Table of Content
Santa Barbara | Introduction
Santa Barbara isCentral CaliforniaThe city by the sea is only two hours away from Los Angeles. The city's earliest European residents were Spanish, so many of Santa Barbara's attractions are historic buildings that still retain their Spanish flavor, and visitors to the city can enjoy the beautiful architecture and ocean views. Santa Barbara is less crowded and more relaxed than other coastal cities to the south, with the famous Santa Ynez Valley and Danish Village nearby.SolvangIt's a popular vacation spot for Californians, and the beach is lined with rich people's vacation homes.
In terms of itinerary, Santa Barbara can be arranged according to their own time, one-day tour or two-day tour, one-day tour in the morning you can stroll along the beach Sterns Wharf, after lunch along State Street to Downtown shopping district shopping, past the most beautiful courthouse Santa Barbara County Courthouse, after shopping street, drive to see the California State Monastery after the Old Mission. If you have a weekend, stay at a hotel in Oceanside for a night, slow down, and add other attractions as you wish, such as enjoying the art in The Funk Zone, spending more time in downtown at El Presidio Santa Barbara Historic Park, and walking around museums, art galleries, and other attractions. Spend more time in the downtown area at the El Presidio Santa Barbara Historic Park, visit museums, art galleries, botanical gardens, zoos, and so on.
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Santa Barbara | Important Points Organizer
Santa Barbara County Courthouse
This is Santa Barbara's landmark Superior Court. The courthouse was built as a monument in 1929 and is considered the most beautiful courthouse in the country, with a Spanish-style exterior. In fact, the earliest courthouse was built in Greek style, but it was rebuilt after an earthquake in the twentieth century to its current appearance. Because the building is particularly beautiful, you can often come here to meet couples taking wedding photos on the large lawn outside.
The courthouse is open to visitors for free, and you can take the elevator up to the courthouse clock tower, which is the best view of Santa Barbara Downtown, so don't miss it. The interior of the courthouse is also very interesting.
State Street | La Arcada
State Street, the busiest street in the downtown area, stretches all the way from Sterns Wharf to Old Mission. The quaint Spanish architecture and interesting stores and restaurants along the way are popular with tourists, making it a great place for shopping.
La Arcada Plaza's public art is a great spot for photos, and there are also many specialty stores and galleries.
Stearns wharf
Walk along State Street toward the beach and you'll come to Sterns Wharf. Originally the oldest cargo wharf in California, it is surrounded by typical South Sandy beaches and palm trees, full of vacation atmosphere. The sea view from the wooden wharf is very beautiful. At the end of the pier, there is the famous seafood restaurant Santa Barbara Shellfish Company, don't miss it. In addition, there is the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center on Sterns Wharf, and there are also many wineries here, so you can watch the sea while sipping wine, of course, there are also many other restaurants and stores, so you can spend half a day here.
Sterns Wharf seascape after seeing may be in the side of the West beach walk, you can walk, cycling, of course, you can also play in the water.
Old Mission
Old Mission was one of the 21 churches built on the Pacific coast in the 18th century by the Spanish Franciscans when they first came to the United States as a mission to the Indians. It was completed in 1786 and is known as the second largest monastery in California. The church itself faces the distant ocean view and has a pink exterior, which makes it quite special. Outside the church, there is a beautiful garden for contemplation and meditation, and inside the church, there are stone monuments telling religious stories.
The Funk Zone
The Funk Zone is not far from Sterns Wharf, and is a relatively new commercial area. The area used to be mostly warehouses, but now it has been transformed into an artistic and cultural area. It's part of the Urban Wine Trail, which has a lot of winery tasting rooms and gourmet restaurants. If you want to try a few more, you can join the Funk Zone's localFood and Wine Travel Itinerary.
El Presidio Santa Barbara Historic Park
El Presidio Santa Barbara Historic ParkIn fact, there is not much information about this park in general, but when we were buying coffee, we accidentally noticed that there is a visitor center of this historical park in Downtown. In fact, the park is located in the middle of the downtown area, and it mainly protects the remains of the Spanish colonial era. The Spanish founded the Santa Barbara Presidio in 1782, just after the United States became independent. The original Presidio was a Spanish city with military and other residents. The history of these missions is quite similar in California and Texas, like the one we visited earlier.San AntonioI've heard that before.
