SANTA BARBARA
Beautiful, easygoing, basking in yearround sunshine, beachside Santa Barbara is the hub of this large and spectacular coastal California county.

Visitors to Santa Barbara at any time of year can experience the legacies of the region’s fascinating past—the rich Spanish heritage is visible in the city’s distinctive architecture, red tile roofs, and mission-style adobes. Nurtured by the ravishing scenery— both natural and built—Santa Barbara’s cultural arts scene is a star attraction.Visitors can enjoy world-class performances of music, opera, dance, and theater year round. Santa Barbara is also a hotbed for the visual arts, with a reputation as one of the top five art colonies in the West.

To these pleasures, add a vigorous lineup of outdoor activities and adventures: first-rate golf, tennis, polo, horseback riding, cycling, hiking, and an impressive array of watersports. (Recovery from any of these is greatly enhanced with a relaxing massage in any of the city’s luxurious spas.) In addition, the shopping is exceptional in the city’s specialty stores and chic boutiques. Pamper your mind, your body, and your soul.

Santa Barbara promises a culinary adventure for anyone who loves wine and dining. The restaurant community combines excellent food with an ambience of casual luxury and hacienda hospitality—and the settings are as evocative as the cuisine. Visitors can enjoy a romantic dinner in a candlelit wine cave, sample succulent seafood on an oceanfront deck, or dine fiesta-style in a sun-splashed courtyard. The mild climate invites al fresco dining virtually all year long, and a cornucopia of exotic cuisine promises to tantalize the palate. The county’s thriving wine industry has further spurred local culinary efforts, making Santa Barbara a hub for gourmet dining.

Visitors can choose from among Argentinian, American, Chinese, French, Italian, Japanese, Mediterranean, Moroccan, or Thai fare; taste the city’s rich Hispanic heritage in spicy Mexican food; or savor flavors from our own backyard. California cuisine emphasizes fresh regional ingredients —locally caught fish, organic produce from the region’s many farms, and superb local wines from our golden valleys.

Santa Barbara County welcomes adults and children alike with a host of family-friendly attractions, outdoor activities, and wilderness adventures. Visitors can soak up the Santa Barbara sunshine; take the kids to the beach, where options include swimming, fishing, sailing, or kayaking. Cycling in the salt air along the scenic beachfront bike path is an experience not to be missed. Other visitors head to the wilderness for rock climbing, horseback riding, and hiking. The county is also home to a nationally accredited zoo, fascinating museums, kid-friendly historical and cultural attractions, and a busy calendar of festivals and events.

Santa Barbara County is a paradise for outdoor recreation, thanks to postcardperfect weather and diverse topography. Easily accessible and visitor-friendly, the Santa Ynez Mountains, Los Padres National Forest, and more than 100 miles of scalloped coastline draw sports enthusiasts of all kinds. Surfers, hikers, birders, whale watchers, in-line skaters, mountain bikers, rock climbers, SCUBA divers, and hanggliders all flock to Santa Barbara year round to frolic in the fresh air and sunshine. The county is also respected as a superb destination for golf, with a large selection of famous top-notch courses.

When it comes to art and culture in Santa Barbara, sophistication is the word to remember. Ballet, opera, the symphony…For its diminutive size, Santa Barbara County sizzles with artistic and cultural attractions. More than 50 museums and galleries grace our gorgeous shores and valleys, and our busy line-up of internationally recognized performing arts, dance, music, visual arts, and theater offerings confirms Santa Barbara’s status as a coastal cultural jewel.

Brimming with cute local shops and boutiques as well as all the big-name department stores, Santa Barbara is shopping nirvana. In Santa Barbara, some of the best shopping is in the outdoor paseos (Spanish for “pathway”), easily navigated on foot and conveniently located along State Street downtown. Strolling among quaint cobbled arcades with bubbling fountains, lush palms, and cascading bougainvillea is sheer shopping pleasure.

The Arts & Crafts Show, featuring the works of local artisans, is held every Sunday from 10am to sunset along a one-mile stretch of Cabrillo Boulevard east of Stearns Wharf. Strolling along the oceanfront and admiring the art works and imaginative handcrafts is a Santa Barbara tradition.

Twenty miles off the Santa Barbara coast is Channel Islands National Park, comprising the island chain of Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, and San Miguel (a fifth island in the park, Santa Barbara Island, is southwest of Santa Monica). The Visitor Center is located in Ventura, but boat service to the islands is available from Santa Barbara.

Chase Palm Park encompasses Carousel and Plaza Park and Cassia las Palmas Park, located on Cabrillo Boulevard, one block from Stearns Wharf. The park features walking paths through terraced landscapes graced by native plants, teak benches, an antique carousel, and a shipwreck treasure playground planned for children.

