Salt Lake City is the capital of Utah and the world headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a fact that shapes almost everything about the place — its architecture, its grid, its culture, its laws, and the tension between that dominant religious presence and a growing, younger, increasingly diverse city pushing against it. Temple Square and its extraordinary Tabernacle sit at the centre of downtown, surrounded by the Family History Library, the Church History Museum, and the Beehive House where Brigham Young lived.
The mountains are the other essential fact. The Wasatch Range rises immediately east of the city, and within 45 minutes of the airport you can be skiing on some of the best powder in the world. Little Cottonwood Canyon reaches Alta and Snowbird; Big Cottonwood Canyon accesses Brighton and Solitude. The 2002 Winter Olympics were held here, and the Utah Olympic Park in nearby Park City is still active. In summer the same mountains are excellent for hiking, cycling, and trail running.
The Great Salt Lake to the west is one of the strangest bodies of water on Earth — vastly salty, visibly shrinking, and home to billions of brine shrimp and the migratory birds that feed on them. Antelope Island in the lake has a bison herd and swimming beaches. The Bonneville Salt Flats, an hour west on I-80, are where land speed records get broken.
Beyond the LDS sites and the mountains, the city has a strong museum culture: the Natural History Museum of Utah on the University of Utah campus is world-class for its dinosaur collection, the Utah Museum of Fine Arts is underrated, and the Utah State History Museum is free and thorough. The Utah State Capitol on its hill north of downtown is worth visiting for the architecture and the views.
The city's culture is more nuanced than outsiders expect. The craft beer scene at Wasatch Brewery, Squatters, and Red Rock Brewing has thrived as a counterculture under restrictive liquor laws. The Granary District and 9th and 9th neighbourhoods are genuinely good. Red Iguana makes some of the best mole sauce in the western United States.