The town of Juneau...highlights?

[kirby1200]

We have a full day in Juneau, with an early excursion. With 8 hrs to fill, we will go to the Glacier, but it sounds like that can be done leisurely in about 3-4 hours? I think....

 

What was your favorite shop? I would like to check out the town shops. I have read it's not as good as Ketchikan, but are there some good galleries, or shops? I'm not a fan of tourist traps.

 

Restaurants? If you had a choice would you go to the Red Dog Saloon or the Twisted Fish? Both seem to be highly recommended, but only want to eat once. I suppose eating at the Twisted Fish and having a beer at the Saloon could be an option? Any comments?

[Acemac]

The glacier can be done in as little or as long as you like...obviously depending on how you get there....

 

As for restaurants..I prefer Hangar on the Wharf...though I believe Twisted Fish and the Hangar still have the same owners....the scenery is better at the Hangar..as the floatplanes takeoff from there.

 

The food at the Red Dog is good..I hardly visit during tourist season....but your plan of stopping in for a beer there, regardless of where you eat might be a good plan

[LoveThisCruisingThing]

Two of my favorite shops: Pioneer Jewelers and Taku Smokeries (which is right by the dock). I have informed my mom that Taku will be our last stop so we can buy a case of smoked salmon. She just smiled!

[bottom-dragger]

I'm not a fan of tourist traps.

 

Restaurants? If you had a choice would you go to the Red Dog Saloon or the Twisted Fish? Both seem to be highly recommended,

 

i must find and hire the person for marketing the red dog. did you not see enough of the people from your cruise ship?

 

walk north a couple of blocks, the hanger on the wharf has some good beers, a most excellant view and some decent pub grub. there's also a decent 'za joint in the same building. just a warning, there will be people there that are not from your ship.

 

harsh?? well....yeah. you did say you wanted to get away from the traps.

[Crusin-Suzan]

Looking to buy some salmon bits. Bought them last time we were in Alaska. They are like bacon bits but they are salmon. Very good on salads and potates. Has anyone seen them and where??? Thanks

[jer_l]

We have a full day in Juneau, with an early excursion. With 8 hrs to fill, we will go to the Glacier, but it sounds like that can be done leisurely in about 3-4 hours? I think....

 

What was your favorite shop? I would like to check out the town shops. I have read it's not as good as Ketchikan, but are there some good galleries, or shops? I'm not a fan of tourist traps.

 

Restaurants? If you had a choice would you go to the Red Dog Saloon or the Twisted Fish? Both seem to be highly recommended, but only want to eat once. I suppose eating at the Twisted Fish and having a beer at the Saloon could be an option? Any comments?

You might want to check out the Memeluck Fur Doll Factory at 126 Seward Street in downtown Juneau. It's severral bloacks from the dock and is just past the McDonalds (which seems really out of place!). They make Eskimo dolls (and many other itmes) which are sold in several ports. Mr Memeluck was quite nice and offered us a discount on almost everything he made. He said he is retiring after this season and passing the business to his nephew.

[Rejeana]

Alaskan Fudge Company....oooohhh, that Motherlode Maple!

[gg3]

Looking to buy some salmon bits. Bought them last time we were in Alaska. They are like bacon bits but they are salmon. Very good on salads and potates. Has anyone seen them and where??? Thanks

 

Perhaps you found them at Salmon, etc. at 322 Mission St. in Ketchikan. I know they have lots of canned salmon, salmon jerky, and many types of salmon products. Also, in Juneau, we love the Taku Smokery just past the Roberts Tram. Great salmon jerky that we had shipped home for all the "boys" in our family. This is a large business.....with lots of products....so perhaps you found it there. gg

[Love Boat Dream]

I bought the salmon bits at the Taku Smokery a few years ago. Thanks for the reminder! I must get some more!

[bottom-dragger]

Restaurants? If you had a choice would you go to the Red Dog Saloon or the Twisted Fish? Both seem to be highly recommended, but only want to eat once. I suppose eating at the Twisted Fish and having a beer at the Saloon could be an option? Any comments?

 

okay, it's getting close to lunch so i'm really thinking about eating.

 

zephyr, a couple of blocks from the triangle. slightly upscale. wine list is way over priced. you can dine well just on appitizers.

