Boston is the largest city and the capital of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, and as thus, is very important to economic, cultural, and political matters in the state. It is also the largest city in New England and is considered as the cultural and economic center of the entire region. The city features its own distinct atmosphere, dialect, and way of life.

Founded on September 17, 1630, Boston was originally a Puritan settlement established by English colonists to the New World. Popular theological thought at the time insisted that the city of Boston fit under the “City on the Hill” concept and that it had a special covenant with God. Over one hundred years later, the American Revolution was incited by Bostonians who were fed up with British taxation without representation. Notable events like the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, and the Battle of Lexington and Concord occurred during this turbulent time. Throughout the 19th century, Boston experienced economic growth because of its harbor, as well as significant land growth because of land reclamation efforts that lasted over two hundred years. Today, Boston is an intellectual and political center whose influence extends across the region.

Boston is a very compact city due to the principles upon which it was built. The elevation stays rather constant throughout the city, but there are notable hills and such spread throughout the city. The Charles River reigns in the city limits of Boston, while Boston Harbor lies in the east. A continental climate pervades New England, moderated by the current, with hot and humid summers and cold, windy, snowy winters.

Boston’s culture is a very distinct subset of New England’s culture, with its own dialect called Boston English. Many people believe that Boston’s culture is intellectual in nature because of the many universities within the city. Renowned, ornate theaters, along with other performing arts venues, are spread throughout the city. Much of the city is historically preserved because of its importance to the American Revolution.

Rio de Janeiro is the second major city of Brazil, second only to Sao Paolo. Several times during its history, it was the capital of Brazil, and it is commonly referred to as “The Marvelous City”. It is most famous internationally for its beautiful setting and its elaborate and large-scale Carnival festivals.

On January 20, 1502, Portuguese explorer Gaspar de Lemos discovered the area and gave it its name, which translates to “January River”. At that time, “river” was the general term for any large body of water. The first permanent European settlement was established in 1555 by French settlers, consisting of French Huguenots and Swiss Calvinists, but Portuguese settlers founded Rio de Janeiro at the foot of the Sugarloaf Mountain. By the end of the 1500s, the Portuguese crown acknowledged the village as a strategic location and aided in the build of fortresses. The city was historically threatened by French pirates and native raiders until the 18th century. For most of the 19th century, the city was the capital of the area, and from then until today, the city saw an expansion from its restricted historic downtown area to a thriving tourist Mecca.

Over six million people live in Rio de Janeiro, which takes up a space of 456 square miles, while the greater metropolitan area has over eleven million people. Rio de Janeiro has a tropical climate, which means that temperatures are generally warm throughout the year and rarely reach extremes. Cool breezes from the ocean moderate the temperature of the city.

As far as Brazilian culture goes, Rio de Janeiro is very important. The Brazilian urban music scene originated in Rio de Janeiro, a representation of the problems that the inhabitants of the city faced. Rio de Janeiro exists as a symbol of Brazilian culture and social structure, with a freedom of expression that covers many of the important topics in Brazilian life. Held forty days before Easter, the Carnival festivals held throughout the city attract many tourists and are iconic of the city’s culture.

As Alaska’s largest city, Anchorage holds two-fifths of the entire state’s population. Anchorage’s population is just over 350,000. Named an All-America City several times in its history, Anchorage is known for its ability to adapt to a climate which is extremely unusual to the rest of the United States.

Established in 1914 as a railroad construction port for the Alaska Railroad, Anchorage had humble beginnings as a tent city with a working population. Originally the city’s economy was based on the railroad, but by the 1950s, the city experienced a massive boom due to an increased amount of air transportation and military presence. Anchorage’s development was dramatically halted in 1964 when the Good Friday Earthquake, a stunning magnitude 9.2 quake, struck Alaska, killing 115 Alaskans and causing $1.8 billion dollars worth of damage. The rest of the decade was devoted to reconstruction of the city. An oil boom in 1968 caused massive growth once again in the city, and from then until today, Anchorage has experienced much expansion and beautification.

