Sitka

Yes, and it's free. The park is a 15–20 minute walk east of downtown along the waterfront and protects the site of the 1804 Battle of Sitka between Russian forces and the Tlingit. The Totem Trail is a flat 1.5-mile gravel loop through old-growth rainforest with about 20 totem poles staged along it — original poles are inside the visitor center, the outdoor ones are carved replicas (the originals would have rotted in this climate decades ago). No entrance fee. Note that the trails near Indian River are sometimes closed 7pm–7am for bear activity; daytime cruise hours are unaffected.

No — it's a working rehabilitation hospital that takes in roughly 200 injured birds a year and releases what it can. The flight-training enclosure lets you watch bald eagles relearn to fly behind one-way glass. Open daily 8am–4pm in summer (last admission 3:30pm), with a modest admission fee. About a 20-minute walk from downtown or a short taxi ride; many shore excursions bundle it with Fortress of the Bear and the totem park.

The onion-domed Russian Orthodox cathedral on Lincoln Street is the building you've seen in every Sitka photo. The original was built 1844–1848 and burned down in a January 1966 fire that took out 17 downtown buildings. Townspeople formed a human chain and pulled the icons, royal doors, and chandelier out of the burning building before it collapsed. The cathedral was rebuilt as an exact replica in 1976 using 1961 Historic American Buildings Survey drawings — same look, modern fire-retardant materials. It's a working parish; the small interior tour costs a few dollars and is worth it for the rescued icons.

Yes, but it takes planning. Fortress of the Bear is a captive-bear rescue facility about 5.5 miles east of downtown at the old pulp mill site. The city's blue-line bus runs out there from Lincoln and Harbor Drive for around $2 each way; there are also several local taxi and shuttle operators. Admission is roughly $15 for adults, valid 10am–3:30pm. If you want guaranteed timing on a tight shore day, a bundled van tour (raptor center + bears + totem park) is the path of least resistance.

Sitka Sound is unusually productive — sea otters are routine from any waterfront vantage (the bridge to Japonski Island, the breakwater near Crescent Harbor) and Steller sea lions haul out on the rocks visibly. Humpback whales pass through the sound from May to September; serious whale-watching means a small-boat tour out to Salisbury Sound, typically 3 hours and around $130–180 per person with operators like Allen Marine. From the deck of a tender on a calm morning you'll often see otters without trying.

Sitka is in the United States — Alaska, specifically — so US citizens on a closed-loop cruise (round-trip from a US port) can sail with a birth certificate plus government photo ID under WHTI rules, though a passport is strongly recommended. Currency is the US dollar. Cards work everywhere; cell service is fine in town and patchy past the road system.