completed in little more than a year — well ahead of schedule.

The name was derived from the nickname for New York state — the Empire State — and it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986.

2. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

Another New York City icon, the spiraling white concrete structure on Fifth Avenue was designed by America's most famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. He worked on the building for 16 years but died just before it was completed in 1959.

Here's a case where the museum building itself is as interesting and important as the exhibits inside.

3. Washington Monument

Few of the nation's monuments are as impressive, symbolic and widely recognized as this 555-foot marble obelisk that rises above Capitol Mall in Washington, D.C. Designed by architect Robert Mills, it was built in 1884 to commemorate George Washington.

The cornerstone was laid in 1848, but political squabbling (sound familiar?) along with the North-South division created by the Civil War delayed completion until 1884. It remains the world's tallest stone structure and tallest obelisk.

4. The Jefferson Monticello

A splendid example of neoclassical architecture, the stately mansion of America's third president, Thomas Jefferson, is located just outside Charlottesville, Virginia. Construction began in 1769 and was completed in 1806, built according to Jefferson's own design. Most of the building materials also came from Jefferson's plantation.

The building is a National Historic Landmark, and in 1987 Monticello and nearby University of Virginia — also designed by Jefferson — were together designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is now owned by the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which operates it as a museum and educational institution.

5. Gateway Arch

Internationally famous as the symbol of St. Louis, Missouri, and the city's role as "Gateway to the West," the world's tallest arch towers 630 feet above its park-like setting on the west bank of the Mississippi River.

Designed by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen and made from 900 tons of stainless steel in the form of an inverted, weighted catenary curve (tech-speak for the most structurally sound shape for an arch), it was completed in 1965. A tram elevates visitors to an observation area atop the arch for stupendous views over St. Louis and the Big Muddy.

6. Denver Art Museum

Here's another museum complex that stands at the cutting edge of architecture. Noted Italian architect Gio Ponti set the stage back in 1971 with his innovative design of the seven-story North Building. More than a million reflective glass tiles covering the building's exterior complement the dramatic windows and crenellated parapets of the building's castle-like facade.

Continuing a legacy of bold architecture, the museum commissioned Polish-American architect Daniel Libeskind to design an expansion in 2006 — the Frederic C. Hamilton Building — a geometric gem of titanium-clad angles meant to reflect the nearby Rocky Mountain peaks.

7. Hoover Dam

Often described as one of the greatest engineering achievements in American history, Hoover Dam (originally named Boulder Dam) continues to draw crowds — more than 1 million visitors year — some 80 years after its completion.

Located on the Arizona-Nevada border 30 miles southeast of Las Vegas, the massive concrete arch-gravity dam — standing 726 feet high and 1,244 feet wide — was designed to harness the Colorado River to provide hydropower generation, flood control and irrigation. Completed in just five years (1931-1936), the dam is a testament to the country's determined ability to construct such a huge and complex structure, especially during the years of the Great Depression.

8. Golden Gate Bridge

Noted for its tremendous 746-foot-tall towers, sweeping main cables, signature international orange color and Art Deco styling, Golden Gate Bridge is another of America's remarkable Depression-era achievements.

Built between 1933 and 1937 — ahead of schedule and under budget — to connect San Francisco to California's northern counties, the 1.7-mile-long suspension bridge is one of the most internationally recognized symbols of San Francisco and the United States. Declared one of the Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers, it certainly is one of the world's most beautiful bridges.

9. Walt Disney Concert Hall

Located in the heart of downtown Los Angeles and home to the city's philharmonic orchestra, this is a concert hall like none other in America. It is a fantastic and futuristic assemblage of sleek stainless steel curves and angles resembling silver sails — an architectural triumph by postmodern master Frank Gehry.

Its interior design is equally impressive. The walls and ceiling are finished in Douglas fir, and the floor is made of oak to lower reverberation for near-perfect acoustics. The hall was completed in 2003 at a cost of $130 million, with $50 million of that contributed by Walt Disney's widow, Lillian Disney.

10. Prabhupada's Palace of Gold

Utterly out of place on a secluded hilltop in rural West Virginia, the Palace of Gold appears as a great, glittery set from a Bollywood movie. It's the jewel of New Vrindaban, a utopian colony founded in the late 1960s by followers of Hare Krishna.

Built as a residence for Krishna's spiritual leader, Srila Prabhupada, it is clearly a palace fit for a rajah, featuring marble floors, crystal chandeliers, stained glass windows and mirrored ceilings. Semiprecious stones and gold leaf accent its architectural flourishes. You can join a guided tour, and you'll certainly enjoy it more than Prabhupada, who died two years before it opened in 1979.