Anchorage is the largest city in Alaska, located in the Southcentral region. Anchorage is a cosmopolitan port city with a population of over 300,000. Anchorage is a municipality: essentially a combined city and county. The city itself defined by Muldoon Road to the east, Rabbit Creek Road to the south, and Cook Inlet to the north and west. Several small suburbs are within the Municipality of Anchorage, while physically outside the City of Anchorage. The city is on a strip of coastal lowland and extends up the lower alpine slopes of the Chugach Mountains. During the summer, Anchorage experiences many hours of daylight and temperatures range from approximately 55 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. In the winter, Anchorage will receive only a few hours of daylight, with average temperatures of about 5 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit.

Anchorage includes numerous scenic and wildlife viewing opportunities, recreational activities, and cultural experiences. There are sightseeing tours of the area, including the Kenai Peninsula and places inaccessible by road. Train, trolley, flightseeing and other types of tours can be taken. Step foot on an Alaska glacier, hike to a mountain vista or stroll along Anchorage scenic trails. Cruise in comfort through Prince William Sound or paddle along in a sea kayak. Enjoy the scenery on the train from Anchorage to Seward and go fishing for salmon or halibut. Catch wild Alaska salmon just steps from an Anchorage hotel. Anchorage has many options for lodging, dining, shopping and nightlife.

The Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport is six miles (10 km) south of downtown Anchorage. Located next to Town Square Park in downtown Anchorage, the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts hosts numerous performing arts events each year, such as the International Ice Carving Competition which is part of the Fur Rendezvous Festival in February. Anchorage also hosts a number of sporting events, such as the annual Great Alaska Shootout, an annual NCAA Division I basketball tournament. Anchorage is the finish line for the Sadler's Ultra Challenge wheelchair race, and holds the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race (held the first Saturday in March). There are 105 miles of maintained ski trails in the city, some of which reach downtown and the same trail system also provides access to Chugach State Park.

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race starts in Anchorage and ends in Nome, the World Ice Art Championships are held in Fairbanks, the Alaska Hummingbird Festival is in Ketchikan, the Sitka Whale Fest, and the Stikine River Garnet Fest in Wrangell, are all annual events. The largest springtime concentration of American Bald Eagles in the world are at Stikine River.