Juneau rated No. 7 for top towns to visit in the USA: CNN

By SUZANNE DOWNING

July 6, 2026 – For a city that can only be reached by boat or plane (unless, as CNN quipped, by birth canal if you were fortunate enough to be born there) Alaska’s capital continues to capture national attention.

In its annual list of America’s Best Towns to Visit for 2026, CNN Travel ranked Juneau seventh in the nation, making it the only Alaska community to crack the publication’s top 10.

(Editor’s note: Obviously CNN needs to get out more. Homer, Seward, Skagway, and Sitka are clearly being overlooked.)

CNN described Juneau as “by far, the most visually striking state capital in the US,” highlighting its dramatic setting along the Inside Passage, where snow-capped mountains tower above the waterfront and wildlife is as much a part of daily life as city buses.

“There are no roads leading to Alaska’s capital,” CNN wrote. “Leaving just three ways to reach this northwestern Brigadoon: by boat, plane or being born here.”

The network praised Juneau’s combination of scenery, history, culture, and wilderness, noting that the city sits within the Tongass National Forest, the world’s largest intact temperate rainforest. It also highlighted the abundance of bears, mountain goats, whales, and the ever-present seaplanes that buzz overhead during the summer tourism season.

CNN acknowledged one unavoidable part of the Juneau experience: rain.

“What you need, though, is an insulated rain jacket,” the article advised, noting the capital averages roughly 230 rainy days each year.

Despite ongoing local debates about the impacts of cruise ship tourism, CNN suggested the city’s natural beauty makes it difficult for visitors to become cynical about its popularity.

The ranking places Juneau alongside a diverse collection of destinations from across the country. The full top 10 list is:

1. Sarasota
2. New Haven
3. Greenville
4. Bethlehem
5. Fort Collins
6. Burlington
7. Juneau
8. Iowa City
9. Lawrence
10. Roanoke

According to CNN, editors considered hundreds of destinations submitted by readers and staff, looking beyond America’s most famous tourist hotspots to identify communities with distinctive character, rich history, cultural attractions, food, accessibility, and memorable visitor experiences.

For Alaska, Juneau’s inclusion serves as another reminder that the capital city remains one of the country’s most distinctive destinations. It’s a place where glaciers, rainforest, wildlife, and government all coexist in a city that still has no road connecting it to the rest of North America.

And that makes it also a city that is at the center of a political fight to move the capital — a fight that never seems to end.