California Central Coast Travel Guide

• Central Coast Pull-Down Menu
  • Travel Guide Introduction
  • Santa Barbara County
    • Points of Interest
    • State Parks and Beaches
    • Spanish Missions
    • Wine Country
  • San Luis Obispo
    • Points of Interest, Part 1
    • Points of Interest, Part 2
    • State Parks and Beaches
    • Spanish Missions
    • Wine Country
  • Monterey County
    • Points of Interest
    • State Parks and Beaches
    • Spanish Missions
    • Wine Country

Guide to Santa Barbara County Points of Interest

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The county's highlight is the urbane and beautiful city of Santa Barbara, one of California's favorite vacation cities. The beautiful beaches and ideal year-round weather make it ideal for outdoor recreation. Yet there is much more. The main downtown thoroughfare, State Street, features boutique shops, restaurants, sidewalk cafes, and upscale shopping areas. The downtown Santa Barbara area is also a historic arts district featuring art galleries, cultural venues, museums, and historic sites. (Photo, right: Stearns Wharf Creative Commons ShareAlike 1.0)

A shuttle bus takes visitors between downtown and historic Stearns Wharf, the most visited attraction in Santa Barbara. The wharf which dates from 1872 offers restuarants and unusual specialty stores above the water, even wine tasting. Harbor cruises leave from the wharf. The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History has its Ty Warner Sea Center on the wharf. Open daily, it features hands-on exhibits and a 39-foot life-sized model of a Gray whale.

The Santa Barbara area offers numerous beautiful beaches. Largely south-facing, the beaches are sheltered from the prevailing west winds and offer exceptionally comfortable recreation. East Beach and Leadbetter Beach are centrally located with numerous activities and events during the summer.

There are many cultural and historic venues. The fascinating Santa Barbara County Courthouse, has been called the most beautiful government building in America, and free guided tours are offered daily, except Sunday. Mission Santa Barbara has been called the "Queen of the Missions". (See our section on Spanish Missions in the county.) The Santa Barbara Museum of Art is also highly regarded.

Visit recommendations: You can spend a day or a week in the area. I especially like Stearns Wharf, the Sea Center, the beach areas around the wharf, window shopping and walking on downtown State Street, and Mission Santa Barbara. There was an interesting art show along the beach during a recent visit. Plan to arrive early on weekends or in the summer as parking can be difficult.

Other Related Links:

• Santa Barbara Conference and Visitors Bureau (includes Accommodations)
• Santa Barbara CVB Area Maps
• Santa Barbara CVB Calendar of Events
• City of Santa Barbara Visitor Guide
• Santa Barbara Guide (includes Accommodations)
• Santa Barbara Guide Points of Interest

The town of Solvang bills itself as the Danish Capitol of America. Founded in 1911 by Danish immigrants, the town offers visitors a Danish atmosphere in the architecture of its building, windmills, bakeries, restaurants, and even museums. Numerous shops in town sell goods imported from Denmark.

The Elverhoj Museum preserve the town's history and Danish heritage; the Hans Christian Andersen Museum honors the author of fairytales. The Solvang Motorcycle Museum displays a collection of vintage and rare motorcycles as well as European race bikes. As a contrast to the Scandinavian theme, Mission Santa Ines, founded in 1804, is located in Solvang. (See our section on the county's Spanish missions.)

Solvang and its neighboring scenic towns, Santa Ynez and Los Olivos, are in the heart of Santa Barbara County's beautiful Wine Country. The area offers many opportunities for wine tasting, self-guided, and guided tours.

Visit recommendations: You can spend a few hours or several days in Solvang and vicinity. The wine country is very bucolic and beautiful. This is the area where the wine tour in the movie, "Sideways", takes place. See our section on Santa Barbara County Wine Country.

Other Related Links:

• Solvang Conference and Visitors Bureau (includes Accommodations, Shopping, etc.)

Lompoc bills itself as "the City of Murals in the Valley of Flowers". The region is one of the nation's chief producers of cut flowers and flower seed. During the spring and summer, the countryside is ablaze with fields of flowers under cultivation. Every year, the Lompoc Valley Flower Festival is held in the spring.

The city of 41,000 is also noted for its outdoor wall murals in the historic old town district. Lompoc has over 32 major commissioned murals painted by noted artists, as well as an additional 40 murals.

The La Purisima Mission State Historic Park is also located in Lompoc. Founded in 1787, this is the eleventh of 21 Spanish Missions established in early California.

Visit recommendations: Worth a detour for a few hours. I was most impressed by the outrageously colorful fields of flowers under cultivation.

• Lompoc Valley Chamber of Commerce

Index to the California Central Coast Travel Guide

• California Central Coast Travel Guide Introduction
  
  
• Santa Barbara County Points of Interest
  
  
  • Santa Barbara County State Parks and Beaches
    
    
  • Santa Barbara County Spanish Missions
    
    
  • Santa Barbara County Wine Country
    
    
• San Luis Obispo County Points of Interest - (Part 1)  (Part 2)
  
  
  • San Luis Obispo County State Parks and Beaches
    
    
  • San Luis Obispo County Spanish Missions
    
    
  • San Luis Obispo County Wine Country
    
    
• Monterey County Points of Interest
  
  
  • Monterey County State Parks and Beaches
    
    
  • Monterey County Spanish Missions
    
    
  • Monterey County Wine Country