Anaheim is located in a suburban area 30 miles to the south of Los Angeles and is synonymous with theme parks and family holidays. Home to Disneyland, the city is one of the most popular destinations for families from the US and abroad. There’s more than Disney here, though: Knott’s Berry Farm and California Adventure are also major attractions, with numbers of visitors increasing annually.

As this city plays host to vast numbers visitors from around the world throughout the year, the options for dining and evening entertainment are seemingly endless. From fine dining to fast food and from elegant jazz clubs to frenetic discos to neighbourhood bars, you’ll find whatever you may be looking for. You’ll also find excellent shopping opportunities in outlets, specialty shops and markets. For leisure activity, there are many fine beaches and inland many vineyards and spas for you to enjoy.

There’s a lot to see in the greater Los Angeles area and Anaheim is a convenient base for exploring the region. In addition to the family entertainment attractions, an interesting spot to visit is the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace, just a short drive from Anaheim in nearby Yorba Linda. The presidential library and museum feature displays related to Nixon's presidency as well as historically-significant events occurring in the in the latter years of the 20th century. If your visit to the area really is focused on themed attractions, you can add a day trip to Hollywood and Universal Studios to your itinerary. If you like to people-watch, you can go from Hollywood to Beverly Hills. Many of Hollywood’s stars and other notables have homes by the sea in Malibu, where you can also visit some of the state's most well-known beaches.

Driving around the area is popular with many visitors and car hire facilities are readily available. Having a car will provide you the freedom to really get to know the greater Los Angeles area. There’s also rail service on Amtrak, running in the north-south direction through California's major metropolitan areas. Bus services, operated by Greyhound Bus Lines, connects all major population centres in California with the entire US. For those flying in from overseas, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is the most convenient airport to fly into. This is one of the nation's largest and also one of the world’s busiest airports, featuring flights connecting destinations across the globe.

The colony of Anaheim was founded in 1857, originally situated on 1,165 acres. The early German settlers decided to call their community ‘Annaheim’ with ‘Anna’ a reference to the Santa Ana River and ‘heim’ the German word for home. A later revision made a slight change, dropping one ‘n’ from the name, to ‘Anaheim.’ The town quickly developed into the state’s wine capital and boasted dozens of vineyards and 47 wineries within just 10 years. Not long afterwards however, a number of plant viruses killed off most of the grape vines and by the 1890s, the residents had begun growing oranges.

Area farmers were hired labour from Mexico to dig ditches and help cultivate their land who then brought in Chinese labourers to tend the crops. Chinese migrant labourers established a community close to what is today the centre of Anaheim, and opened barber shops, tailor shops, laundries and various other small businesses. These two groups of migrant workers formed the beginnings of significant immigrant communities in the area.

In the 1920s, Anaheim was at the centre of a plot by the American Ku Klux Klan to take over local governments. At this time, the Klan was at the peak of its influence and it set out to establish Anaheim as a model Klan city. In order to accomplish their goal, the Klan managed to have four of its members elected to the city’s Board of Trustees. In addition, nine of the ten local policemen were also Klansmen. All this manoeuvring was done in secret, and when the Klan’s activities were publicly exposed, new elections were held, voting out the members and removing the officers from the police force.

Anaheim remained a farming community until 1955, at which time Disneyland and the I-5 freeway opened. The city’s business community invested heavily in the tourism potential, building an infrastructure designed to support the massive influx of visitors to Disney’s theme park. Tourist numbers grew phenomenally each year, as did the number and type of attractions visitors found in Anaheim. In 2001, Disney's California Adventure opened, adding a new entertainment site, with many eateries and opportunities to go shopping. The 50th anniversary of Disneyland was celebrated by Disney parks worldwide in May of 2005 with an anniversary programme lasting for a year and a half, featuring new shows and spectacles, fireworks displays and parades.

Today, Anaheim covers an area of 46 square miles and it’s population has grown to more than 311,000 residents, making it the largest and most populated urban area in Orange County. It’s also the wealthiest urban area in the county. Anaheim’s largest growth spurt occurred during the 20th century, accompanied by growth in the diversity of its racial and ethnic composition.

The weather in Anaheim stays warm and pleasant throughout the year, as the city is protected from extremes in temperatures by the San Gabriel and Santa Monica mountain ranges and is balanced by moist air coming in from the Pacific Ocean. Summers are typically sunny and dry, with winters somewhat cooler and a bit wetter. In the coastal area, offshore breezes keep the temperatures cooler by the sea during the hot summer months, but it’s not unusual for inland temperatures to reach 32°C and above. The rainy season runs from November through March, with January seeing the most precipitation, although it’s never significant.

Anaheim’s climate can be likened to that of the Mediterranean area: the sun shines most every day and rainfall is not common. Winter temperatures rarely fall below 12°C and summer temperatures average 24°C.