Anchorage sits in south central Alaska on a strip of coastal lowlands. To the south is a fjord with record-breaking tides called the Turnagain Arm, while Knik Arm lies to the north and west. The Chugach Mountains reign the city limits in to the east. A subarctic climate means that Anchorage experiences lows in the mid 50s and highs in the mid 70s during the summer, and lows in the single digits and highs in the 30s during the winter. Summer days are very long and winter days are very short.

Alaskan culture is distinguishable from the rest of the United States because of its geographical situation. Along with performing arts, most of which taking place in the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts, and chamber music societies, cultural events in Anchorage include ice carving competitions and summer festivals. Several museums in Alaska, including the Alaska Museum of Natural History and the Oscar Anderson House Museum, are housed in Anchorage. Hockey is the most popular sport in Anchorage and the Alaska Aces is one of the city’s two professional sports teams.

As part of the Virgin Islands archipelago, the U.S. Virgin Islands are a group of islands consisting of the main islands, Saint Croix, Saint John, and Saint Thomas. There are many smaller islands, and the total population of the islands put together exceeds 100,000 people.

Christopher Columbus’s second voyage included the discovery and naming of the Virgin Islands in 1493, which he named after Saint Ursula and her followers. Over the next hundred years, the islands changed hands several times between many European powers. By the middle of the 18th century, the islands were property of the Danish, who focused on the production of sugarcane aided by slave labor to fuel the economy of the islands. World War I made the Virgin Islands vulnerable and exposed, something which the United States feared the Germans would exploit in order to take over the islands and build a base there. Thus, they purchased them from the Danish for $25 million after months of negotiation. Since 1917, the Virgin Islands have remained a territory of the United States whose inhabitants are American citizens.

Located in the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, the Virgin Islands consist of several dozen islands. Known for strategic harbors and white sandy beaches, the Virgin Islands are hilly and volcanic in origin. A subtropical climate classification means that the Virgin Islands have little temperature fluctuation throughout the year, low humidity, and a rainy season which lasts from May to November.

Tourism is the main driving force behind the economy of the Virgin Islands with over 2 million visitors arriving each year, many of whom visit on cruise ships. Visitors to the Virgin Islands can enjoy the distinct culture, as well as the pristine beaches and a growing resort industry. There is a manufacturing sector as well as a small agricultural sector that comprise the rest of the Virgin Islands’ economy.

As Florida’s third-largest metropolitan area, the principal city of Greater Orlando, and the seat of Orange County, Florida, Orlando is an extremely important city to the state. To the average person, though, the city is most well-known for its huge amount of tourist attractions, drawing over 52 million visitors every year.

Also known as “The City Beautiful”, Orlando’s history dates back to 1837, when a soldier named Orlando Reeves died in the area during the war with the Seminole Indians. Settlers found his name etched into a tree and began to refer to the area as “Orlando’s Grave”, later just Orlando. The Reconstruction Era after the Civil War brought the city its first population boom, and this sort of boom continued during the Florida Land Boom of the 1920s. The most important event for Orlando’s economy in the modern times was the creation of Walt Disney World, which brings millions of tourists to the area each year.

The climate in Orlando is a warm and humid subtropical climate with two distinct seasons during the year. From May until October, the hot and rainy season takes place, when temperatures hover between the mid 70s and the high 90s throughout the day. The winter season takes place the rest of the year, and temperatures drop to the 60s, with lows in the 50s and highs in the 70s. About 50 inches of rainfall is common annually in Orlando.

Orlando’s culture is characterized by a large Latino population, especially those of Puerto Rican descent. Spanish music is commonly featured on Orlando radio stations, and there are plenty of Puerto Rican restaurants. Orlando has an even larger African-American population, as well as a thriving pocket of Vietnamese people. The mix of these cultures makes Orlando a quite the melting pot.

