Introducing California
The moment you arrive in the Golden State, you may suspect you’ve been cast as the ingenue in a road-trip movie. Everything seems staged for a script riddled with exclamation points: no way are they going to surf those skyscraper-sized waves at Mavericks! That can’t be the Terminator in the governor’s mansion – in his second term! Brrrrrrr...don’t all those naked people ever get cold?!
Even if you’ve seen it on TV, California still comes as a shock to the system. The Venice Beach's skateboarders, San Francisco's same-sex-wedding planners, Santa Cruz's wild-mushroom hunters, Rodeo Dr-pillaging trophy wives and cheerful San Diego's doomsday cult members aren’t on different channels. They live here.
Unless you want to stir up old NorCal/SoCal rivalries dating from the 19th century – a diverting local pastime when played with good sports – don’t get Californians started about water. NorCal scolds SoCal for watering its lawns and filling its pools with water piped in from the Sierras, while SoCal points out that NorCal shouldn’t talk with its mouth full of organic veggies grown in the Sierras-irrigated Central Valley.
You might not get a word in edgewise when it comes to technology or the environment – but listen up, because those wild Californian ideas might become the next big thing. California’s technological innovations need no introduction – perhaps you’ve heard of PCs, iPods, Google and the internet?
Once you get the hang of California’s improvised lifestyle, you’ll notice that plot devices aren’t necessary to get Californians to act out. On the contrary, movies can’t begin to capture how Californians behave when there are no cameras on. The Sierra Nevada Gold Rush, San Francisco’s Summer of Love, the LA punk scene, Silicon Valley high-tech booms: no screenwriter could make this stuff up, no matter how talented. Like any Hollywood blockbuster based on a great work of fiction, movies about California can’t compare to the original. But don’t just sit back and enjoy the show – California is the place to take part and make a scene. Other places on the planet have their wow factor, but there’s only one region that so consistently merits the delighted disbelief of a long, drawn-out ‘Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuude!’
Ready to go?
These tours & activities make it easy:
Sights in California
Activities in California
Los Angeles
Welcome to sunny Los Angeles, a shiny city of reinvention where small talk always starts with a question: ‘Where are you from?’ This query reveals what’s driving the city’s energetic buzz – a perpetual in-fl ow of dreamers, go-getters and hustlers...
Tours in California
San Francisco & the Bay Area
A huge, densely populated metropolitan area surrounds San Francisco, but the Bay Area is not your typical complex of suburbs and bedroom communities.
California destination guides
Central Coast
After San Francisco and Los Angeles, the Central Coast is the top reason to visit California.
Hotels in California
Budget Hotels & Hostels in California
Guesthouses and B&Bs in California
Apartments in California
San Diego
Some people say San Diego lacks weather, but the city’s residents seem to be surviving just fine without it.
Entertainment in California
Central Valley
The Central Valley is the part of California that seems to belong in some other state.
Shopping in California