California attractions

Established in 1769, Old Town San Diego is the site of California's first European settlement, earning it the nickname "the birthplace of California." Highlights include Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, with its preserved adobe buildings and living-history demonstrations, such as blacksmithing, showcasing the city’s evolution from Kumeyaay village to Mexican pueblo to American settlement. The area is also home to restaurants, shops, and live entertainment.

At 48 square blocks, Little Italy San Diego is one of the largest Little Italy districts in the United States. Once home to Italian fishing families, it’s now a lively and walkable neighborhood that’s filled with restaurants, cafés, wine bars, and craft brewpubs. This trendy district also has upscale boutiques, art galleries, boutique hotels, and live music venues, so there’s far more to experience than just its delicious food and drink.

The Pacific Coast Highway—also known as the PCH or Highway 1—runs north–south along most of the United States’ West Coast. The incredibly scenic California stretch is known for its rugged cliffs, hidden coves, and numerous beaches, making it one of the nation’s most popular road-trip routes. From San Francisco to San Diego and the many charming stops in between, it’s truly one of the most beautiful places on the planet to take a drive.

In the middle of sprawling Balboa Park, the San Diego Zoo contains a whole world within its miniaturized biomes. From the gorillas roaming the rainforest to the polar bears splashing in their icy pond, the open-air enclosures create an immersive experience, allowing you to see the animals in an environment that's close to their natural habitat.

Tunnel View is the most visited scenic overlook in Yosemite and the site of Ansel Adams’ famous shot. When driving into Yosemite National Park from the south, Tunnel View offers your first glimpse into Yosemite Valley. At the end of a tunnel, a magical valley is revealed, with towering granite peaks and domes, and waterfalls spilling over cliffs.

Closely associated with LGBTQ culture, San Francisco’s vibrant, brash Castro district is a lively neighborhood of shops, bars, rainbow flags, and hilly streets lined with impressively restored Victorian homes. Harvey Milk—California’s first openly gay elected official—was a famous Castro resident, honored here with Harvey Milk Plaza.

A wide swath of beach in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area backed by restored wetlands is just part of Crissy Field’s story. An integral part of San Francisco’s waterfront, Crissy Field hosts a yacht harbor, a tidal marsh, and Crissy Promenade—a popular bike and pedestrian path that climbs from the beach to the iconic Golden Gate Bridge.

Traveling the length of California's 17-Mile Drive, said to be one of the world's most scenic routes, is an essential Central Coast experience. Looping around the Monterey Peninsula, the private toll road offers stellar views of Monterey Bay and passes popular attractions such as the Lone Cypress, Bird Rock, the Del Monte Forest, and the famous Pebble Beach Golf Links.

Pristine waters, long stretches of sandy beach, and rocky coves with giant boulders make Sand Harbor one of the most popular places to swim in Lake Tahoe. There’s a lot to explore, whether you’re swimming and sunbathing at the 2,500-foot (762-meter) Main Beach, paddling a kayak offshore, or taking to the sheltered waters of Divers Cove. Threading through forests that roll to the water’s edge are hiking trails with sweeping views across Lake Tahoe.

The home to San Francisco’s hipster scene and the hub of the city’s Latin community, the Mission District is one of the city’s most interesting neighborhoods. It’s known for its outstanding and diverse food scene, buzzing nightlife hot spots, and a scenic park that’s a popular weekend hangout for locals.

Universal Studios Hollywood™ is home to one of the world's oldest continuously operating movie studios—and the first in Hollywood to offer tours to the public. It’s also a theme park, presenting a mix of thrill rides and live-action shows based on popular films and TV series, plus a tour of the studio lots. Designed for all ages, the theme park allows you to immerse yourself in the cinematic universes of Harry Potter,Despicable Me, and more.

Home to San Francisco’s main governmental offices, Civic Center is a central gathering spot for visitors to major museums and performing arts venues. The tree-lined UN Plaza leads to the impressive gold-leaf dome of City Hall while surrounding Beaux Arts-style buildings invite you to stroll around the square or buy tickets to a show.

With bright turquoise waters owing to Lake Tahoe’s clarity, there’s no question where Emerald Bay got its name—but it’s a gem in other ways, too. It is also home to the lake’s only islet, Fanette Island, while the eponymous state park, centered on the bay, draws visitors in the summer to boat, swim, and hike down a forested trail to the sheltered cove.

Sitting just below the Golden Gate Bridge on the very northern tip of San Francisco, Fort Point National Historic Site was built in the mid-1800s to guard the entrance to San Francisco Bay during the Gold Rush. Today, the small site can be explored on foot and provides a fantastic vantage point of the bridge and bay.

A popular stop for locals and visitors alike, Seaport Village sits directly on San Diego Bay and it’s known for being a great spot for shopping, dining, and entertainment. This buzzing harborside complex has a village-style layout and features waterfront dining options, boutiques, specialty shops, and outdoor performers. Whether you’re riding the carousel, browsing shops, or enjoying a meal by the water, it’s an easy place to slow down and soak up the harbor atmosphere.

