Honolulu: the most important tourist destination in Hawaii

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Honolulu, is located on the island of Oahu, and is the largest city in the state of Hawaii. The city has in fact about 390,000 inhabitants, which become almost a million if we consider the metropolitan area of the city. The city is the main gateway for tourists who travel to the Hawaiian islands. The city’s airport is served by major American airlines, and by many international airlines from countries across the Pacific area.

THE CAPITAL OF THE HAWAII ISLANDS

The capital of Hawaii is a cosmopolitan, modern and vibrant city. Over half of its population is of Asian origin. Honolulu permanently became the capital of the kingdom of Hawaii in the mid-nineteenth century, when King Kamehameha III moved the capital from Lahaina to the island of Maui in Honolulu. The city developed rapidly becoming the most important commercial center of the archipelago, and the seat of the fervent activity of the missionaries in the Hawaiian islands. The city was bombed by the Japanese in 1941. The attack on Pearl Harbor, located on the western outskirts of the city, caused the United States to enter the war.

Honolulu is located along the southeastern coast of the island of Oahu. The city is the main tourist destination of the Hawaiian islands. It is also especially famous for its tourist district, that of Waikiki Beach, and for the volcanic crater of the Diamond Head. The city center, called Downtown, is the part of the city where the financial, commercial, and governmental activities of the Hawaiian islands are located.

The city has a large Chinatown inhabited by immigrants from Asian countries. In this area there is also the Arts District of Honolulu, an area that is home to numerous artistic and cultural institutions. For those who love shopping centers and shops, the Hawaiian city offers the largest open-air mall in the world: the Ala Moana Center, which is located between the Kakaako and Waikiki districts.

HOW TO GET TO HONOLULU

The city is served by an important international airport: the Honolulu International Airport (HNL). This airport is an important stopover between the routes that connect the United States with Asia and Oceania. The airport, which is located along the sea about 10 km west of downtown Honolulu, is also the main base for the Hawaiian Airlines.

Honolulu airport is connected by direct flights with the main cities of North America, Oceania and the Far East. Numerous cities in the United States are connected to Honolulu by direct flights. Including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, New York, Washington, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas, etc. Also there are direct flights to some cities in Canada. For Asia there are direct flights to Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines. There are direct flights to Australia, New Zealand and to many Pacific islands.