 

seong's, next to federal bldg/post office. probably six-eight blocks from the triangle. most excellant sushi or japanese.

 

chan's tai kitchen, it's out in the valley so you need transportation. there will be a line. you will not bump into anyone from your ship. tom yom soup or yellow curry. portions are generous.

 

i have meetings in juneau about 3 times a year for a week w/ 20 other people. if someone said let's go to the red dog, we'd all have a laugh.

[B J]

We took the city bus to the glacier and back and it was one of the best tours we have ever done. Both bus drivers talked non stop about life in Juneau and told us about a little bit about every thing we were passing of interest.

In Ketchican take a walk up to where the Salmon ladders are, lots of little out of the way shops and it's a really pretty area. This is not a tiring walk, as my DH won't walk very far at all but it is interesting and the shopkeepers are very friendly.

[bondscruisegal]

My favorite shop in Juneau is "Changing Tides" at 175 S Franklin St. It's a needleArt, quilt and gift shop. If you are into quilting, needlepoint or cross stitch, this shop is not to be missed. I could have spent a couple of hours looking at the needlework and quilts they had on display, but ran out of time. Next time I'm going there first. The Alaskan themes in their completed pieces or patterns are absolutely beautiful.

[ellbon]

I went to Twisted Fish- i was out of time and had a beer thee on my way to hte ship. I want to do dinner there. also Red Dog is more fun I tihnk and Twisted for a real meal.

 

 

you can go to Taku right afterwards for your salmon.

[CocoKai]

We went fishing and whale watching, with a Mendenhall stop, in Juneau so we never got to explore the town. It looked like the best place to explore.

 

Our fishing boys recommended the Twisted Fish. Since they live in Juneau, we took their advice. What can I say.........since we've been back, I've fantasized about my meal. It was the BEST meal of the entire trip, cruise included.

 

Being a "fresh fish" snob, we all ordered the Halibut, tempura dipped, and chips. Usually not a grease eater, but it was heaven. Ok...I'm going to salivate thinking about it all day now :).

[SharkieRools]

You might want to check out the Memeluck Fur Doll Factory at 126 Seward Street in downtown Juneau. It's severral bloacks from the dock and is just past the McDonalds (which seems really out of place!). They make Eskimo dolls (and many other itmes) which are sold in several ports. Mr Memeluck was quite nice and offered us a discount on almost everything he made. He said he is retiring after this season and passing the business to his nephew.

 

Here's a picture we took of this place. They seem to make some rather interesting fur pieces here. :D

 

[kenish]

We spent the morning walking around town. We started at the Visitor's Bureau in the convention center and got a walking tour map. We walked a block to the State Museum (allow 1 hour). After that, we walked to the State Office Building, built into a hill that cuts through town. You can work off your cruise ship calories by taking the steps on the left of the building, or cheat and use the elevator.

 

Either way, go into the lobby. There's a pipe organ, a huge grizzly, and a totem. Exit the front of the building, go left and the Governor's Mansion is a block away. Double back to the City Museum across from the State Offices. It takes 30 minutes max to visit. The State Capitol building is nextdoor. Walk with the Capitol to your left and turn right at the second street. That takes you back to the cruise dock via the souvenir shops. (From the Capitol, we went up to the Wickersham House. It was closed for renovation so not worth the time and exertion).

 

If you take things in that order, it coordinates the weekday opening times of the museums. We got back to the ship around noon, ate lunch in the Lido, and grabbed our binoculars and warm gear.

 

Coastal Helicopters picked us up at the dock and took us to their facility at the airport. Then, Harv & Marv picked us up at the heliport and took us whale watching. It was good we coordinated these tours, it avoided wasting time going back to the dock.

 

After whale watching, H&M took us to the Mendenhall vista point and then to the ship. There was not enough time to see the visitor center unless we wanted to take a taxi back to the ship on our own. After the amazing glacier flight we weren't dying to see the visitor center (though it would have been interesting). If you are not doing a glacier flight, then definitely go out to Mendenhall and have the whale watch tour pick you up there.

 

The clouds had cleared off somewhat so we took the Mt. Roberts tram in the evening. Arguably not worth it unless you have a 2 for 1 coupon.

 

Hope this helps, either whale watching or the glacier flight was the highlight of our trip! We were exhausted at the end of Juneau day!