Founded by Lillian Disney to honor her husband Walt's commitment to arts and culture in LA, the Walt Disney® Concert Hall stands out from the Los Angeles cityscape with its striking stainless steel exterior. Designed by Frank Gehry, inside its Douglas fir–lined auditorium ensures world-class acoustics, and the venue is home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Master Chorale, as well as hosting an eclectic range of international singers and musicians

What began as the headquarters of the Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory in the 1890s is now a multilevel retail square across the street from San Francisco’s Aquatic Park. Instantly recognizable by its clock tower and large Ghirardelli sign—both popular photo ops—the red-brick complex is a destination for waterfront dining, shopping, and sampling chocolate.

Thanks to its year-round summer weather, miles of sandy beaches, and enviable waves, Huntington Beach’s moniker is Surf City USA. Luckily for non-surfers, you don’t need to be good on a board to appreciate this quintessential Southern California beach town. Take a sunset walk along the iconic Huntington Beach Pier, and you’ll see why even short-term visitors can’t help but acclimate to the city’s laid-back lifestyle.

Rising more than 900 feet (274 meters) above San Francisco, Twin Peaks provides a panoramic view of the city and beyond. On clear days, you can see for miles from these two hills, taking in the Golden Gate Bridge, the Presidio, Alcatraz, downtown San Francisco, and Berkeley, Oakland, and Sausalito across San Francisco Bay.

El Capitan is the largest exposed-granite monolith in the world and among the most popular rock-climbing destinations in the US. Rising 3,593 feet (1095 meters) above Yosemite Valley, El Capitan was once considered impossible to climb. However, since Warren Harding first conquered the "nose" in 1958, El Capitan has become the standard for big-wall climbing.

The largest art museum in the western United States, the size of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is matched by the breadth of its collection. Home to more than 155,000 objects dating from antiquity to the present, the exhibits represent artistic expression from across the world—and are an essential stop for art lovers. As well as exploring its vast indoor collections, you can see outdoor installations, and the museum also hosts film screenings and concerts, too.

With its resemblance to stacked vinyl records and blinking red light that spells “Hollywood” in Morse code, the Capitol Records Building is a mid-century masterpiece that helps define the Tinseltown skyline. Star-studded studios inside have made musical history—from Sinatra to The Beatles—and nearby Hollywood Walk of Fame stars feature some of Capitol Records’ best-loved names. While the interior is closed to the public, the exterior is a worthwhile sight (and classic selfie backdrop).

A drive on at least one portion of this iconic road should be a part of any first-time visit to Los Angeles. Built largely in 1924 as the scenic highway it remains today, Mulholland (as it’s locally known) offers unparalleled views of the L.A. Basin, San Fernando Valley, the Hollywood Sign and more.

Tuolumne Grove is one of three giant sequoia groves in Yosemite National Park, the other two being Merced and Mariposa. It’s home to two dozen towering sequoia trees reachable via a short hike along Old Big Flat Road. The grove is also home to the Dead Giant Tunnel Tree, which has a car-sized tunnel cut through the middle. (Cars, however, can no longer drive through.)

Just over the hills from coastal Santa Barbara lie the Santa Ynez Valley and the Danish-style town of Solvang. Founded in 1911 by a group of Danish teachers, small Solvang (Danish for "sunny field") is now a bustling cultural destination, ripe with wine-tasting rooms, bakeries turning out aebleskivers, and all sorts of quirky shops. Downtown's windmills and half-timbered buildings give it a fairy-tale look—fitting since the Hans Christian Andersen Museum is a top attraction.

Boasting 42 miles (68 kilometers) of sandy beaches, surf breaks, and hiking trails, the Orange County coast is classic Southern California. Fronting the shoreline is a lineup of colorful towns with big personalities, from chic Laguna Beach to Huntington Beach, a laid-back haven that earns its nickname of “Surf City USA.”

Located on the northern edge of the city right on the waters of San Francisco Bay, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park is the perfect place to immerse yourself in the maritime history of the West Coast. Attractions include the Maritime Museum, two piers, a visitor center, and a fleet of historic ships.

Big Sur, a fabulous 71-mile (114-kilometer) stretch of California's Central Coast, boasts epic Pacific Ocean views and a jagged, dramatic coastline. Running from the Carmel Highlands to San Simeon, the unincorporated area is very lightly populated—in fact, it's the longest stretch of undeveloped coastline in the lower United States. Even though it lacks people and infrastructure, it still attracts millions of annual visitors, most of whom come for the area’s raw natural beauty.

Oxbow Public Market—with dozens of restaurants, food stalls, and shops—brings the bounty of Napa’s famed wine, food, and organic produce under a single roof. Open all day, it’s a one-stop shop for great food, to quickly experience the best of Napa Valley, or relax for a moment at this local gathering place before exploring the region.

The Transamerica Pyramid was the eighth-tallest building in the world when it was completed in 1972. But no matter its ranking, this 853-foot (260-meter) office building continues to be a symbol of San Francisco. With its distinctive silhouette and white quartz exterior, the structure is an instantly recognizable part of the city skyline.