Juneau is not your ordinary state capital: no roads connect it to outside world, bears sometimes wander through town, and its setting is drop-dead gorgeous. The city backs up against heavily forested mountains that elevate abruptly to heights of several thousands feet.

The third largest city in Alaska, Juneau offers good lodgings, fine restaurants and lively cafes, plenty of cultural activities, and access to a wealth of unparalleled scenery. History surrounds visitors as they stroll downtown. In the seven-block radius of the original downtown, 143 buildings dating form before 1914 still stand.

Juneau-Douglas City Museum is across Main Street from the capitol. Displays cover many aspects of Juneau’s history from shipwrecks to nineteenth century domestic life.