Washington’s Most Underrated City: Not the One You Think

CNN released a list of the 25 most underrated towns in America, citing one city in Washington State that surprised me.

Typically, when these sorts of lists come out, they include small towns that are some place close to the middle of nowhere.

I mean, if one claims something is ‘underrated’, you don’t usually name a major city.

“There are plenty of other places across the United States that continue to fly beneath the travel radar,” quotes this article from CNN. Cities like Block Island (Rhode Island), Oklahoma City, North Park (Colorado), and Flagstaff (Arizona) made the list.

The city they chose for Washington is pretty popular, but I'm shocked it made this list.

CNN offered six reasons why their author chose Tacoma as being amongst the most underrated out of the hundreds of thousands of towns in the United States. First, I'll show you what CNN says about the city, and then I'll give you a taste of my 10 bucket list underrated Tacoma tourist attractions that I think every visitor must see!

TACOMA: THE CITY OF...WAIT, WHAT'S TACOMA'S NICKNAME?

Tacoma is called The City of Destiny. It's also nicknamed The City of Grit.

This lovely photo shows just how lovely seeing Mount Rainier in the background can be within view from in Tacoma, Washington.

CNN’S LIST OF TACOMA’S BEST ATTRACTIONS

• Chihuly Glass Art

• Classic Car Collections

• Outstanding Seafood

• Proximity to Mt. Rainier

• Proximity to Olympic National Parks

• Proximity to Cold-Water Scuba Diving in the Hood Canal

MY LIST OF TACOMA’S UNDERRATED ATTRACTIONS:

• Nate Jackson’s Comedy Club

• Katie Downs Waterfront Tavern on Ruston Way

• Tacoma Nature Center

• Playtorium inside the Tacoma Mall

• Tower Lanes for mini-golf (putt-putt) and bowling

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• Sanford and Son Antiques

• Greater Tacoma Convention Center 

• Various Annual Festivals in Tacoma, like the Victorian Christmas holiday event or nearby ones like The Taste Northwest in Puyallup at the WA State Fairgrounds 

• Buffalo Soldiers Museum 

• Owen Beach

SEE ALSO: The 1 Jeopardy Question That Stumped Contestants About TACOMA WA