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Though the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of Honolulu is wide beaches with waving palms and balmy weather, the city is much more than that. Honolulu, which means “sheltered bay” in Hawaiian, boasts a 150-year history as Hawaii’s capital, and is the state's centre of business, culture and politics Honolulu covers an area of 86 square miles (223 square kilometers). It extends about 20 miles (32 kilometers) along the shore from Pearl Harbor on the west, to Koko Head, an extinct volcano, on the east. Honolulu is a fascinating city anthropologically as well, as it is full of ethnic minorities with no majority. This diversity can be seen on every street corner, and gives the city a wonderful, worldly feel. The population is about 400,000.

Honolulu is a harbor city at the southern end of Oahu, the most visited island of the Hawaiian archipelago. The downtown area lies on the Southwestern most part of the District of Honolulu. Here among the cluster of office buildings and bank towers, are some of Hawaii’s significant and cherished treasures-all within comfortable walking distance of each other.

The downtown area centers around a spacious plaza on King Street which includes Iolani Palace and the State Capitol. The palace was built for King David Kalakaua in 1882, but, apart from its koa-hardwood floors, contains little that is distinctively Hawaiian. The palace also served as the royal residence for Hawaii’s last two monarchs, King Kalakaua and Queen Liliuokalani.

The State Capitol was opened in 1969 and remains a unique work of architecture. The cone-shaped chambers symbolize Hawaii’s volcanoes, and the building columns are reminiscent of palm trees. The large pool of water surrounding the building symbolizes the fact that Hawaii is the only island state in the U.S.

Across the road from Iolani Palace is a colorful statue of Kamehameha I, which fronts Honolulu’s old judicial building. The bronze statue stands eight feet and six inches high (not including the 10-foot-high base). Every June 11 on King Kamehameha Day, the statue is adorned with beautiful floral leis, some as long as 18 feet in length.

A few blocks to the west is the Aloha Tower, with a complex of shops and restaurants surrounding it and fronting the city docks. When it was erected in 1926 to welcome passenger ships arriving at Honolulu Harbor, this 10-story tower was the tallest building in the state. Next to it is the Hawaii Maritime Center, which traces Hawaii’s seafaring past in superb detail, from ancient migrations through to white contact, nineteenth-century trade and twentieth-century cruises.

A little to the north-west is Chinatown, a bustling area filled with ethnic eateries, lei stands, fresh produce vendors, herbal shops and more. A walk through Chinatown is a bit like a whirlwind tour across Asia - although it's predominantly Chinese, there are sizable Vietnamese, Thai and Filipino communities as well. At the eastern end of Chinatown's northern boundary is a former royal estate that now houses the city's finest greenbelt, the Foster Botanical Garden. Near the entrance is yet another worship spot, the ornate Buddhist Kuan Yin Temple.

Museums and galleries can also be found in Honolulu, the most well-known being Bishop Museum. The Bishop Museum is considered to be the best Polynesian anthropological museum in the world. Its Hawaiian Hall has three floors of exhibits documenting the islands' cultural history and includes among its treasures a feather cloak made for Kamehameha I, the king who first united the Hawaiian Islands. Other halls brim with masks, weapons, musical instruments and artwork from Pacific cultures as well as Asian and European items brought to the islands by traders. The Bishop is also home to Hawaii's only planetarium, a natural history hall, and an area where craftspeople demonstrate traditional Hawaiian quilting, lauhala mat weaving and lei making.

Southeast of Downtown is Waikiki, the largest tourist destination of Hawaii. Waikiki is a long stretch of picture-perfect white-sand beach. Its shores are lined with swanky high-rise hotels set against the scenic backdrop of Diamond Head. On any given day, the tiny area is thronged with package tourists from Japan and North America: 65,000 of them on average, in addition to some 25,000 residents. It boasts more than 30,000 hotel rooms; close to 1000 restaurants, bars and clubs; and more shops, shams and shysters than anyone cares to count. Just southeast of Waikiki stands the 760ft (230m) Diamond Head. This is a hill composed of compacted volcanic ash - formed by a violent steam explosion deep beneath the island's surface long after most of Oahu's volcanic activity had stopped. Its peak provides a majestic backdrop to the flair of Waikiki. If one hikes the trail to the crater rim, one is treated to a show stopping 360° panorama of the entire southeastern coast of Oahu.

The famous Pearl Harbor is located right next to Downtown Honolulu. Originally known for its stocks of pearl oysters, the Harbor today is home to the Headquarters of the Navy’s Pacific Fleet. But the main reason for its becoming famous is that on the morning of 7 December 1941, this sheltered harbor on Oahu's southern shore became the geographical and emotional catalyst for the USA's involvement in WWII. The floating USS Arizona Memorial is located here, which is perched directly over the Arizona, still lying in the shallow waters where it was sunk by Japanese fighter planes. Visitors here are taken to its centre and its museum and theatre.

All of these sites are within the boundaries of greater Honolulu.

Honolulu is commonly called the crossroads of the Pacific because it acts as an intermediate stop on many flights between the US mainland and Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. Passengers on any of these routes are usually allowed to make a stopover in Honolulu, and because of Hawaii's central Pacific location, Honolulu can be included on most round-the-world and Circle Pacific tickets.

Honolulu International Airport is about 25 minute drive west of Waikiki, and serves millions of passengers each year from the U.S. mainland, Australia, Canada, China, Japan, and other Pacific islands.