Nashville is the capital of Tennessee. It is the county seat of Davidson County. The US Census Bureau calls the portion of Davidson County excluding satellite cities of Nashville as Nashville-Davidson.

Nashville is situated on the northwestern portion of the Nashville Basin. It has a total area of 526.1 square miles. More than 90 % of it is land area. It has a humid subtropical climate. It has hot and humid summers while winters are cool. The lowest recorded temperature is -17 0F. Though it regularly snows in Nashville especially during the months of January and February, it is rarely heavy. Nashville is prone to tornadoes.

Nashville is known as the “home of country music”. It is a major music recording and production center. It even has an area called Music Row where many offices of recording companies are found. And if only to prove that it is indeed musically inclined, it has a commuter train system called Music City Star. It also has a cable network called Country Music Television or CMT.

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One of the reasons why it has become a tourist destination is because of this affinity to country music. It has several music halls and auditoriums where many musical events are held. It also has popular events like Country Music Awards, CMA Music Festival, Country Music Marathon and Gospel Music Association Dove Awards.

Apart from music related festivals, it also hosts other festivals that attract tourists. Some of which are Tomato Art Festival, Australian Festival, African Street Festival and Tennessee State Fair.

Nashville also boasts of having The Parthenon, not the original but a full-scale replica.

Clearly, Nashville-Davidson, Tennessee is very much attuned to culture and the arts. It has helped boost its economy in terms of tourism.

If you have ever seen the movie “Sleepless in Seattle”, you’d be familiar with the Space Needle. It is considered as Seattle’s most remarkable and distinguishable landmark. The area surrounding the Space Needle is the hub of activity in this Northwest city. It is considered as a public fair ground and a civic center, which is now known as the Seattle Center.

Seattle is a coastal city. It is found on the western section of the state of Washington. The presence of large forests in the area has earned it is official nickname “Emerald City”. It is also sometimes referred to as the “Gateway to Alaska” and “Rain City”.

The city can be found in the Pacific Ring of Fire. Because of this it is prone to earthquakes. It is also a hilly area. Many hills are found even in the center of the city. These are Capitol Hill, Beacon Hill and First Hill.

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In the past, because of its evergreen forests, Seattle became a timber town. The rise of the lumber industry has started the economic boom of the place in its early years.

Now, Seattle is considered as a center for performing arts. Many performing groups are based here and among them are: the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Opera, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. But the city is not only home to these traditional ensembles. It is the birthplace of grunge music. With the rise of artists like Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam, Seattle has attracted some well-known artists like Quincy Jones, and other deceased notables as Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain.

Denver is the capital of the state of Colorado. It earned the nickname “Mile-High City” because its elevation based on official records is exactly one mile above sea level. It is also called the “Queen City of the Plains”. This came to be because of its vital role in the agricultural industry.

During the mid-19th century, what is now the city of Denver was just a small mining town. It was first called Montana City by gold prospectors who came there. The place was soon changed when these gold prospectors went to other mining towns like Auraria and St. Charles City.

Climate in Denver is semi-arid. It has all four seasons. Its weather is largely affected by it proximity to the Rocky Mountains. The average high temperature in the city is 50.1 0F. The lowest temperature ever recorded is -39 0F on January 9, 1875.

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If you want to visit different parks, then Denver is the place to go to. Recent records show that there are more than 200 parks in the city. These include mini parks and the big City Park. Denver also has mountain parks some of which are used for skiing.

In addition to the parks, the city also has many recreational centers. Denver has several museums, concert halls, and opera houses. The city hosts several festivals like the Great American Beer Festival and Dragon Boat Festival. The Great American Beer Festival is celebrated in Denver because of it is recognized as the number one beer producing city in the US today.

Denver is home to different sports teams like the Denver Broncos of the NFL, Colorado Rockies, and the Denver Nuggets of the NBA.

If you want to see a city brightly lit with different colors 24/7, then you must go to Las Vegas. The city owes it’s reputation to the many entertainment places found there. The Las Vegas Strip is home to many casino hotels and resorts, entertainment halls, gambling places, restaurants, and shops. The presence of these entertainment places has earned it the title of being “The Entertainment Capital of the World”. At the same time, it has also seen as “Sin City”. In the early days, Las Vegas was just a center or a stopover for miners in the area trying to ship their products to other places in the country. But because of the legalization of gambling in the early 30’s, the city became populated with casinos.

The city has an arid desert climate. It is located in a basin surrounded by dry mountains. Like most deserts, Las Vegas receives very little rainfall in a year thus the place is not only hot but dusty as well. It has about 300 days of sunshine during the year. Temperatures during summer could go as high as 115 0F. During winter it could go down as low as 4 0F. It rarely snows in Las Vegas. If it does snow in Vegas, it does not last long.

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With many entertainment establishments in Las Vegas, tourists flock to this Oasis throughout the year. The population is steadily rising, with it, is the rise in divorce rates. This is mainly because the divorce process is relatively easier there. Many couples get married in Las Vegas so that in the event that it will not work, divorce can be easily sought. It has been featured in many television shows and movies how easy it is to get married in Las Vegas.

Though Las Vegas, Nevada is popular for the many casinos there, there are also other attractions in the place. There are parks, family recreation centers and the famous Hoover Dam. It also has several good universities like the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and University of Nevada Medical School.

It is true what they say, “whatever happens in Vegas…stays in Vegas.”

A clean and green city is hard to find nowadays. In these times, many cities are already heavily polluted. Air, land and water pollution are such big problems that people are already feeling the effects of climate change. However, there is a city that has fought these problems rather successfully. This city is Portland, Oregon. It is distinguished as the “Most Environmentally Friendly” city in the United States of America and the second most in the world. This is despite it being heavily populated, making it the most populous city in Oregon.

Portland can be found in the Northern section of Oregon. It has the Willamette Rive running through the center of the city. During summer, temperature could reach as high as 81 0F and during winter, it could go as low as 37 0F.

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How the city got its name is rather interesting. It used to be just known as “the clearing” in the early parts of the 19th century. William Overton got interested in the commercial potential of the place so he decided to claim the land with financial help from his partner Asa Lovejoy of Boston, Massachusetts. Overton’s share was later sold to Francis W. Pettygrove of Portland, Maine. The two could not decide whether to name the place Boston or Portland so they decided to solve the issue via a toss coin. In a best of three tosses Pettygrove prevailed so “the clearing” got the name Portland. Now the city has been nicknamed “The City of Roses” because of the many rose gardens there most notable of which is the International Rose Test Garden.

Apart from these rose gardens there are also a lot of tourists’ attractions in Portland. There many parks, concert halls, theaters and museums. It also hosts festivals like the Portland Rose Festival and Oregon Brewers Festival.