San Francisco
That clamor you hear riding cable cars is the sound of San Francisco's peak technology at work. Gears click and wire-hemp ropes whir as these vintage…
Must-see attractions in California
San Diego
This interactive children’s museum offers interactive art meant for kids. Installations are designed by artists, so tykes can learn principles of movement…
Napa Valley
At the valley’s westernmost edge, where sloping vineyards meet wooded hillsides, Tres Sabores is a portal to old Napa – no fancy tasting room, no snobbery…
Sacramento
Welcome to the arena of the future. This gleaming home to the Sacramento Kings is one of the most advanced sports facilities in the country. Made with the…
Santa Barbara
This next-gen science museum is an interactive treasure trove of exhibits and experiences related to sound, technology, speed, light and color that are…
Santa Barbara Wine Country
This tranquil gem is worth the extra mileage, not just for the award-winning small-batch reds and whites, but for the delightfully rustic tasting room…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
A flashback to penny arcades, the Musée Mécanique houses a mind-blowing collection of vintage mechanical amusements. Sinister, freckle-faced Laughing Sal…
Oakland
Stargazers will go gaga over this kid-oriented science and technology center in the Oakland Hills with loads of exhibits on subjects such as space travel…
Santa Barbara County Courthouse
Santa Barbara
Built in Spanish-Moorish Revival style in 1929, the courthouse features hand-painted ceilings, wrought-iron chandeliers and tiles from Tunisia and Spain…
Greater Palm Springs
This amazing animal park showcases desert plants and animals alongside exhibits on regional geology and Native American culture. Highlights include a walk…
Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood & Westwood
Run by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, this powerful, deeply moving museum uses interactive technology to engage visitors in discussion and contemplation…
West Hollywood & Mid-City
A four-story ode to the auto, the Petersen Automotive Museum is a treat even for those who can’t tell a piston from a carburetor. A headlights-to-brake…
Noah Purifoy Desert Art Museum
Joshua Tree National Park
The 'Junk Dada' sculptures and installations of African American artist Noah Purifoy (1917–2004) are collected by the world's finest museums, but some of…
Grace Hudson Museum & Sun House
Along Highway 101
One block east of State St, the collection’s mainstays are paintings by Grace Hudson (1865–1937). Her sensitive depictions of Pomo people and other…
Seymour Marine Discovery Center
Santa Cruz
This educational center is part of UCSC’s Long Marine Laboratory. Interactive natural-science exhibits include tidal touch pools and aquariums, while…
Coastal Highway 1
This iconic lighthouse was constructed in 1870, destroyed in a 1906 earthquake and then rebuilt in 1908. It remains the tallest on the US West Coast (tied…
Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens
Coastal Highway 1
This gem of Northern California displays native flora, rhododendrons and heritage roses. The succulent display alone is amazing and the organic garden is…
South Bay Beaches
The best place to hunt for starfish, anemones and other tide-pool critters is in and around this rock-strewn eco-preserve. The walk down to the beach gets…
John Muir National Historic Site
East Bay
Naturalist John Muir's former residence sits in a pastoral patch of farmland in bustling, modern Martinez. Though Muir wrote of sauntering the Sierra…
Lombard Financial Center Mosaics
San Francisco
A couple years ago, blighted trees in front of this bank were cut down and a treasure hidden for almost half a century was revealed: mosaics by California…
Pasadena & the San Gabriel Valley
This mansion in northwest central Pasadena has been called one of the 10 most architecturally significant homes in America. The 1908 masterpiece of…
Hollywood
For a taste of Old Hollywood, do not miss this musty temple to the stars, its four floors crammed with movie and TV costumes and props. The museum is…
Long Beach & San Pedro
This WWII to Cold War–era battleship is now permanently moored in San Pedro Bay and open to visitors as a museum. It's massive – 887ft long (that's 5ft…
Downtown Los Angeles & Boyle Heights
MOCA's superlative art collection focuses mainly on works created from the 1940s to the present. There's no shortage of luminaries, among them Mark Rothko…
San Francisco
You're always in excellent company in the Castro, where sidewalk plaques honor LGBT+ heroes. The walk runs along Market St from Noe St to Casto St and…
The Haight & Hayes Valley
Hippie communes and Victorian bordellos, jazz greats and opera stars, earthquakes and Church of Satan services: these genteel 'Painted Lady' Victorian…
Autry Museum of the American West
Los Feliz & Griffith Park
Established by singing cowboy Gene Autry, this expansive, underrated museum offers contemporary perspectives on the history and people of the American…
San Francisco
Diego Rivera's 1931 The Making of a Fresco Showing the Building of a City is a trompe l'oeil fresco within a fresco, showing the artist himself pausing to…
Frederick R Weisman Art Foundation
Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood & Westwood
The late entrepreneur and philanthropist Frederick R Weisman had an insatiable passion for art, a fact confirmed when touring his former Holmby Hills home…
Japantown, Fillmore & Pacific Heights
Time-travel to 1968 as you cross Japan Center's indoor wooden bridges, with noren (curtains) and maneki-neko (cat figurines) waving welcomes from…
Russian River Area
For its creamy and crisp chardonnays and earthy pinots, along with top-notch service and an elegant tasting room, Macrostie is the talk of Wine Country…
Napa Valley
The fabulous hillside tasting room, constructed of stone, redwood and teak, resembles a small cathedral – fitting, given the sacred status here bestowed…
Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park
Gold Country
Two miles southwest of Volcano, this sacred area for the local Miwok comprises a museum in a traditional wooden roundhouse, a village site, a limestone…
West Hollywood & Mid-City
Long before the city was flooded with farmers markets, there was the farmers market. Fresh produce, roasted nuts, doughnuts, cheeses, blini – you’ll find…
Santa Barbara Wine Country
On what was once a working cattle ranch, Foxen crafts full-fruited Pinot Noir, warm Syrah, steel-cut Chardonnay and rich Rhône-style wines, all sourced…
Napa Valley
Art-lovers: don’t miss Hess Collection, whose galleries display mixed-media and large-canvas works, including pieces by Francis Bacon and Robert…
Sonoma Valley
California's oldest family-run winery looks like a castle but has a down-to-earth vibe. Founded in 1858 by a Bavarian immigrant, its signatures are…
Santa Barbara Wine Country
Come for the wine, stay for the architecture, the views and the (occasional) live music. The sweeping panorama across this relative newcomer's vineyard to…
Marin County
This historical lighthouse is a breathtaking half-mile walk from Field Rd parking area. From the tip of Point Bonita, you can see the Golden Gate Bridge…
Santa Barbara Wine Country
Hillside, family-owned vineyards overflowing with different grape varietals – Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Cabernet…
