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Tacoma is a gritty, creative port city on Commencement Bay in Washington's Puget Sound, about 30 miles south of Seattle, with the snowy dome of Mount Rainier rising dramatically over its skyline on clear days. The Puyallup people lived along these shores for thousands of years, and the city's name comes from Tacobet, their name for the great mountain. In 1873 the Northern Pacific Railway chose Tacoma as the western end of its transcontinental line, and the City of Destiny boomed with timber, shipping and smelting.
Today Tacoma has about 220,000 residents and a reputation as an artsy, affordable alternative to Seattle. Its downtown Museum District is anchored by the Museum of Glass, with its tilted steel cone and hot shop where visitors watch glassblowers at work, connected by Dale Chihuly's dazzling Bridge of Glass. Chihuly, a Tacoma native, helped make the city a center of glass art. The grand Union Station, the Washington State History Museum, the Tacoma Art Museum and LeMay, America's Car Museum, are all within a short walk.
Tacoma's greatest treasure is Point Defiance Park, one of the largest urban parks in the country, with old-growth forest, beaches, gardens, a five-mile scenic drive and the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium. The Ruston Way waterfront offers a two-mile path along the bay lined with restaurants, the Stadium District's historic Stadium High School looks like a French château, and the Tacoma Narrows Bridge spans the sound to the Kitsap Peninsula. Mount Rainier National Park is about a 90-minute drive away.
A contemporary glass art museum on the Thea Foss Waterway, recognizable by its tilted steel cone that houses a working hot shop where you can watch artists blow glass live. Galleries show changing exhibits from international glass artists. Hot shop sessions are included with admission.
A large car museum near the Tacoma Dome with about 300 cars, trucks and motorcycles on display across four floors, drawn from one of the world's biggest private car collections. Exhibits cover racing, design and American road culture. Racing simulators are available for an extra fee.
A museum next to Union Station telling the story of Washington from Native peoples to the timber, railroad and tech eras, with interactive exhibits and a large model railroad that runs on weekends. It sits on Pacific Avenue across from the University of Washington Tacoma campus.
A 500-foot pedestrian bridge linking the Museum of Glass with downtown, designed with Tacoma native Dale Chihuly. It features the Seaform Pavilion ceiling of glass pieces, crystal towers and a wall of Venetian vases. It is free and open to walk anytime and is lit at night.
A copper-domed 1911 Beaux-Arts railroad station that now serves as a federal courthouse. Its grand rotunda is open to the public on weekdays and displays large Chihuly glass works, including a striking chandelier. Bring ID, as you pass through security at the entrance.
A chateau-style public high school overlooking Commencement Bay, built in the 1890s as a luxury hotel and finished as a school in 1906. It appeared in the movie 10 Things I Hate About You. It is a working school, so view it from the street and the adjacent Stadium Bowl.
Twin suspension bridges spanning the Tacoma Narrows of Puget Sound, replacing the famous Galloping Gertie bridge that collapsed in 1940. Good viewpoints are at War Memorial Park and the Narrows Park area on the Gig Harbor side. Eastbound drivers pay a toll; westbound is free.
A 760-acre park on a peninsula at the city's northern tip, with old-growth forest, Five Mile Drive, beaches, gardens including a Japanese garden and rose garden, and Owen Beach on Puget Sound. It also contains the zoo and Fort Nisqually Living History Museum. Plan a full day to explore.
A two-mile paved path along Commencement Bay with views of Mount Rainier, the port and Puget Sound, lined with small parks, piers, beaches and seafood restaurants. It is a favorite spot for walking, running and watching the sunset; the old Town Dock and Les Davis Pier are popular stops.
A 27-acre arboretum park in the Stadium District with hundreds of mature trees, a duck pond, a lawn bowling green and the 1908 Seymour Conservatory, a Victorian glasshouse full of tropical plants and seasonal flower displays. Entry is by small donation and the park is a short walk from downtown.
A zoo and aquarium inside Point Defiance Park focused on Pacific Rim species, with red wolves, tigers, sea otters, walruses and a Pacific Seas Aquarium with sharks and hammerheads. Views over Puget Sound make it a pleasant visit; book tickets online for weekend days.
A downtown museum focused on art of the Northwest and the American West, including a large Chihuly glass collection, the Haub Family Collection of Western art and changing exhibitions. It is a short walk from the Bridge of Glass and admission is free on some evenings.
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Washington, United States
Washington, United States
Washington, United States
Washington, United States
Washington, United States
Washington, United States
Washington, United States
Washington, United States
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