Between SLO CAL and Los Angeles, you’ll find beautiful Santa Barbara. It’s known as the American Riviera thanks to its Spanish-style architecture, Mediterranean climate and coastal scenery. It’s also home to one of Southern California’s most iconic hotels: El Encanto, belmond.com/hotels/north-america/usa/ca/santa-barbara/belmond-el-encanto. Set high in the foothills, it’s a welcoming hideaway and a delight for food lovers.
Try an artisanal picnic by the Turtle Pond or The Botanica Afternoon Tea Experience at El Encanto. It includes custom-blended teas and other treats, such smoked salmon mousse and rosemary scones with strawberry basil jam.
You’ll also appreciate the foodie tour through the Santa Barbara Farmers Market with Chef Greg Murphy from bouchon Santa Barbara, bouchonsantabarbara.com. With the chef’s assistance, you select ingredients for a meal with wine pairings you’ll enjoy upon return to the restaurant for dinner. The Lark, thelarksb.com, is another great bet, dishing bold flavours and seasonal ingredients.
In downtown Santa Barbara at Salt Cave, saltcavesb.com, you can relax in zero-gravity lounge chairs or pamper yourself with massage, salt scrubs and facials. Santa Barbara Bcycle, santabarbara.bcycle.com, an electric bike share program, and Wheel Fun Rentals of Santa Barbara, wheelfunrentals.com/ca/santa-barbara/mason, offer fun ways to get around or you can enjoy a 90-minute narrated tour of the city on the Santa Barbara Trolley Tour, sbtrolley.com.
Cat Therapy, cattherapysb.com, is the purrfect place to get your feline fix and at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, sbma.net, you’ll see artworks spanning over 5,000 years.
Near the waterfront, visit MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation, moxi.org, or check out the Surfs Up! exhibit at the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, sbmm.org.
The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, sbbotanicgarden.org, is home to over 1,000 species of rare and indigenous plants, while the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, sbnature.org., is home to 3.5 million-plus specimens, a planetarium and 17 acres of woodland. Its Sea Centre, at 211 Stearns Wharf, introduces you to the marine animals from the Santa Barbara Channel.
Old Mission Santa Barbara, santabarbaramission.org, is another must-visit attraction. It was founded by the Spanish Franciscans in 1786.
