Holiday in California: From San Francisco to San Diego in 1 week

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This on-the-road trip through California is a superb and timeless experience, and it may be considered the ideal on-the-road trip Let’s see the best places and activities to do for one week in California, ready? We can’t wait!

San Francisco

San Francisco is one of California's most important cities. It is a perfect combination of tourist attractions, shops and trendy neighbourhoods, excellent wines and healthy and creative cuisine.

The fist stop in this amazing city could be the Golden Gate Bridge, one of the most famous places of interest in the world. A nice idea would be to rent a bike a cross it, then stop at Battery Spencer Park to enjoy the breathtaking view over the Golden Bridge and San Francisco and of course to take a well deserved break after that big effort!

Another not-to-be-missed attraction is the famous Alcatraz prison: it will take you 15 minutes by ferry from San Francisco to get to this notorious island where the mafia boss, Al "Scarface" Capone, served his time. Alcatraz, is now a museum with many interesting things to see.

The city is also famous for its characteristic trams that take tourists and locals up and down the steep hills (also known as Trolleys). These are the last trams in the world to be operated by means of a manual rope system: a method that is perhaps a little old-fashioned but still fully working!  You can take one of this Trolleys up to the Fisherman's Wharf where you can enjoy delicious food and drinks.

Last but not least, don’t forget to take a walk around Pier 39 to admire the “charming” sea lions sunbathing.

Check out also the best B&B in San Francisco!

Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz is a typical seaside town, famous for being the centre of the Beat Generation. It is perfect for a relaxing day on the beach, full of surfers (which never hurts!). If you have the chance to go a little further outside you can visit the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, home to the famous giants Sequoia trees.

Big Sur

Take the route No. 1 and make a stop at the various viewpoint that you ran into: from Monterey to Morro Bay you will be speechless. The landscapes are spectacular! There is practically nothing besides few B&B along the route and you will see the amazing and wild California coast.

Seeing the sunset here is priceless.

Santa Barbara

The classic beach city with, palm trees (so Californian) and nice restaurants. You can stop here if you want to relax and sleep near the beach for 1/2 days.

Take a walk on the beautiful palm-lined promenade of Santa Barbara, called Stearns Wharf, which is the oldest wooden pier in the whole state of California!

Here there is also a discreet nightlife, if you want to make some dance moves or to have few drinks you need to go to State Street, the main artery of the city, where clubs, shops, restaurants and discos abound.

Los Angeles

Los Angeles is more of a mosaic of neighbourhoods rather than a traditional city. For a complete experience, take the time you need to visit this city.

Moving around here though is a real nightmare since public transport (the metro, which would avoid traffic) almost do not exist and in order to move from one side to the other it can take hours, this is the price to pay, we guess!

We recommend the Getty Center as one of the museums not to be missed. More than a museum, it can be defined as a piece of art itself. The view of the city is amazing. Don't miss also the LACMA and Bergamot Station.

If you want to walk through the cult neighbourhoods go to Venice Beach, Santa Monica, Hollywood and its Walk of fame, Beverly Hills and Silver Lake.

For a sunbathing and swimming session, go to El matador beach in Malibu, or choose Huntington Beach or Laguna Beach.

If you have some time left (or rather we recommend that you take some time out for these attractions), visit Universal Studios, Disneyland and Griffith Park.

For the evening, among the most popular places you will find the Sky Bar of the Mondran Hotel, Cheateau Marmont, Dirty Laundry and thousands more!

San Diego

San Diego is a nice town, with a decidedly relaxed mood. Peaceful, like the ocean that flanks it. Pacific, but not boring. It is the perfect city to change pace, to relax, even to walk. In family, with friends or in sweet company, it offers doses of well-being despite being the second largest in the state and the eighth in the country per inhabitant. The places that are worth a visit here are: Balboa Park (with various museums), the historic district of Gaslamp (also to go eat and drink), the Coronado beaches and La Jolla and Pacific Beach perfect if you want to surf or go for a ride.

Go and make your Californian dream come true: surf, sleep near the beach, learn how to skate and admire the beauty of the California coast!

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