Monterey

Monterey Attractions

From the world-class Monterey Bay Aquarium to the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas, Monterey County offers a wide range of unique venues, events and activities for both the first-time and the regular visitor.

Monterey Bay Aquarium

The Monterey Bay Aquarium, which is located in a former sardine cannery on Cannery Row in Monterey, California, is one of the largest and most respected aquariums in the world. It has an annual attendance of 1.8 million and holds 35,000 plants and animals representing 623 species.

A centerpiece of the Aquarium’s Ocean's Edge wing is a 33-foot (10-m) high tank for viewing California coastal marine life. In this tank, the aquarium was the first in the world to grow live California Giant Kelp using a wave machine at the top of the tank (water movement is a necessary precondition for keeping Giant Kelp.)

Sealife on exhibit includes stingrays, jellyfish, sea otters, and numerous other native marine species, which can be viewed above and below the waterline. Beginning in September 2004, the Outer Bay exhibit was the home to the first Great White Shark ever successfully kept on exhibit.

Cannery Row

Cannery Row is the waterfront street in the New Monterey section of Monterey, California, site of a number of now-defunct sardine canning factories. The street name, formerly a nickname for Ocean View Avenue, is now official.

Cannery Row was the setting of John Steinbeck's novels Cannery Row (1945) and Sweet Thursday (1954). The canneries failed after the collapse of the fishing industry in the Monterey Bay in the mid-1950s.

Today the area around Cannery Row is a marine sanctuary and is home to a large resurgent population of California sea lions. The street now features many restaurants and hotels, and a few historical attractions. Some privately owned and operated fishing companies still exist on Cannery Row, housed on piers located a short distance from the historic district frequented by tourists. In recent years, Cannery Row has become increasingly popular among sport fisherman due to extensive public fishing facilities (sinks, countertops, ice, docking).

The Monterey Bay Aquarium is located at the north end of Cannery Row.

17-Mile Drive

17 Mile Drive is a scenic road through Pacific Grove and Pebble Beach, California, much of which hugs the Pacific coastline and passes famous golf courses and mansions. It offers spectacular views of rugged coast and seashore of this region, and also serves as the main road through the gated community of Pebble Beach. Like the community, the majority of 17-Mile Drive is owned and operated by the Pebble Beach Corporation. Entry into Pebble Beach costs US$9.00 per automobile. Residents of Pebble Beach and their guests enter for free. Entry is also free for bicyclists and pedestrians.

Pebble Beach Golf Courses

Pebble Beach has seven public and private 18-hole golf courses. Pebble Beach Golf Links, The Links at Spanish Bay, and Spyglass Hill are owned by the Pebble Beach Company and are all public courses. The other four courses in the town are Poppy Hills, which is public, the private Cypress Point Club, and the private Monterey Peninsula Country Club's two courses, the Dunes Course and the Shore Course. Several of these courses are widely celebrated, especially Pebble Beach Golf Links, with it’s beautiful cliffside settings, is one of the most famous course in the Western United States.




Monterey Wine Country

Monterey County is the fastest expanding wine district in California, and produces 21 different grape varieties.  Wine grapes were first introduced in Monterey County well over 200 years ago by the Franciscan Friars near the Soledad Mission in southern Monterey County.
Today, approximately 40 different wineries have operations in Monterey County, including giants Robert Mondavi and E.J. Gallo and boutique operations like Paraiso Vineyards, Ventana Vineyards, and Lockwood Vineyard. Guided tours and tasting are offered by several organizations, there are Vineyard Guideposts throughout the region point oenophiles to Paraiso Springs, Marilyn Remark, and Smith & Hook/Hahn Estates.
 

Historic Missions
Monterey County is home to three of the 21 missions built in California between 1769 and 1823. Franciscan Padre Junípero Serra established the first California Mission on July 16, 1769, and served as religious outposts in late Spanish and early American History. Padre Serra is interred at the Basilica Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo in Carmel.

San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo -- In Carmel-by-the-Sea, the Basilica of Mission San Carlos Borremeo del Rio Carmelo was founded by Fr. Junipero Serra in 1770, second of the 21 missions. The fledgling establishment was moved to the Rio Road site in 1771 and the Basilica was dedicated in 1797. Fr. Serra was buried within its grounds. Carmel Mission is considered the most authentically restored Franciscan mission.

San Antonio de Padua -- Mission San Antonio de Padua was founded by Fr. Junipero Serra in 1771 and was the third of the 21 California missions; it is still an active parish. There are picnic tables on the grounds of this secluded area and the ever-present garden blooms with roses in season.

Soledad -- in Spanish the word “soledad” means solitude. And back when the area was populated by cows and Spanish friars it was an accurate description. But today, Soledad is a vibrant community that can surprise the uninitiated. Area vineyards provide the oenophile with options galore, and recreational activities abound at the nearby Pinnacles National Monument, the Seco Wilderness Area and the splendor of the Monterey Peninsula.

Museums

National Steinbeck Center -- The National Steinbeck Center is a 40,000 square foot museum and archive in Salinas, California, Nobel-prize winning author John Steinbeck's birthplace. The Center offers the visitor three distinct experiences: Literature in the John Steinbeck Exhibition Hall, Agriculture & History in the new Valley of the World agricultural wing and Art & Culture in the Gabilan Gallery.

Monterey Museum of Art -- Celebrating the rich artistic heritage of Central California, the Monterey Museum of Art offers exceptional collections of early California painting, photography, and contemporary art.

Thomas Kinkade Museum -- Located at the Casa Gutierrez Adobe in historic Old Monterey, the Thomas Kinkade Museum displays Kinkade’s varied painting styles that range from plein air to the studio pieces he refers to as “romantic realism”.

Historic Sites

• The Royal Presidio Chapel is the oldest structure in Monterey,

     constructed by the Spanish government in 1794.

• Robert Louis Stevenson House The original portion dates from the late

     1830s. Here the author reportedly began his classic tale of adventure,  

     Treasure Island.

• Colton Hall is the site of the first California Constitutional Convention in

     1849.

• California's First Theater was built in the 1840s the building became a

     theater after the 1st New York Volunteers stationed here put on plays

• Larkin House is considered by some to be the finest example of Monterey

     Colonial architecture. Thomas Oliver Larkin built it in 1832 and adapted

     two architectural forms to the available redwood and adobe, creating a

     new style.

• Custom House, at the entrance to Fisherman's Wharf, was a bustling

     trade center in the 1800s. Locally produced items were traded for

     foreign goods.

• Pacific House has served many different purposes in its history. Since it

     was built in 1847, it's been a military supply storage site, a hotel, a

     church and a ballroom, among other things. It's now a local history

     museum.

• Casa Soberanes is a Mexican Colonial adobe structure furnished with

     handsomely preserved antique furniture, artwork and silver.