Juneau has only about 32,000 inhabitants and is therefore much smaller than Anchorage. Nevertheless, Juneau is the capital of the state of Alaska. With its many mines, the city was originally a mining town. Since the Second World War, however, the mines have been closed and, apart from tourism, the public service is the city’s most important employer. The city’s administration grew more and more with the construction of the Trans-Atlantic Pipeline, which was completed in 1977. The completion of the pipeline, which transports the precious oil from the Arctic to the Pacific coast, cost 8 billion USD, which is many times the price of Alaska (see also Sitka – what to do in the south of Alaska).
As in Sitka, most roads in Juneau end in dead ends. It is therefore not possible to leave Juneau via the road network. This makes it the only capital of a US state that can only be reached via the harbour or airport. After this short introduction, we now come to the top 5 sights that should not be missed during a visit.