Schmap Monterey and Carmel Neighborhood Guide

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Monterey and Carmel - Neighborhood Guide
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Monterey and Carmel Home
Schmap Monterey and Carmel guide and map

Around the Monterey Peninsula is a string of small seaside communities, each with their own flavor and appeal.

While no longer the county seat nor even its largest city (both honors rest with blue-collar Salinas), Monterey remains the area's best-known and most popular destination. A city of only 32,000, it attracts easily 100 times that many tourists each year.

Monterey

Monterey's carefully restored downtown is in fact the historical cradle of California. From 1775, when it became the capital of the Spanish colony of Alta California, through Mexican rule and the brief period of independent California, it was governed from Monterey. The California Constitutional Convention met here in 1849, in fact. Landmarks of each of these periods are preserved in the adobe Colonial-style houses that line the streets and calles of the district. Downtown is best explored by foot, taking the well-marked Path of History walking tour. Within walking distance is Fisherman's Wharf, a well-touristed leftover from Monterey's days as a Spanish colonial capital, cargo facility, whaling station, and, finally, fishing port. Now it's home to some commendable seafood restaurants and more than a few tacky gift shops. Marine tours of Monterey bay leave from the wharf, including whale-watching trips.

A mile south is Cannery Row, whose sardine-packing factories are reminders of the hard life before the war depicted in Steinbeck's novel of that name. Today restored to something of its former glory, the area is crammed with gift shops and other attractions aimed at the tourist dollar. Our favorite memento: chocolate sardines. Many of the area's restaurants rank among the best in the Monterey Bay Area. Cannery Row's biggest attraction, and the primary reason for its resurgence as a tourist destination, is the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Arguably the finest aquarium in the world, the Monterey Bay Aquarium is as good as it is not only because of its imaginative presentation and great funding, but also because it focuses on what is just outside in the deep waters of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. You will see otters at play, a towering kelp forest, trance-inducing jellyfish, the world's largest aquarium window, and you can pet a velvety bat ray.

Pacific Grove

West of Monterey along Highway 1 lies the cozy seaside community of Pacific Grove. Three hundred and fifty-five days out of the year, Pacific Grove is as quiet a town as one could hope to find, with tree-lined streets fronting small quaint houses (the mix of Spanish adobe construction with Victorian accents is irresistible). But in November, a peaceful madness descends: Pacific Grove truly becomes the "City of the Butterflies" as hundreds of thousands of monarch butterflies stop off on their annual migration. Many of Pacific Grove's Victorians double as bed and breakfasts, and some as noteworthy restaurants. This is also the site of the Julia Morgan-designed Asilomar Meeting Center, situated in the dunes at the shore. Next to the meeting center is Asilomar State Park, with plenty of dramatically crashing surf.

Carmel Area

Pebble Beach

Famed as the site of the Pebble Beach Country Club and Resort and Spyglass Hill golf courses, and home to the yearly AT&T Celebrity Golf Tournament (where huge crowds await Bill Murray's schtick), Pebble Beach has what may be one of the finest stretches of coast on the Monterey Peninsula. Craggy shoreline, crashing surf and cypress groves mark the spot where Portola landed in 1769 on his first, fruitless expedition to find Monterey. Pebble Beach has long been the enclave of the very top tier of country club society.

Carmel

Carmel takes quality-of-life matters very seriously, which is why you will see no neon signs, telephone poles or street numbers on houses, and may be scolded by a perfect stranger if you are seen eating in the street. Affluent Carmel preserves its idyllic gracefulness with a stern propriety one might associate with Martha's Vineyard. In spite, or perhaps because of this, the town, known far and wide for exclusive gift shops, award-winning restaurants and secluded resort hotels, has been a popular tourist destination for more than a century. That the city fathers remain so adamantly opposed to the intrusions of the late 20th century (to say nothing of the 21st) has inevitably brought them into conflict with development-minded area businessmen. It was just this that swept Mayor Clint Eastwood into office (his intent on loosening the stricture over business permits of the sort needed for his now-closed Hog's Breath Inn restaurant). Mr. Eastwood has served his term and stepped away from Carmel politics, although he remains a Carmel resident.

The 1771 Mission San Carlos Borromeo del Rio Carmelo, or more succinctly, Carmel Mission, is Carmel's biggest single attraction. A handsomely preserved piece of Spanish colonial history, the mission's bell tower was not the one that starred in Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo. That was a bit of movie magic Hitch added when he found that the actual tower was not up to his cinematic standards.

