Cable cars, the Golden Gate rising from the fog - welcome to San Francisco, arguably the most romantic and cosmopolitan city in the United States. San Francisco has it all: a colorful history, superb restaurants, sophisticated museums, world-class shopping, and that elusive air of romance and abandon that's part of the tang of the city.

Ketchikan is known as Alaska's "First City" because it's the first major community travelers come to as they journey north. Located on an island, Ketchikan began life as an Indian fishing camp. The name Ketchikan comes from a Tlingit phrase that means "eagle with spread-out wings," a reference to a waterfall near town. In the early 1900s, when gold was Alaska's claim to fame, fishing and timber industries were established in Ketchikan. The growth of these industries helped make this Inside Passage port Alaska's fourth-largest city. Visitors to Ketchikan will be intrigued by its rich Native heritage, which includes the world's oldest collection of totem poles at Totem Heritage Center. The Haida, Tlingit and Tsimshian are all a part of the city's colorful history. Ketchikan, with its abundance of salmon, is also a sportfishing paradise. Sightseers will be impressed with both the scenic town and its surroundings, especially Misty Fjords National Monument.

Nearby Alaska's largest Tlingit village exists a uniquely Alaskan place - lcy Strait Point. Hoonah, meaning "village by the cliff," is home to the Huna Tlingit who have occupied this area for thousands of years. Local legend tells how they were forced from their ancestral home in Glacier Bay by advancing glaciers, resulting in their relocation to and settlement of Hoonah. In 1912, the Hoonah Packing Co. built a large cannery one mile north of town. After only five years of operation, the cannery at Icy Strait Point turned out 152,505 cases of one-pound cans of salmon, the largest pack ever achieved in Alaska. Today, Hoonah is home to nearly 750 residents. Visitors will be intrigued by its rich Native heritage, opportunities to see wildlife and the vast wilderness that surrounds this unique village. Icy Strait's waters have yielded record-breaking halibut and salmon catches and provide summer-long access to all five species of salmon. Chichagof Island, on which Icy Strait Point is loca…

Skagway was the gateway to the gold fields for the thousands who flocked to Alaska and the Yukon with the hope of striking it rich. Skagway may have boasted the shortest route to the Klondike, but it wasn't the easiest. Over 100 years ago, the White Pass route through the Coast Mountains and the shorter but steeper Chilkoot Trail were used by countless stampeders. Many a would-be miner perished on the treacherous Chilkoot Trail. The gold rush was a boon and by 1898, Skagway was Alaska's largest town with a population of about 20,000. Hotels, saloons, dance halls and gambling houses prospered. But when the gold yield dwindled in 1900, so did the population as miners quickly shifted to new finds in Nome. Today, Skagway has less than 1,000 residents. It still retains the flavor of the gold rush era.

This narrow fjord is located approximately 50 miles southeast of Juneau and is part of the Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness area. Breathtaking Endicott Arm extends over 30 miles long, with nearly one-fifth of its area covered in ice. At the head of the fjord, tidewater glaciers, such as the Dawes Glacier, regularly expel enormous chunks of ice into the waters below in a magnificent process known as calving. During the summer when Princess ships visit, icebergs float along the surface of the glistening water in an array of sizes, from just a few inches up to three stories wide. Protected within the Tongass National Forest, Endicott Arm is a haven for wildlife. Black and brown bears, deer, wolves, harbor seals, mountain goats and a variety of seabirds have been spotted in the area. As you glide through the pristine fjord, you'll first pass by a lush forest where a number of beautiful waterfalls cascade down, and then you'll be treated to views of snowcapped mountains and blue-tinged gl…

Historic Prince Rupert captivates both mind and heart with its maritime history and awe-inspiring scenery. Located near the Alaska panhandle, Prince Rupert was established in 1910 as the intersection of commerce and trade for First Nations people and continued to develop as a town when selected as the western terminus for the Grand Turk Pacific Railway. Nestled within a temperate rainforest, it experiences 220 days of rain each year, earning it the poetic nickname "The City of Rainbows." But from within the raindrops, Prince Rupert shines with heritage charms best seen in its Kwinitsa Railway Station Museum, The Museum of Northern British Columbia and the historic North Pacific Cannery compound. Its stunning vistas captured in flight from the window of a seaplane adventure amaze travelers. Abundant wildlife can be observed on land at the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary. And seen from the deck of a wildlife cruise on the chilly waters, breeching humpback whales and soaring eagles…

Cable cars, the Golden Gate rising from the fog - welcome to San Francisco, arguably the most romantic and cosmopolitan city in the United States. San Francisco has it all: a colorful history, superb restaurants, sophisticated museums, world-class shopping, and that elusive air of romance and abandon that's part of the tang of the city.