Getting Oriented

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• Downtown. The city's cultural center has a festive atmosphere on summer afternoons, with flowers hung from street lamps and the smell of grilled onions and reindeer hot dogs in the air along 4th Avenue.
• Midtown. Some 3 miles east of the airport, Midtown is a newer neighborhood with an assortment of restaurants, shopping centers, and large hotels. .
• Spenard. Sandwiched between the airport and Midtown, Spenard is one of Anchorage's oldest neighborhoods, yet also one of its up-and-comers.
• Greater Anchorage. This is a massive city—nearly the size of Delaware—and gems are tucked into all its corners. You can rent a bike Downtown and head west along the 11-mile Tony Knowles Coastal Trail past tidal marshes and inlet views to 1,400-acre Kincaid Park.