Santa Barbara’s beloved Bicentennial Friendship Fountain (more familiar as “the Dolphin Fountain”), at the entrance to Stearns Wharf at the foot of State Street, was created for the 1982 bicentennial by local artist Bud Bottoms. The sculpture was sponsored by the Santa Barbara/Puerto Vallarta Sister City Committee, and second dolphin sculpture was installed on Puerto Vallarta’s waterfront.

El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park is the birthplace of Santa Barbara. This historic site features the original ruins and chapels of the Spanish settlers. The padre’s and comandante’s quarters are to be found on Santa Barbara Street. These buildings are built from adobe bricks salvaged from the Presidio.

On Tuesdays and Saturdays, downtown Santa Barbara hosts a colorful outdoor Farmer’s Market, where local growers sell fresh fruits, vegetables, flowers, eggs, nuts, honey, and other items at reasonable prices. This is a popular meeting place for healthconscious Santa Barbarans.

Located across from the County Courthouse, the Karpeles Manuscript Library features changing exhibits of rare documents. Open daily 10am–4pm; admission is free.

The tenth of the California missions founded by the Spanish Franciscans, Mission Santa Barbara was established here on December 4, 1786. Its beautiful setting, unique twin bell towers, and lovely façade earned it the title “Queen of Missions.”

The largest Moreton Bay Fig Tree in the nation, the great fig at Chapala Street (next to the Amtrak station) is an Australian native planted in Santa Barbara in 1874. It was transplanted to its present location in 1877. Its 160-foot span provides 21,000 square feet of shade.

Established in 1926 by Anna Blaksley Bliss in her father’s memory, the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden is a 78-acre “living museum”with trails winding through native California plant life from habitats such as deserts, mountains, and the Channel Islands. Other features are stunning landscapes, an authentic Japanese teahouse exhibit, and daily guided tours. A shop and retail nursery specialize in native plants and gifts inspired by nature.

The magnificent Spanish-Moorish Santa Barbara County Courthouse is one of the most beautiful public buildings in the United States. Tropical gardens and spacious lawns surround the public offices and courtrooms. The elegant interior includes hand-painted ceilings, wrought-iron chandeliers, giant murals, carved doors, and imported tiles. Visitors shouldn’t miss the trip to the top of the 80-foot tower for panoramic views of the city.

The unusual Carriage and Western Arts Museum houses a unique collection of horsedrawn vehicles used by Santa Barbara’s pioneer families, as well as stagecoaches, army wagons, a bright red steam pumper for fire fighting, and an elegant hearse.

Jose de la Guerra y Noriega, the fifth comandante of the Santa Barbara Presidio, began building the large adobe for his family in 1818. Don Jose and his wife Doña Maria Antonia had 12 children, and for decades their house, Casa De la Guerra, was the center of Santa Barbara’s social, commercial, and cultural life.

The charming adobe complex of the Santa Barbara Historical Museum houses an impressive regional history collection. Fine art, saddles and tack, exquisite costumes, and picturesque antique toys highlight the collection.

The $3.6-million harborfront Santa Barbara Maritime Museum is a world-class museum highlighting the history of the Santa Barbara Channel and its close interaction with the sea. It features educational and interactive exhibits including a “big-game fishing chair” and a 45-foot U.S. Navy periscope for viewing the dynamic Santa Barbara coastline.

The Santa Barbara Museum of Art is one of the nation’s outstanding regional museums, with important holdings of works by such American artists as O’Keeffe, Eakins, Sargent, and Hopper; 19th-century French art including Impressionist works by Monet, Matisse, Degas, and Chagall; and Asian art, classical antiquities, photography, contemporary art, modern European art, and prints and drawings.

The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History is a nationally renowned museum specializing in California and North American West Coast natural history. Highlights include a Chumash Hall, with a diorama of prehistoric Indian life in the Santa Barbara area; the giant skeleton of a blue whale; and the region’s only planetarium.

On a former oceanfront estate, the Santa Barbara Zoo features more than 700 animals from around the world including big cats, elephants, gorillas, anteaters, and giraffes in a delightful garden setting. Other attractions include a new restaurant, spacious picnic area, miniature train, and children’s playground.

Operated by the Museum of Natural History, the Sea Center offers a fascinating window into marine life of the Santa Barbara Channel with informative exhibits, live animals in saltwater tanks, and a computer learning center. The Sea Center is currently undergoing renovation and is due to reopen in winter of 2004.

Built in 1872 by John Peck Stearns, Stearns Wharf is the oldest operating wharf on the West Coast. In the 1940s, Hollywood actor James Cagney and his brothers were part owners. The landmark wharf offers shops, wine tasting, a seafood market, a bait and tackle store, and several restaurants.

More than 1,000 work and pleasure craft are moored in Santa Barbara’s Yacht Harbor and Breakwater. Restaurants, shops, and supply stores skirt the perimeter. The flag-lined breakwater, constructed in 1924, has a paved walkway offering harbor, city, and mountain views.