Tacoma, WA: Museum of Glass, Point Defiance Park, and Where to Stay

Tacoma has spent the last couple of decades building a real identity around glass art, on top of one of the biggest parks in the state.

Museum of Glass & the Chihuly Bridge A 75,000-square-foot museum downtown built around the West Coast's largest active museum glass studio, with live glassblowing demonstrations you can actually watch happen. From there, the Chihuly Bridge of Glass — a 500-foot pedestrian bridge lined with Dale Chihuly's work — connects straight into downtown.

Point Defiance Park 700+ acres of woodland trails, gardens, and waterfront, with a zoo and aquarium built in. Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium covers everything from polar bears to a shark dive experience at the Tropical Reef exhibit. Beyond the zoo, the park has Owen Beach, Japanese Gardens, and a boathouse marina with its own small history museum.