A Travel Guide to California
California is located in the southwestern United States. The state is most known throughout the world for the Los Angeles district of Hollywood and the city of San Francisco. With its rich cinematic history California has attracted visitors from around the world who flock to the area hoping to catch a glimpse of the stars.
Los Angeles is a city that has been at the heart of the movie world for many years, Universal Studios Hollywood is perhaps the best example of this. The studio was opened to visitors in the 1960s and is now one of the most popular theme parks in the United States. Disneyland is one of the world’s most famous theme parks and is located in Anaheim, just southeast of Los Angeles and there are many other theme parks to enjoy in the area.
Newport Beach is an excellent base to explore the area from Los Angeles to the Orange County area. The beach is located just south of Anaheim and the Disneyland resort and is popular with vacation home owners. Whale watching tours are one of the top attractions here and the beach itself is considered one of the best in the United States.
When people think of the iconic attractions of the United States, many will think of the Golden Gate Bridge being among them. Visitors can walk across the bridge and there are sailing cruises that travel under the bridge as part of the tour. One of San Francisco’s more interesting attractions is the infamous former prison Alcatraz. Once a prison for America’s most dangerous criminals, today the island is a major tourist attraction.
Santa Barbara is one of California’s hidden gems, with its mountainous backdrop and its stunning beaches it is known as the ‘American Riviera’ while Mission Beach in San Diego offers an amusement park, a SeaWorld and is popular with Surfers and Sunbathers alike.
Palm Springs is a resort town located to the east of Los Angeles. The town offers several attractions such as the Palm Springs Air Museum with various WWII aircraft to see, including the legendary P51 Mustang and the Supermarine Spitfire and modern jets such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon and F/A-18 Hornet. Palm Springs is also an hour’s drive from the World Mountain Sanctuary; here visitors can interact with the wolves, some of which have been used in movies such as the ‘Twilight’ series.
Lake Tahoe is one of California’s most beautiful natural attractions. The lake is not only a place of natural beauty but there are various activities to enjoy around and on the lake. The North side of the lake is primarily used by skiers and snowboarders. The South of Lake is popular with cyclists, golfers and those looking to go on a hiking trail through the many routes and enjoy the scenery. On the water there is much to do, including Kayaking and wake boarding.
There is a wide variety of self catering vacation rentals in California ranging from condos in San Francisco to log cabins in Lake Tahoe and vacation houses in Palm Springs.
