The 29-block Heritage Hill Historic District is a showcase for Victorian, Greek and Gothic Revival, Queen Anne and Italian Villa houses. The district's Snake Alley (officially N. Sixth Street), a zigzagging brick street built in 1894 to let horse-drawn vehicles negotiate the steep hill. Ripley's Believe It or Not! dubbed it “the crookedest street in the world.” At the top of Snake Alley is the Garrett-Phelps House Museum, a Victorian mansion furnished with antiques and artifacts. Another period structure is the 1868 church at Seventh and Washington.
The Art Center of Burlington, 301 Jefferson St., presents changing exhibits of works by local and regional artists. Crapo and Dankwardt parks, 2 miles south on Main Street, cover about 150 acres on the west bank of the Mississippi. The parks include an arboretum, picnic facilities, a band shell and Hawkeye Log Cabin, a museum displaying pioneer-era furniture and tools.
A sailboat regatta and big band music are highlights of Steamboat Days/American Music Festival in June.