Carmel Valley

If possible, Carmel Valley is even more laid-back than Carmel. Perhaps it is the rustic isolation. Carved from the original rancheros in the area, it still looks very much as it did when Spanish dons owned the rolling green hills. Driving along Carmel Valley Road, though, one will find more than cattle and horses grazing picturesquely if precariously on the hillsides. Golf courses such as the Rancho Canada Golf Club offer a somewhat more affordable alternative to courses along the Pacific while John Gardner's Tennis Ranch provides an alternative to golf with a posh resort and gourmet dining.

Shoppers will find much to delight them in Carmel Valley with the upscale Barnyard on the border between Carmel and Carmel Valley, as well as the tiny but chic shops that dot the area. Elegant vinyards, such as Durney Vineyards at the Heller Estate also appear throughout the Valley.

The ranchero tradition has not died out entirely here. If you want to explore the area in a more up-close-and-personal way, the expert guides of Holman Ranch can arrange tours on horseback to suit your expertise level, horse-sense and your schedule.

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Carmel

Monterey and Carmel
United States

Carmel takes quality-of-life matters very seriously, which is why you will see no neon signs, telephone poles or street numbers on houses. Affluent Carmel preserves its idyllic gracefulness with a stern propriety one might associate with Martha's Vineyard. In spite, or perhaps because of this, the town, known far and wide for exclusive gift shops, award-winning restaurants and secluded resorts, has been a popular destination for more than a century. That the city fathers remain so adamantly opposed to the intrusions of the late 20th century (to say nothing of the 21st) has inevitably brought them into conflict with development-minded area businessmen. It was just this that swept Mayor Clint Eastwood into office. Mr. Eastwood has served his term and stepped away from Carmel politics, although he remains a Carmel resident.

Review © 2007, Wcities

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Downtown Monterey

Monterey and Carmel
United States
Monterey's carefully restored downtown is in fact the historical cradle of California. From 1775, when it became the capital of the Spanish colony of Alta California, through Mexican rule and the brief period of independent California, it was governed from Monterey. The California Constitutional Convention met here in 1849, in fact. Landmarks of each of these periods are preserved in the adobe Colonial-style houses that line the streets and calles of the district. Downtown is best explored by foot, taking the well-marked Path of History walking tour. Within walking distance is Fisherman's Wharf, a well-touristed leftover from Monterey's days as a Spanish colonial capital, cargo facility, whaling station, and, finally, fishing port. Now it's home to some commendable seafood restaurants and more than a few tacky gift shops.

Review © 2007, Wcities

Photo: Anshul Nigham
Photo: Tom
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Monterey

Monterey and Carmel
United States
While no longer the county seat nor even its largest city (both honors rest with blue-collar Salinas), Monterey remains the area's best-known and most popular destination. A city of only 32,000, it attracts easily 100 times that many tourists each year, motivated mostly by its aquarium. Arguably the finest in the world, the Monterey Bay Aquarium is as good as it is not only because of its imaginative presentation and great funding, but also because it focuses on what is just outside in the deep waters of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. You will see otters at play, a towering kelp forest, trance-inducing jellyfish, and the world's largest aquarium window, and you can pet a velvety bat ray.

Review © 2007, Wcities

Pacific Grove

Monterey and Carmel
United States
West of Monterey along Highway 1 lies the cozy seaside community of Pacific Grove. Three hundred and fifty-five days out of the year, Pacific Grove is as quiet a town as one could hope to find, with tree-lined streets fronting small quaint houses (the mix of Spanish adobe construction with Victorian accents is irresistible). But in November, a peaceful madness descends: Pacific Grove truly becomes the "City of the Butterflies" as hundreds of thousands of monarch butterflies stop off on their annual migration. Many of Pacific Grove's Victorians double as bed and breakfasts, and some as noteworthy restaurants. This is also the site of the Julia Morgan-designed Asilomar Meeting Center, situated in the dunes at the shore. Next to the meeting center is Asilomar State Park, with plenty of dramatically crashing surf.

Review © 2007, Wcities

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Pebble Beach

Monterey and Carmel
United States
Famed as the site of the Pebble Beach Country Club and Resort and Spyglass Hill golf courses, and home to the yearly AT&T Celebrity Golf Tournament (where huge crowds await Bill Murray's schtick), Pebble Beach has what may be one of the finest stretches of coast on the Monterey Peninsula. Craggy shoreline, crashing surf and cypress groves mark the spot where Portola landed in 1769 on his first, fruitless expedition to find Monterey. Pebble Beach has long been the enclave of the very top tier of country club society.

Review © 2007, Wcities

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