UltimateGuide California
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The Golden Gate Bridge at sunset The Golden Gate Bridge at sunset Bixby Creek Bridge and the Pacific, Big Sur Vineyards in the Napa Valley Lake Tahoe in the morning

The city guide to California, USA

Best of California

The Golden Gate at sunset, the cliffs of Big Sur, the vineyards of Napa and Sonoma, desert pools in Palm Springs and the deep blue of Lake Tahoe.

Where to eatWhat to see

Your trusted, one‑stop guide to California

California is a state of road trips: San Francisco and the Bay, the wine valleys of Napa and Sonoma, the Pacific Coast Highway through Big Sur, Santa Barbara, San Diego, the desert around Palm Springs, Lake Tahoe and the great national parks. We’ve checked every listing against the venue’s own website or an official source, and we leave out anything we can’t confirm. For Los Angeles, see our dedicated Los Angeles guide.

The Pacific Coast Highway: the back story

The great road trip

Big Sur is open again

California coast·In depth

Highway 1 through Big Sur reopened in full on 14 January 2026. Drive from Carmel past Point Lobos, Bixby Creek Bridge and McWay Falls to Hearst Castle, and check Caltrans before you set off.

Plan the drive

Choose your guide

Los Angeles has its own guide; the rest of California is right here, region by region.

Griffith Observatory with downtown Los Angeles beyondOur Los Angeles guideLos AngelesHollywood, Beverly Hills and the beachesThe San Francisco waterfront from Pier 7Region guideSan Francisco & the Bay AreaThe Golden Gate and Nob HillVineyards in the Napa ValleyRegion guideNapa & SonomaVineyards and three-star tablesMcWay Falls in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State ParkRegion guideBig Sur, Carmel & MontereyCliffs, coves and Cannery RowThe Santa Barbara coastlineRegion guideSanta Barbara & MontecitoThe American RivieraThe San Diego waterfront and marinaRegion guideSan DiegoBeaches, Balboa Park and the bayPalm Springs below the San Jacinto MountainsRegion guidePalm Springs & the desertPools, mid-century and mountainsLake Tahoe in the morningRegion guideLake TahoeEmerald Bay and the ski resorts

Plan your trip

The road trips and practical things to know before you go.

Bixby Creek Bridge and the Pacific, Big SurRoad tripPacific Coast HighwayBig Sur is open againYosemite Valley from Tunnel ViewOutdoorsNational parksYosemite, Joshua Tree and moreBixby Creek Bridge and the Pacific, Big SurBefore you goCalifornia essentialsDriving, fees and seasonsMcWay Falls in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State ParkItineraryA day on the Big Sur coastCarmel to Post Ranch

In depth: California’s back stories

Where to stay, where to eat and how to taste wine country.

The Garden Court at the Palace HotelThe back storyWhere to stayGrand hotels to cliff-topsThe French Laundry in YountvilleThe back storyCalifornia’s MICHELIN starsTen three-star restaurantsVineyards in the Napa ValleyThe back storyWine countryNapa and Sonoma

ULTIMATE City Guides: Europe & beyond

Planning a longer journey? Each city in the network has its own independent guide, written with the same care and checked place by place. Here are the guides that are live, with more on the way.

