The Fairbanks Convention & Visitor's Bureau (FCVB)--is often a
Fairbanks visitor's first stop.
It has movd from the log cabin with a sod
roof on First Avenue near the Cushman Street Bridge, to the
Morris Thompson Cultural & Visitors Center --on Dunkel Street.
Here
locals and tourists alike find out about Fairbanks' history and events in the Golden Heart
City.
The facility provides a variety of services, including:
Over 400 brochures for attractions, accommodations, tours, dining,
shopping, camping, transportation and outdoor adventure in Interior Alaska, including
Denali National Park and Preserve and other areas of the state;
Free visitor guides complements of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Fairbanks'
only local daily newspaper.
Free courtesy phones for local calls and pay phones for
long-distance calls (travelers to the area often opt for calls from
their current cell provider or purchase a prepaid cell to avoid having
to sign a contract just for the convention.);
Maps of the Fairbanks area;
Self-guided walking and driving tour brochures;
Daily listing of available hotel rooms and bed and breakfasts;
Free videos shown during the day on local tours and attractions, as well as
nature and wildlife films;
Information and visitors guides for other parts of the state, from Barrow to
Ketchikan.
Staff members fluent in German and Japanese to assist international visitors.
The News-Miner's Visitors Guide for Fairbanks, which includes a free map of the
area. They have a web site, but they do tend to be a bit slow in updating
it. When you get to the site, click on "Alaska Visitors
Guide" on the left, then on Visitor's Guide. Watch out for
their "Summer Calendar" - last we looked it was a year
old.
Brochures and information are also available at "satellite"
locations at the train depot, airport, Alaskaland, University
of Alaska Museum, Tok and Denali park. The airport and train station are
staffed with volunteers in Visitor Information booths as well.
The self-guided Walking Tour of the
downtown area is a favorite for many visitors. Included in the tour is the
Immaculate Conception Church, whose spire you can see
from the visitor's center, as well as Courthouse Square,
where Fairbanks' first elevator is still in operation. For more information, click on the
link above.
The visitors center also offers a driving tour. That tour circles Fairbanks,
Farmers Loop and eventually goes all the way out the Steese Highway to Chatanika.
Their hours used to be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week from May 10-25,
then 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. May 26 through Sept. 7. Hours scale back to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. again
starting Sept. 8.
For more information, call (907) 456-5774 or 456-INFO for a recording of daily
events. Or go to
their website.