As far as entertainment and tourism go Orlando boasts a bustling music scene, plenty of performance art with a substantial theater population, several of important museums, and, of course, Walt Disney World.

When one thinks of cities with supreme levels of historical, artistic, cultural, and commercial importance in the world, Paris, the capital of France, is not far from the top of the list. As one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world for various reasons, Paris is a city of great global importance and a mainstay for the European tourism experience.

Paris has been inhabited since around 250 BC. By around 500 AD, the city had undergone a great period of growth under Roman control, decline when the Roman Empire collapsed, and then growth again under the Frankish king Clovis I. Over the next thousand years, the city’s power fluctuated. At times it was not even the capital of France, and other times it was the most powerful city in the region. The Industrial Revolution of the 19th century brought about the city’s largest growth in its history and set the stage for its modern prominence as a cultural and commercial bastion of Europe.

The elevation of the city is rather flat, and it is built around the north-bending arc of Seine River. Paris’s climate is classified as oceanic and is influenced heavily by the North Atlantic Current. Because of this, temperatures rarely exceed high and low temperatures, which are around 59 degrees and 45 degrees respectively. Recently, though, the heat wave of 2003 and the cold wave of 2006 put the city through extreme temperature situations.

Paris is a globally-renowned center for almost every art form. High fashion is very popular, with some of the most recognizable names in the design world coming from France. The Louvre Museum is one of France’s most visited museums and contains many of the most important pieces in art history. Theater and performance are large parts of the French experience. All of these things, including the beauty of the architecture and the sheer amount of things to see in Paris, contribute to the city’s huge amount of tourism annually.

Santiago, Chile is the capital of the country of Chile, at the center of a large metropolis located in the central valley of Chile. A boom in the economy of Santiago has made the capital into one of Latin America’s most modern metropolitan areas. With a population of about 6.5 million people in the metropolitan area of Santiago, many modern transportation systems are rising to suit the population.

A Spanish conquistador by the name of Pedro de Valdivia founded Santiago on February 12, 1541, due to the moderate climate the area had to offer and the ease of defending the area. Ironically though, the city was destroyed 8 months later by native forces. In the early 19th century, Santiago remained a small town with a small amount of buildings. Later in the century, exports began to bring the country into prosperity, which promoted the capital city’s development. In the early 20th century, important landmarks were erected in celebrations of the independence from Spain. In the 1930s, Santiago took a turn as a more modern city, and flourished with population due to migrations from the north and south of Chile.

Santiago lies in the center of the Santiago Basin, which is a bowl-shaped valley consisting of large fertile plains surrounded by mountains and a few volcanoes. East of Santiago, there are the majestic Andes mountain chain, and the Chilean Coastal Range to the west. The Santiago Basin is part of the Intermediate Depression which is remarkably flat, and only interrupted with a few hills. The city has relatively hot dry summers and cold humid winters. There is snowfall in suburbs at higher altitudes, which possibly could spread through the city, but happens infrequently.

Tourists would enjoy the modern metropolitan area around Santiago, with dozens of shopping malls, impressive high-rise architecture, and the very modern transportation system which could easily take the tourists around the city comfortably. With an endless list of museums, theatres, symphonies, parks, ski resorts, amazing vineyards, sport venues, plazas, and squares, tourism in Santiago cannot possibly go wrong, and is a must for those who yearn for culture and history.

Widely considered to be one of the most beautiful cities in Europe as well as one of the most visited, Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, has been the political, cultural, and commercial center of the country for over 1,000 years. As a testament to the city’s historic importance, much of the historic district is classified as a World Heritage Site.

The area upon which the city of Prague stands has been inhabited since the Paleolithic Age. As far as the city as it exists today, the first nucleus of the city was created in the latter half of the 9th century. The city flourished during the 14th century under Charles IV, who built the new town and led the city to its ascent to the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. The 16th century was characterized by social and religious dissent, while the 18th saw a wealthy populace undergo efforts to beautify the city, which is responsible for much of the beauty that exists today.

