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Sacramento, CA
has numerous and varied attractions, but everyone who visits has to spend a day exploring Old Sacramento. Cobblestone streets, horse drawn carriage rides, wooden sidewalks and more buildings of historic value than any other place of similar size in the west, all combines to take you back to the early days of the Gold Rush. Located along the Sacramento Riverfront that is lined with Mississippi style riverboats and the clip clop of horses’ hoofs add to Old Sacramento’s nostalgic appeal of early American history. It has been designated as a National Historic Landmark and is filled with souvenir shops, boutiques, antique shops, restaurants and museums. Over five million visitors come to Old Sacramento annually, but it’s also a favorite hangout for locals, who affectionately refer to it as “Old Town.” You can attend a play, also visit a popular comedy club, be part of a murder mystery theater, or take a trip down the river on an authentic riverboat. Old Sacramento is also the site of many special events throughout the year, including the famed Sacramento Jazz Jubilee.
Sacramento is the state capital and hourly tours are available of the impressive Renaissance Revival Style Capitol building, as well as the beautiful grounds and rose gardens. It is open daily except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Another popular place to visit, especially with kids and railroad buffs, is the California State Railroad Museum, located in Old Sacramento. This museum is regarded as one of North America’s finest and most visited railroad museums. It is filled with lavishly restored trains, exhibits and holds unique special events. Train rides on an authentic steam locomotive are available every weekend April-September. Other museums of historical interest include the California Militia Museum, the Schoolhouse Museum, the Wells Fargo Museum and Sutter’s Fort, which is Sacramento’s first settlement, founded in 1839. The Crocker Art Museum in downtown Sacramento features early California painting collections, Old Master drawings and contemporary California art. It is housed in a Victorian mansion that belonged to Judge E.B. Crocker, who lived there with his family in the late 1800s.
The City of Sacramento’s Park Services maintains more than 160 developed parks and open spaces totally more than 2,000 acres in the city. These parks include playgrounds, picnic areas, sports fields, and boat launch ramps, community centers and other special facilities. Many miles of hiking trails and off-street bikeways are also available in the city. The Sacramento Zoo and Fairy Tale Town, which is a two-acre park for children that has more than 20 three-dimensional play sets based on fairytales and nursery rhymes, colorful gardens and animals is a great way to spend a day with the kids. As you would expect of a city this size, shopping and dining in Sacramento are world class. Every type of restaurant you can imagine is here, Chinese, Japanese, French, Italian, Cajun, Caribbean, Indian, Mexican, California cuisine and more. Sacramento is also home to the minor league baseball team, the River Cats who play at Raley Field in West Sacramento, and the city is home to one of today’s hottest NBA teams, the Sacramento Kings.
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