Car Hire Juneau - Mini guide to Juneau

Stunningly situated on Alaska’s southeastern coast, beautiful Juneau is the state’s capital and unique in that it is only accessible by air or sea. Renowned for its breathtaking scenery, the city also has a wealth of charming historic buildings and entralling museums.

Settlement at Juneau began in 1880 on the site of Alaska’s first gold strike - the banks of the Gastineau Channel. The town quickly grew in size, and strolling through the South Franklin Street Historic District you can find many of the original buildings from the city’s gold rush era. South Franklin Street also contains the city’s best restaurants, bars and shopping, particularly near the fabulous Marine Park.

The onion-domed St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church contains icons and religious treasures. Also of interest, the excellent Alaska State Museum covers native culture, Russian heritage and the first gold strikes, and also holds the logbook in which Bering reported his first sighting of Alaska. The smaller Juneau-Douglas City Museum displays relics from the mining era, and also has a great display of local native and settler artwork.

The best views of town are from the top of the Mount Roberts Tramway, which careens up from the cruiseship dock 518m to Mount Roberts, where there's a nature centre and some easy trails.