From its earliest days as a Spanish trading area and convent, the Presidio on this side of Santa Barbara has gradually expanded over time and was once a larger Mexican city, but by the time of the U.S. government, most of the buildings had fallen into disrepair, so the U.S. government directly designated new areas for construction, and most of the old city was replaced by new buildings, with the only remaining part of the southwestern portion being preserved. The only remaining part of the southwestern part of the city is preserved, standing in the middle of the city, and continuing for a few blocks are all historical buildings.
The Visitor Center is located in a plaza in the middle of the downtown area. Behind the Visitor Center is the largest reconstructed building, and there is a fee for the tour, which is $5 at the door, and there is a movie to watch.
On the other side of the street, there are some smaller monumental buildings, which are open for free. Some of the buildings have been converted into stores, such as the former Chinatown next to the coffee shop we visited, and the old Japantown on the other side.
Inspiration Point
If you want to get outside, Inspiration Point is a popular hiking trail on the north side of Santa Barbara. The Inspiration Point Trail is on Tunnel road. Search for Inspiration Point Trailhead on Google Map to find the trailhead.
However, you may feel a bit puzzled when you come here, the neighborhood looks like a residential house on the hill, not quite a hiking trail. In fact, the original trailhead is at the Mission Canyon Trailhead, and the section of the road leading to the trailhead is currently closed to cars, so we had to park on the nearby road and walk a bit after passing through the metal gate to reach the trailhead. Although we had to walk a bit more, the road ahead of us was quite gentle.
The Mission Canyon Trail is one of the most popular trails in the Santa Barbara area, and on a dry and hot summer day, the canyon is still covered with green hills. After reaching the trailhead, the hiking route is a bit rougher and is considered moderately difficult. The return trip is 3.5 miles, and the inspiration point is a viewpoint where you can see the Santa Barbara coastline.
Santa Barbara | Food | Coffee
Food | Santa Barbara Shellfish Company
- Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Price: $$$$
When you come to Santa Barbara, you must visit the very famous Santa Barbara shellfish company on the pier, famous for its fresh stone crabs. This restaurant is actually the main attraction for us to come back to Santa Barbara. If you want to come here for dinner, you'd better come early, as the place is usually full of people before the dinner time. The first time we came here, we waited for about 30 minutes before we were able to get two seats at the bar. If you have to wait too long for a table, you can actually order take-out outside the restaurant. Some people order a picnic on the pier, but there are not so many choices.
If you can, we recommend the outdoor seating. It's so enjoyable to eat seafood while looking at the sea. If you are sitting indoors, the advantage of the bar is that the chef is cooking right in front of us. You should order the seafood specials of the day, which will be written on the board. The best one to order is the Rock Crab, the body part alone is as big as two fists, and the flavor is extremely fresh. local sea urchin is sea urchin on top of dried scallops, which is super deluxe and fresh. All the seafood we ate was superb and highly recommended!
Dining | Lure Fish House
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Price: $$$$
Lure Fish House is a bit of a hike, but a highly rated restaurant. We didn't have a reservation when we came here, but we managed to get a seat at the bar. We ordered Calamari, Seafood ceviche and Shrimp pasta, which were all good.
Handlebar | Handlebar
- Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Price: $$
Handlebar is a famous coffee shop in recent years. On weekend mornings, the place is so crowded that it took us 20 minutes just to queue up and order our coffee. We spent 20 minutes in the queue just to order our coffee here. However, we really liked the coffee after trying it, and it was not disappointing.
Wenqing Coffee | Dart Coffee Co.
- Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Price: $$
Located in The Funk Zone, Dart Coffee Co. not only sells coffee, but also specialty drinks. I ordered a Nitro cold brew and a Pink sky (lavender lemonade + Kombucha) because it was a hot day and I really needed a drink to cool down. The coffee was decent, but I really liked the atmosphere and decor of the store, it was perfect for an afternoon.
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