Conquering the Inland Empire

Spokane's main highlight is its excellent city park which forms the center of its downtown core. Along the banks of the Spokane River, Riverfront Park bursts the seams of fun and excitement, featuring everything from a gondola ride over the Spokane Falls to a carousel for the kids. A winter ice-skating rink can be a great way to have fun during those cold winter months.

Other than that, Spokane is a shopping mecca. This small city has a wide variety of stores and services, much more than the average town. People from as far as Vancouver and Calgary, Canada routinely make the drive south for the amazing bargains in this great city.

A clean, safe, livable, and modern city is what most visitors love about Spokane. It's not pretentious or boring, but is the perfect balance of good, quality sightseeing, and excellent, modern retail. It's on my top ten cities in the USA, for its laid back, small-town elegance.

Quick Tips:

If you are a visitor from a state or province that has no sales tax (Montana, Delaware, and Alberta, Canada come to mind), then you don't have to pay tax in Washington State! According to Washington State law, if tax doesn't exist where you live, you are exempt, which can save you a lot of money while visiting. Just tell the store clerk that you are "tax exempt" and you will not be charged the tax. And don't worry about explaining, they already know, and every store carries a log book for you to sign to get the discount (which is almost 10 percent!).

Parking in the River Park Sqaure mall parking garage is a more economical way of parking, instead of the meters on the street in front of the park. Plus, parking is free if you provide your ticket to a store for validation. Enjoy your stay!

Best Way To Get Around:

Downtown Spokane is easily walkable, in all seasons. Most buildings are connected via elevated walkways, or "skydecks", which helps in the bitterly cold Washington winters.

Other than this, city buses make seeing the main sights as easy as ever. If you are arriving by train or bus, then just walk from Union Station north on S. Washington Street to Riverfront Park, which is a short 4 blocks from the station (both bus and train use the same building here). To get to the shopping district, Division Street, take any Division-bound bus and get off at the stop you want. Buses are frequent and cheap. Airport buses are available, but infrequent.

Centrally located budget hotel has more frills than you might imagine. Rooms are smaller, but cozy, and are complete with fridges and microwaves. A very good breakfast is served each morning, which features fresh, real orange juice, and hot, buttery waffles.

Can be a problem on weekends, though, as there is a rowdy bar across the street. Generally, the Rodeway provides a safe, friendly stay at a price that barely cracks the $30 mark per night.

Spokane's only Golden Corral location is bustling with activity every night. This huge steak buffet has feature days every day, my personal favorites being Seafood night on Friday's, and Carver's night on Sundays.

Here, you will find tender, juicy steaks - as many as you'd like - for only $9.99 per person. Come for lunch, though, and you'll miss out on the steak and seafood. Lunch is $5.99, and features standard, mostly plain buffet fare.

You will not be disappointed walking out of here. It is packed every night, so get ready to pack a few pounds of steak in! Golden Corral only uses top sirloin, so the steak is guaranteed to make your mouth water.

This wonderful city park, in my opinion one of the best in the World, is the key highlight and main tourist attraction in Spokane. It is simply the perfect way to spend a summer's day.

While visiting, we walked around and viewed the beautiful sculptures and artwork that adornes the park. The Canada monument is a highlight, a sterling silver Canadian flag designed as a symbol of peace between the two countries.

The Riverfront Park also has a gondola ride, which takes you by cable car and descends you to the Spokane Falls, a tiny waterfall on the Spokane River, for $6 per person. An IMAX theater, carousel, and other fun fair-like attractions are strewn through the park.

The park is located in downtown Spokane, across from City Hall and the massive Riverfront Mall.

Spokane has one of the nicest downtown cores in the United States. Clean, friendly, and safe don't begin to describe the elegance of the downtown area. Begin your tour of downtown with a visit to its centerpiece - Riverfront Park. Here, you'll find many things to keep you busy, from gondola rides to IMAX movies.

Busy River Park Square is Spokane's downtown shopping center, and has no shortage of excellent shops and services. A ten screen movie theater is here, too.

Take a walk towards the Interstate, down S. Washington Street, to Sprague Avenue, the downtown core's main tourist drag, with trendy cafes, quaint antique shops, and exquisite restaurants. Spokane may be small, but its variety and livability are things not to be missed!