California Central Coast Travel Guide: Santa Barbara Points of Interest
What to do in Santa Barbara, Californiaby Joseph A. Sprince - Photography by Gerald B. Allen
What to Do in Santa Barbara
| Hotels & Lodging
| State Parks & Beaches
| Spanish Missions
| Wine Country
The urbane and beautiful city of Santa Barbara is a highlight of the California Coast and is one of California's favorite vacation cities. The beautiful beaches and mild year-round weather make it ideal for outdoor recreation. Yet there is much more. Outstanding cultural and historic attractions, an excellent wine country, shopping, restaurants, and accommodations make Santa Barbara an excellent vacation destination.
[Photo, right: Stearns Wharf This section features points of interest for Santa Barbara County, including historic State Street in downtown Santa Barbara, popular Stearns Wharf, area parks and beaches, Santa Barbara Wine Country, a wide selection of attractions, and a list of popular accommodations. State Street - Downtown Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara's downtown State Street features boutique shops, restaurants, sidewalk cafes, art galleries, upscale shopping areas, and historic sites. The Downtown Santa Barbara area is also a historic district featuring art galleries, cultural venues, museums, and more. Navigating the Guide - Open the California Central Coast Map, or use the California Central Coast Menu, or the California Central Coast Travel Guide Index at the bottom of the page. State Street offers about seven miles of fine dining and shopping. Just east of Carrillo Street are El Paseo, the city's first shopping center dating from the 1920s, on the north side of State Street and Paseo Nuevo on the south side of the street. Juse West of Carrillo are Victoria and La Arcada, a unique architectural gem with a very cool street-level courtyard and featuring many of the city's top restaurants and art galleries. Uptown where State Street runs back into US-101 are La Cumbre and Five Points. A few miles east, the town of Montecito features Coast Village and Montecito Village. See below for restaurant suggestions. Stearns WharfA shuttle bus takes visitors between downtown and historic Stearns Wharf, the most visited attraction in Santa Barbara. The wharf which dates from 1872 offers harbor cruises, restaurants, and unusual specialty stores above the water, even wine tasting. 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.
Santa Barbara Beaches
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 (the main center of activity) and West Beach are on either side of Stearns Wharf. Leadbetter Beach and Park is to the west of Santa Barbara Harbor. Arroyo Burro Beach is several miles west of the harbor and more secluded. All have numerous activities, amenities, and events. Chase Palm Park, behind East Beach, features various events, and Sunday arts and crafts shows. There are excellent paths for walking and biking especially in the central area around Stearns Wharf, East Beach, and West Beach. There are miles of well-marked off road bicycle paths throughout the area, as well as several places where bicycles may be rented. Read Bike Along the Santa Barbara Waterfront(Printable PDF file). West of Santa Barbara and Goleta, the main route, US-101 hugs a very beautiful and undeveloped section of coast for about thirty miles. The coast features three outstanding state park units, El Capitan State Beach, Refugio State, and Gaviota State Park. All offer outstanding beach recreation and camping. Gaviota (whose entrance is a few miles north of the coast) also offers hiking and recration in the foothills behind the beach.
Wine in Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara Wine Country offers some of California's finest wines with nearly 100 wineries and shops where you can taste, enjoy, and purchase a wide variety of wines. The heart of wine country is around the towns of Buellton and Solvang in northern Santa Barbara County. This area is reached in under an hour via the scenic coastal route, US-101 north. A slightly longer route via highway CA-154 through the mountains via scenic Lake Cachuma offers a very nice alternative. Wine country offers an excellent selection of inns and restaurants. For those wishing to stay around Santa Barbara, the Urban Wine Trail offers about a dozen shops featuring local wines. Six shops are clustered within a few blocks walk of Stearns Wharf just north of Cabrillo Boulevard. One is on State Street and five are on Anacapa Street a couple blocks away. This is an excellent opportunity to sample wines without driving your car.
Cultural and Historic Venues
Santa Barbara RestaurantsBelow are a few restaurant and bakery recommendations:
From the The Downtown Organization of Santa Barbara: Popular Santa Barbara Hotels
915 Garden Street, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101
Phone: 805-564-4700
1260 Channel Dr, Santa Barbara, CA, 93108
Phone: 805-969-2261
5490 Hollister Ave, Santa Barbara, CA, 93111
Phone: 805-683-6722 Popular Santa Barbara Bed & Breakfast
1720 Bath Street, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101
Phone: 805-682-9680
36 W Valerio St, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101
Phone: 805-569-1610
121 East Arrellaga Street, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101
Phone: 805-963-7067
RecommendationsVisit recommendations: You can spend a day or a week in the area. I especially like Stearns Wharf, the Ty Warner Sea Center, the beach areas around the wharf, window shopping and walking on downtown State Street, and Mission Santa Barbara. Plan to arrive early on weekends or in the summer as parking can be difficult. Related Links
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Insiders' Guide to Santa Barbara
by Nancy A. Shobe, Karen Hastings
Offers travelers, newcomers, and locals the best, most comprehensive information on what's happening in and around the area some call "the American Riviera". 
Wines and Wineries of California's Central Coast: A Complete Guide from Monterey to Santa Barbaraby William A. Ausmus In comparative tastings, wines from California's Central Coast rival those from such renowned regions as Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Napa, yet they also offer superb value. This is the first comprehensive guide to one of the world's most dynamic and beautiful wine regions-and the setting for the award-winning movie Sideways. Photography
Big Sur Coast I by Gerald Allen
The Million Dollar View from Ragged Point on California's Big Sur coast. Buy This Print! Related Pages
California's Central Coast offers some of the American West's most splendid scenery and attractions, from the Golden Gate to the Hearst Castle to the magnificent scenic drive on the Pacific Coast Highway (California Highway 1).
Location
Attractions on California's Central Coast from San Luis Obispo to Monterey are accessed by The Pacific Coast Highway (California Highway 1). About midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Local Weather
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