From the kiosk in Marine Park, it takes an hour and a half to follow the self-guided Juneau walking tour . Many original buildings stand in the South Franklin Street Historic District - Juneau managed to avoid the fires that destroyed many other gold towns in Alaska. The onion-domed St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church , on Fifth and Gold (Mon-Sat 9am-6pm; $1 donation), contains icons and religious treasures, while the excellent Alaska State Museum , 395 Whittier St (Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat & Sun 10am-6pm; $5), covers native culture, the Russian heritage and the first gold strikes. Its pride and joy is the logbook in which Bering reported his first sighting of Alaska. The smaller City Museum , 155 S Seward St (summer Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat & Sun 10am-5pm; rest of year Fri & Sat noon-4pm; $3), displays relics from the mining era.

The best views of town are from the top of the Mount Roberts Tramway (summer daily 9am-9pm; $20), which careers up from the cruise-ship dock 1700 feet up Mount Roberts, where there's a nature center and some easy trails.

Downtown Juneau

• Downtown Juneau

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