Which City in California Should I Visit?
I live in England, and I have always wanted to visit California. I love all things sand, sea and surf, but I also like rural country side and lots of culture.
I'm nearly 19 and will probably go with close friends whom are just like me. We love night life and such, and like to chill throughout the day, but still have lots to see and do.
Which city would you recommend for my first time visiting California?
2006-10-12 08:05:54 · 17 answers · asked by stephanie_dee24 2 in Travel ➔ United States ➔ Other - United States
Sun, sea and sand - San Diego
Culture - San Francisco
Rural country - Marin ( by San Fran ) or Yosemite
2006-10-12 08:15:08 · answer #1 · answered by kate 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Hi there, well, do you like movie stars? Amusement parks? If not, then I highly recommend San Francisco or San Diego. If you do then of course, Los Angeles is a sure bet. San Francisco is a neat historical place, I haven't been there, but my parents have been there several times and love driving up highway 1 in a convertable. It is right on the ocean, and has older hotels. That is the city that was almost completely destroyed by the great earthquake. San Diego has a lot of history as well I believe, but be careful if you go there in April, my company is doing a big trade show there and we're expecting about 60,000 eye doctors to go there and a lot of the hotels are selling out fast lol. (Just a word of warning!) So, my recommendations are San Francisco or Los Angeles. I've been to LA and loved it, and hope to go again. My parents have been to San Fran 2 or 3 times and my aunt just got back from there from a business trip and loved it. Lots to do there.
2006-10-12 08:16:07 · answer #2 · answered by aloneinga 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
SAN FRANCISCO!!!!
not much on surfing, but a little north is some golden waves... also, you're 3.5 hours from beautiful yosemite... you'll also have the redwood forests just east of oakland...
as for culture and night life.. there's tons of stuff to do (especially since you'll be underage in the U.S.) in the city and the surrounding bay area... good food, music, people, museums, parks and attractions...
plus the public transit system is great in the entire bay area.. so you'll have no problem getting to all the cool places...
north of the golden gate bridge is a great big park with lots of green grass and a couple sandy beaches.... one thing about the bay is that there may be a ton of people living there, but they acknowledge the importance of nature and have wonderful parks everywhere...
hope you choose the bay since it's one of the best places on earth!
2006-10-12 11:02:25 · answer #3 · answered by nikkicfox 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I lived in LA all my life (at least 32 years of it), but I would say for first time, do something more Northern like San Francisco or Monterey (just South of San Francisco) because the air is more clean and the ocean is just beautiful out there. Beautiful sunsets and sunrises. I went up that way for my honeymoon and loved it. (LA is ok, it's just that it is very dirty and smoggy and does not really leave the greatest impression of what California has to offer).
Or you can go to San Diego, which I heard is really cool, but I never went. That is further South than LA.
Good luck and enjoy it wherever you do end up going!
2006-10-12 08:18:27 · answer #4 · answered by sexy34 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Crescent City, CA. It's on the coast, at the CA/OR border. It has the most beautiful and clean river (Smith River), great beaches (wonderful for agate hunting), home of the giant Redwood trees, it's a small town (approx. 9,000) and is very friendly.
It's about an 7-8 hour drive north of San Francisco, but the drive is even nice.
Trust me on this one - I lived there for 34 years and I miss it tremendously!!
2006-10-12 09:52:36 · answer #5 · answered by Lissa 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Definitely San Francisco and surrounding areas including Napa Valley (America's Bordeaux) and even the redwood forests up North and don't forget the Monterey peninsula south of SF Area and Carmel. Have a nice time.
2006-10-12 08:14:47 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
San Francisco. A great City with many different things to see and do.
Don't forget driving is easy in the US and other places some distance away can be visited on the same trip
2006-10-12 08:13:20 · answer #7 · answered by Poor one 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
San Francisco - There is a lot of entertainment opportunities in San Francisco and public transportation is very easy and convenient to go to any place in California.
2006-10-12 10:56:40 · answer #8 · answered by SMG 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You can't beat San Francisco. Although it gets a bit windy.
For sun, sand and surf, go with Los Angeles.
2006-10-12 08:13:34 · answer #9 · answered by ratboy 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
san diego is killer. i highly reccommend it. the gaslamp district is amazing and full of culture. the beaches are awesome, and the mountains are less than 45 min. away. it's south of l.a. and a lot more laid back. i would also rec. santa barbara. it's smaller than san diego, but it's definitely got a rural atmosphere near by (wine country, sonoma) however, san diego has more clubs that are crazy, and the drinking age in mexico is 18, just fyi. (it's close to tijiuana, mexico.)
2006-10-12 08:16:51 · answer #10 · answered by Tgrsrk 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