Alaska · United States
Where to stay in Anchorage
Anchorage is a city in Alaska, United States, home to about 291,000 people.
- Nearest airport
- MRI3 km · Merrill Field
- Currency
- USDUnited States dollar
- Time zone
- America/Anchorage
- Language
- Carolinian, Chamorro, Hawaiian
About
About Anchorage
Anchorage (Denaʼina: Dgheyay Kaq'; Dgheyaytnu), officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of the state's population.
Let's be clear, if you are looking for the "real Alaska" this is not it, but you can see it from here. Anchorage is a city — a real city with freeways, traffic, giant malls, tall buildings, crime and most other things one expects to find in an American city. It is an important hub and the gateway to other marvelous areas including the Alaskan Interior and the Kenai Peninsula, but is not really a tourist destination. While it is not the administrative capital of Alaska, it is the economic capital. There are good places to eat and plenty of shopping, but the city is just that, a city.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Anchorage
See
- Anchorage Museum
- Alaska Native Heritage Center
- FOAST Law Enforcement Museum
- Alaska Veterans Museum
- Resolution Park
- Alaska Zoo
- Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
- Oscar Anderson House Museum
- Alaska Aviation Museum
Do
- Alaska Center for the Performing Arts
- Anchorage Summer Music Concerts
- H2Oasis Indoor Water Park
- Alaska Public Lands Information Center
- First Friday Art Walk
- 907 Tours
- Downtown Bicycle Rental, Inc
- The Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage
- Alyeska Resort
- Hilltop Ski Area
- Alpenglow at Arctic Valley
- Hillberg Ski Area
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Which part of Anchorage to stay in
Since about 2000, major hotel developers from the Lower 48 have been building new hotels along C Street from International Airport Road to just north of Tudor Road, making this half-mile stretch of C Street a new "hotel row" in Midtown (about 3 mi (5 km) south of downtown and 3 mi (5 km) east of ANC).
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Hotels in Anchorage
7 hotels within 25 km of the centre, as recorded in Wikidata. Each name links to its encyclopedia article where there is one.
| Hotel | Opened | From centre |
|---|---|---|
| Millennium Alaskan Hotel | 1986 | 5.0 km |
| Hotel Captain Cook | 1964 | 0.4 km |
| Anchorage Hotel | 0.3 km | |
| Crowne Plaza Anchorage-Midtown | 4.8 km | |
| Highland Glen Lodge Bed & Breakfast | 13.9 km | |
| Marriott Anchorage Downtown | 0.3 km | |
| Qupqugiaq Inn Anchorage | 3.2 km |
When to go
The best time to visit Anchorage
Anchorage has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 18 °C; September is the wettest, with about 84 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Anchorage: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Merrill Field (MRI), about 2.7 km from the city centre in a straight line; Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC, 7 km) and Kenai Municipal Airport (ENA, 103 km) are also within reach.
Getting in
Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) is served by many major American airlines. The main passenger airline that serves Anchorage is Alaska Airlines. Air travel is the cheapest and fastest form of transportation in and out of the state. Non-stop flights are available from Atlanta, Chicago O'Hare, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Newark, Phoenix, Portland, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Seattle/Tacoma, and more locations in the summer.
Getting around
While not nearly comparable to the size of major world cities (the city is several thousand square miles, but most of it is uninhabited and mountainous), the developed part of the Municipality of Anchorage is fairly spread out and not very walkable—with the exception of the compact downtown area. Most of Anchorage is built on a grid system laid out by the railroad: numbered streets run east-west, starting at First Avenue in the extreme north of the city (at the Port and train depot) and ending up in the mid-hundreds at the south edge of town.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
MRI · Merrill Field
ANC · Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport
ENA · Kenai Municipal Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Anchorage
Drink
Anchorage has many, many bars. Bars must close by 2:30AM M-F, 3AM Sa & Su under municipal law. Bars can stay open until 5AM in the cities of Palmer and Wasilla, about 45 minutes north. Anchorage also probably has more micro-breweries per capita than anywhere else (except maybe Portland, OR). All bars and restaurants in Anchorage are non-smoking. Also see "Bear Tooth Theatrepub", "Glacier BrewHouse", and "Moose's Tooth" under "Eat."
Stay safe
Anchorage has a reputation for being a dangerous city — a reputation that's not entirely unwarranted — but the average traveller should not be too overly concerned or cautious of their surroundings. A lot of the crime occurs between those involved in the drug trade or organized crime. Like most cities, location is very important as security changes from place to place. Areas close to downtown are safer to walk at night. Stay in populated areas, avoid poor neighborhoods, especially at night, and don't walk there at any time if you are alone. Vicious beatings have been reported at resorts by people who have travelled alone, so stay alert for any suspicious-looking individual.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Anchorage: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Anchorage?
Anchorage has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 18 °C; September is the wettest, with about 84 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Anchorage?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Merrill Field (MRI), about 2.7 km from the city centre in a straight line; Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC, 7 km) and Kenai Municipal Airport (ENA, 103 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in Anchorage?
United States dollar (USD).
Nearby
Destinations near Anchorage
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.