Santa-Barbara Travel Guide
COMPARE PRICES on all Santa Barbara Hotels
Compare prices and availibility on major travel sites with one click
COMPARE PRICES on all Flights to Santa Barbara
Compare prices and availibility on major travel sites with one click
45 miles S of Solvang; 105 miles S of San Luis Obispo; 92 miles NW of L.A.
Santa Barbara is nestled between palm-lined Pacific beaches and the foothills of the Santa Ynez Mountains. This resort community presents a mosaic of whitewashed stucco and red tile roofs and a gracious, relaxed attitude that has earned it the sobriquet "American Riviera." It's ideal for kicking back on white-sand beaches, prowling the shops and galleries that line the village's historic streets, and relaxing over a meal in one of many top-notch cafes and restaurants.
Downtown Santa Barbara is distinctive for its Spanish-Mediterranean architecture. But it wasn't always this way. Santa Barbara had a thriving Native American Chumash population for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. The European era began in the late 18th century, around a Spanish presidio (fort) that's been reconstructed in its original spot. The earliest architectural hodgepodge was destroyed in 1925 by a powerful earthquake that leveled the business district. Out of the rubble rose the Spanish-Mediterranean town of today, a stylish planned community that continues to enforce strict building codes.
Visit Santa Barbara's waterfront on a Sunday and you're sure to see the weekly Waterfront Arts and Crafts Show, one of the city's best-loved traditions. Since 1965, artists, craftspeople, and street performers have been lining grassy Chase Palm Park, along Cabrillo Boulevard.