The climate of Prague is generally mild, with warm, wet summers and cold winters. During the summers, temperatures are mostly in the high 70s during the day while the nights tend to be chilly. The winter sees temperatures hover around freezing, falling several degrees during the nighttime, but snow is rare. Most of the rainfall happens from May to August during the summertime.

Prague’s unique culture and the beauty of the city itself make it one of Europe’s most prominent cultural centers. The National Theater, the National Gallery, the National Museum, the Estates Museum, and other cultural fixtures host many important cultural events that draw tourists from all over Europe and the rest of the world. Hundreds of concert halls, galleries, and music clubs give the city a refined air of sophistication and artistic appreciation. The Prague Writers Festival, the Prague Fringe Festival, and other such communal celebrations make the city an active one with plenty to do at any given time.

Located in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, Acapulco is a major port city. It is a port of call for shipping and cruise lines running from San Francisco and Panama City. The population of the urban part of Acapulco is over 600,000, while the surrounding municipality’s population numbers over 700,000 people.

Acapulco as it is known today has its roots in the Spanish exploration of the New World. In 1521, the bay upon which Acapulco depends was discovered by the Spanish, and by 1532 the area was a direct dependency to the Spanish Crown, and it soon became a major port for Spanish operations in the area. The Mexican War of Independence between 1810 and 1821 marked the beginning of Mexican control of Acapulco, and with it, the end of the trade with the Philippines that had gone on for centuries.

With a subtropical climate, Acapulco has a hot and rainy season and a dry and cooler season. From October to June, it is quite unlikely to see any rainfall or clouds in the sky. Throughout the year, the high temperature hovers around 90 degrees and the low around 70 degrees. During the rainy season, the rain falls during the nighttime, so it rarely interferes with tourism activities. Acapulco wraps around the bay and exists on a small strip of shore land between the beach and the lofty mountains. A tunnel allows access to Acapulco from the mainland.

Because of the agreeable weather and the beach atmosphere that Acapulco provides, along with the stylishness of Mexican beach resorts to American tourists, Acapulco has long been an extremely popular tourist destination. As far as Mexican tourism goes, it competes directly with Cancun on the east coast of Mexico. Generally a summer resort paradise, Acapulco has become a spring break getaway for the younger crowd. This may be because of the larger amount of international tourism in the area compared with other areas of Mexico.

As the largest city in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, Seattle is an important cultural and commercial hub. Its official nickname is “Emerald City”, although it is sometimes referred to as “The Gateway to Alaska”, “Rain City”, “Coffee Town”, and other local titles.

The Seattle area has been inhabited by humans for thousands of years, but at the time of the European discovery of the area, it was inhabited by members of the Duwamish Tribe. Settlement of the area was first attempted by the Collins Party, who obtained legal rights to settle at the mouth of the Duwamish River. On the way there, they passed the Denny Party, who would become the eventual founders of the city itself. Eventually, the settlement would split into two competing entities, but finally, the eastern shore of Elliot Bay became the site for the city.

Seattle is situated between the Puget Sound and the Washington Lake on an inlet of the Pacific Ocean. Classification of Seattle’s climate varies because it experiences the characteristics of both a Marine west coast climate and a Mediterranean climate. Winters are rainy and summers are dry, much like the rain patterns of several Mediterranean regions.

Visitors to the northwestern part of the United States are frequently headed to Seattle for various reasons. Some go to attend the Seattle International Film Festival, while others enjoy the myriad cultural events that take place in the Emerald City.

When visiting Seattle, be sure to include plenty of opportunities to enjoy nature. The mild climate makes it ideal for outdoor activities like walking, hiking,cycling, jogging, skiing, and snowboarding, while the presence of water makes it a great place to practice water sports from fishing to surfing. Because of the heavy rainfall, the region is very green and a terrific destination for outdoor photography as well.