Experience the best of Duluth

Duluth climbs a steep hillside at the western tip of Lake Superior, with the harbour it shares with Superior, Wisconsin, at the foot. Ships from across the world and long ore freighters call here for iron ore, grain and coal, and the Aerial Lift Bridge in Canal Park, built in 1905 and rebuilt as a lift bridge in 1929, rises to let them pass. A paved Lakewalk runs along the shore beside the old warehouses of Canal Park, which are now shops and restaurants.

The Great Lakes Aquarium shows freshwater fish, the William A. Irvin, an ore freighter, is a museum ship, and Enger Tower gives a view over the harbour. Glensheen is a grand lakeside mansion, and the singer Bob Dylan was born in Duluth in 1941. Highway 61 runs north-east along the North Shore to Gooseberry Falls, Split Rock Lighthouse on its cliff and the Superior Hiking Trail.

Lake trout, whitefish and herring, often smoked on the North Shore, appear on local menus beside wild rice soup, and Scandinavian bakeries keep old recipes alive. Cool breezes off the lake temper the summer, and winters are long, cold and snowy, with ice along the shore.