This text was produced by Nationwide Geographic Traveller (UK).
That is a type of events the place it truly is value taking the scenic route. Weaving for 656 miles in a collection of adrenaline-rushing curves on State Route 1, the Pacific Coast Freeway hyperlinks seaside cities with sandstone cliffs on one facet, crashing Pacific waves on the opposite and limitless sky overhead. San Francisco to Santa Monica is the blockbuster stretch, packing in palm-fringed seashores, kitsch sights and architectural icons.
Day 1: Monterey
With the Golden Gate Bridge in your rear-view mirror, drive 60 miles south to Pigeon Level Lighthouse, 5 miles earlier than Pescadero. The tallest lighthouse on the coast, it supplies an incredible perch from which to look at snoozing seals.
Additional south, your subsequent cease is Monterey, residence to vibrant fishing boats and Cannery Row, a former sardine-packing hub the place repurposed warehouses brim with indie retailers.
Don’t miss: Tasting the abalone at close by restaurant Aubergine, which sources the ocean snails from Monterey’s Municipal Wharf 2.
Day 2: Carmel-by-the-Sea
4 miles south of Monterey, the seaside city of Carmel-by-the-Sea has lengthy flaunted its quirky facet: Clint Eastwood is a former mayor; there are not any avenue addresses; and a allow is required to put on excessive heels.
Over current years, a brand new crowd has been drawn right here, due to a contemporary crop of restaurant openings. You’ll must e-book forward for Chez Noir, a European-inspired restaurant that attracts closely on the bounties of the coast. The chef homeowners dwell upstairs and consuming right here appears like having dinner at a good friend’s home — in case your good friend has a Michelin star.
Don’t miss: One other stellar restaurant, Stationæry, serving the whole lot from lobster rolls to sausage bánh mì.
Day 3: Large Sur
Simply south of Carmel, the panorama switches to cloud-grazing bluffs blanketed in oaks. You’re coming into Carmel Highlands, the gateway to Large Sur. Thought of one of the scenic drives on this planet, the 90-mile stretch of Route 1, which ends in San Simeon, unfurls between two sheer rock faces — one going straight up, the opposite plunging down. It’s not for the fainthearted, however value it for the Pacific views.
Alongside the best way you’ll cross the Bixby Bridge, hovering 260ft above the ocean. Cease on the turnouts for pictures, earlier than detouring to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park for redwoods.
Don’t miss: The ocean views from Nepenthe, an architectural-landmark restaurant Elizabeth Taylor was a fan of.
Day 4: San Simeon
The rolling hills of grapevines flashing by the window are your cue that you just’ve entered wine nation. Schedule a pit cease at one of many leafy estates to style the spoils — Baileyana is an efficient selection, with a tasting room housed inside a former schoolhouse.
The large-ticket attraction right here is Hearst Fortress, publishing tycoon and artwork collector William Randolph Hearst’s more-is-more mansion, primarily based on the design of a Spanish cathedral. E book a spot on the home tour to gawp on the OTT interiors — all neoclassical statues and medieval-inspired banquet halls.
Don’t miss: Peering by means of binoculars on the inhabitants of the Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery in San Simeon.
Day 5: Santa Barbara
Palm-fringed seashore cities and campervans dot the coast between San Simeon and Santa Barbara. Pause at Pismo Seashore, a hotspot for humpbacks from December to April.
Arriving into Santa Barbara, it’s inconceivable to not be seduced by its coastal promenade lined with swaying palms and neat rows of white stucco houses (there’s a purpose this is named the ‘American Riviera’). However it’s not all pristine lawns — the Funk Zone district’s former fishing outhouses have been was galleries, microbreweries and surf retailers, and close by you’ll be able to choose up the city wine path.
Don’t miss: Visiting fortune teller Madame Rosinka at Stearns Wharf, the oldest working wharf in California.
The favored vacationer attraction, Venice Seashore, is positioned inside a number of miles south of Santa Monica in LA County.
{Photograph} by Yasara Gunawardena
Day 6: Santa Monica
End in Santa Monica, the seaside hub that brings all of the enjoyable of the honest. Bounce on the rides at Pacific Park, on the Santa Monica Pier, and watch the bodybuilders on the close by Unique Muscle Seashore, which originated in the course of the Nice Melancholy as a spot for wrestlers, acrobats and stunt performers to workshop their acts. pacpark.com
Don’t miss: A movie on the Aero Theatre, an artwork deco magnificence that’s been going because the Nineteen Forties.
Revealed within the July/August concern of Nationwide Geographic Traveller (UK).
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