The Acropolis of Athens by day, seen from Philopappos HillGreeceULTIMATE AthensThe Acropolis and the Plaka, rooftop bars facing the Parthenon, the Athens Riviera and the Greek islands: our original guide, and our deepest.Visit the guide The old town of Belgrade above the Sava, with the spire of the Cathedral Church of St MichaelSerbiaULTIMATE BelgradeWhere the Sava meets the Danube: a buzzing capital of art, classical music and famous nightlife, with a new waterfront and the mountains of Zlatibor and Kopaonik.Visit the guide The Romanian Athenaeum in its gardenRomaniaULTIMATE BucharestBelle Époque palaces, concerts at the Athenaeum, a buzzing food and coffee scene, and the castles and mountains of the Carpathians.Visit the guide The Hungarian Parliament lit up at night on the DanubeHungaryULTIMATE BudapestThermal baths, grand coffee houses, ruin bars and MICHELIN-starred dining on both banks of the Danube, with day trips to the Danube Bend and Lake Balaton.Visit the guide Oia’s white houses and blue domes on the rim of the Santorini calderaGreeceULTIMATE Greek IslandsIsland hopping made easy: Mykonos, Santorini, Paros, Naxos, Milos and the Cyclades, plus Crete, Rhodes and Corfu, with ferries, beaches, hotels and tavernas.Visit the guide The Blue Mosque at nightTurkeyULTIMATE IstanbulTwo continents, one city: Hagia Sophia and the bazaars, Bosphorus ferries, meyhanes and rooftop bars, Sinan’s hammams and the car-free Princes’ Islands.Visit the guide The Triple Bridge over the LjubljanicaSloveniaULTIMATE LjubljanaSlovenia’s green, car-free capital of river cafés and Plečnik’s bridges, an hour from Lake Bled, the Julian Alps, the caves and the Adriatic.Visit the guide The Palace of Westminster and the Elizabeth TowerUnited KingdomULTIMATE LondonRoyal palaces and the Thames, world-class museums, West End theatre, grand hotels, and the restaurants and bars of Soho, Mayfair and the City.Visit the guide Yachts in Puerto BanúsSpainULTIMATE MarbellaWhitewashed lanes and orange trees in the Old Town, the yachts of Puerto Banús, beach clubs on the Golden Mile and day trips to Ronda and Gibraltar.Visit the guide Monaco from above, Port Hercule and Monte-Carlo below the mountainsOur sister guideULTIMATE MonacoThe Casino and Monte-Carlo’s palace hotels, the Prince’s Palace on the Rock, superyachts in Port Hercule, Larvotto’s beach clubs and the Grand Prix streets.Visit the guide The Millennium Bridge over the MoračaMontenegroULTIMATE PodgoricaMontenegro’s relaxed capital of rivers and café terraces, and the gateway to the Bay of Kotor, Lake Skadar, Cetinje and the mountains.Visit the guide The Sebilj fountain and the square of BaščaršijaBosnia & HerzegovinaULTIMATE SarajevoWhere East meets West at a line in the pavement: an Ottoman bazaar, Habsburg boulevards, Bosnian coffee and the 1984 Olympic mountains, with Mostar two hours away.Visit the guide The Stone Bridge over the VardarNorth MacedoniaULTIMATE SkopjeA 15th-century stone bridge between a 21st-century square and an Ottoman bazaar, Kenzo Tange’s concrete city, Matka Canyon, and Lake Ohrid three hours away.Visit the guide St Alexander Nevsky CathedralBulgariaULTIMATE SofiaRoman streets beneath the city, golden domes, warm mineral springs and a mountain at the end of the main boulevard.Visit the guide Skanderbeg Square with the Et’hem Bey MosqueAlbaniaULTIMATE TiranaAn Ottoman mosque painted with waterfalls, museums in bunkers, Blloku’s cafés and the Dajti cable car, with Berat, Gjirokastër, the Alps and the Riviera within reach.Visit the guide The spires of Zagreb Cathedral above the rooftopsCroatiaULTIMATE ZagrebCroatia’s elegant capital of cafés, museums and markets, and the gateway to Plitvice Lakes, Istria, Dubrovnik and the islands of the Adriatic.Visit the guide Goat Cay and the turquoise shallows of the ExumasOur sister guideULTIMATE The BahamasSeven hundred islands: Nassau and Paradise Island, the Exuma Cays and the swimming pigs, Harbour Island’s pink sand, marinas and island hopping.Visit the guide The golden sand and calm water of Paynes Bay, St. JamesOur sister guideULTIMATE BarbadosThe Platinum West Coast and Sandy Lane, UNESCO-listed Bridgetown, rum where it was born, Friday nights in Oistins and the wild Atlantic east.Visit the guide The beach at Rosemary Beach on the Gulf of MexicoUSAULTIMATE FloridaOrlando and the theme parks, Palm Beach, Tampa Bay, Sarasota, St. Augustine and Scenic Highway 30A.Visit the guide The Las Vegas Strip at duskNevadaULTIMATE Las VegasThe Strip and its shows, MICHELIN dining, Sphere and Fremont Street’s neon, with Red Rock Canyon, Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon beyond.Visit the guide Griffith Observatory with downtown Los Angeles beyondCaliforniaULTIMATE Los AngelesHollywood and the Walk of Fame, Beverly Hills’ grand hotels, the Sunset Strip, the Getty and the beaches from Santa Monica to Malibu.Visit the guide Art Deco hotels on Ocean Drive, Miami BeachFloridaULTIMATE MiamiSouth Beach and the Art Deco district, Wynwood’s murals, the Design District, Little Havana’s cafecito and the beaches of Key Biscayne.Visit the guide Sunset at the Naples PierFloridaULTIMATE NaplesWhite-sand beaches and sunsets on the Gulf of Mexico, Fifth Avenue’s terraces, grand beach resorts and golf, with the Everglades and Marco Island close by.Visit the guide The New York City skyline from Top of the RockNew YorkULTIMATE New YorkManhattan’s grand hotels and MICHELIN dining, Broadway and the Met, Fifth Avenue shopping, Central Park and the walk across the Brooklyn Bridge to DUMBO.Visit the guide Gros Piton and Petit Piton, the twin volcanic spires of the UNESCO-listed PitonsOur sister guideULTIMATE St LuciaThe UNESCO Pitons and Soufrière’s drive-in volcano, Marigot Bay, Rodney Bay and the Gros Islet street party, reefs, rum and cocoa.Visit the guide An aerial view of a small island ringed by reef in the MaldivesOur sister guideULTIMATE MaldivesUndersea restaurants and overwater bars, Hanifaru Bay’s mantas, the whale sharks of South Ari, private islands and the little capital, Malé.Visit the guide The ramparts of Galle FortOur sister guideULTIMATE Sri LankaColombo, the ramparts of Galle Fort, the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, the tea country by train, Sigiriya and leopards in Yala.Visit the guide

HOT TOPICS · Have Your Say

The latest from our readers: visitors and locals talking about California, its restaurants, theatres, museums and neighbourhoods.

    Have your say in HOT TOPICS

    Yosemite National Park

    Good to know

    Yosemite National Park

    Sierra Nevada·National park

    Yosemite is not using a timed entry reservation system in 2026, so you can simply drive in and pay at the gate. Non-US residents aged 16 and over pay an extra $100 per person on top of the entrance fee, unless they hold an annual pass (nps.gov).

    Find out more

    Every list in the guide

    Plan your day

    Bixby Creek Bridge and the Pacific, Big SurItineraryA day on the Big Sur coastOne day, by carThe Golden Gate BridgeItineraryA day in San FranciscoOne day, on foot, by cable car and ferryVineyards in the Napa ValleyItineraryA day in the Napa ValleyOne day, with a driver

    Know your regions

    San Francisco & the Bay Area

    The Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, cable cars over Nob Hill, the Ferry Building, SFMOMA and four three-star restaurants.

    Napa & Sonoma

    The Napa Valley and Sonoma County: wineries from Carneros to Healdsburg, resorts among the vines and three three-star restaurants.

    Big Sur, Carmel & Monterey

    Monterey Bay Aquarium, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Point Lobos, Bixby Creek Bridge, McWay Falls and the cliff-top hotels of Big Sur.

    Santa Barbara & Montecito

    The Old Mission, the County Courthouse, State Street, the beach at Montecito and boats to the Channel Islands.

    San Diego

    Hotel del Coronado, La Jolla Cove, Balboa Park and the Zoo, the USS Midway and Addison’s three stars.

    Palm Springs & the desert

    Mid-century Palm Springs, resort pools, the Aerial Tramway and Joshua Tree National Park.

    Lake Tahoe

    Emerald Bay and Vikingsholm, the beaches of the west shore, Palisades Tahoe, Northstar and South Lake Tahoe.

    Our favourites right now

    Hotels

    1. 1Where to stay in California: the back storyCalifornia · In depth
    2. 2Fairmont San FranciscoNob Hill, San Francisco · Grand hotel
    3. 3The Ritz-Carlton, San FranciscoNob Hill, San Francisco · Grand hotel
    See all 33

    MICHELIN Stars

    1. 1California’s MICHELIN stars: the back storyCalifornia · In depth
    2. 2Atelier CrennSan Francisco · Fine dining
    3. 3BenuSan Francisco · Fine dining
    See all 52

    Wine Country

    1. 1California wine country: the back storyNapa Valley · In depth
    2. 2Robert Mondavi WineryOakville, Napa Valley · Winery
    3. 3Domaine CarnerosCarneros, Napa · Sparkling wine house
    See all 14

    Sights

    1. 1Golden Gate BridgeSan Francisco · Landmark
    2. 2Alcatraz IslandSan Francisco Bay · National park site
    3. 3San Francisco cable carsSan Francisco · Historic transport
    See all 30

    National Parks

    1. 1Yosemite National ParkSierra Nevada · National park
    2. 2Sequoia & Kings Canyon National ParksSierra Nevada · National park
    3. 3Joshua Tree National ParkTwentynine Palms · National park
    See all 7

    Property

    1. 1Buying property in California: the back storyCalifornia · In depth
    2. 2Vanguard PropertiesSan Francisco · Brokerage
    3. 3Village PropertiesSanta Barbara · Brokerage
    See all 3

    Getting Around

    1. 1San Francisco International Airport (SFO)San Francisco · Airport
    2. 2San Diego International Airport (SAN)San Diego · Airport
    3. 3Palm Springs International Airport (PSP)Palm Springs · Airport
    See all 9

    The ULTIMATE letter

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