The Monterey Bay Area
We’ve compiled the best of the best in The Monterey Bay Area - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
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18 Recommendations
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1. Monterey Bay Aquarium
Playful otters and other sea creatures surround you the minute you enter this extraordinary facility, where all the exhibits convey what it's like to be in the water with the animals. Leopard sharks swim in a three-story, sunlit kelp forest exhibit; sardines swim around your head in a circular tank; and jellyfish drift in and out of view in dramatically lighted spaces that suggest the ocean depths. A petting pool puts you literally in touch with bat rays, and the million-gallon Open Seas exhibit illustrates the variety of creatures—from hammerhead sharks to placid-looking turtles—that live in the eastern Pacific. Splash Zone's 45, interactive, bilingual exhibits let kids commune with African penguins, clownfish, and other marine life. The only drawback to the aquarium experience is that it must be shared with the throngs that congregate daily, but most visitors think it's worth it.
View Tours and Activities886 Cannery Row, Monterey, California, 93940, USA831-648–4800-infoSight Details
Rate Includes: $60 -
2. Monterey State Historic Park
You can glimpse Monterey's early history in several well-preserved adobe buildings in Custom House Plaza and the downtown area. Although most are only open via guided tours (check ahead for details), some also have beautiful gardens to explore. Set in what was once a hotel and saloon, the Pacific House Museum now houses a visitor center and exhibits of gold-rush relics; photographs of old Monterey; and Native American baskets, pottery, and other artifacts. The adjacent Custom House, built by the Mexican government in 1827 and now California's oldest standing public building, was the first stop for sea traders whose goods were subject to duties. (In 1846 Commodore John Sloat raised the American flag over this adobe structure and claimed California for the United States.) Exhibits at Casa Soberanes (1842), once a customs-house guard's residence, survey Monterey life from Mexican rule to the present. A veranda encircles the second floor of Larkin House (1835), whose namesake, an early California statesman, brought many of the antique furnishings inside from New Hampshire. Stevenson House was named in honor of author Robert Louis Stevenson, who boarded here briefly in a tiny upstairs room that's now furnished with items from his family's estate. Other rooms include a gallery of memorabilia and a children's nursery with Victorian toys. If the buildings are closed, you can access a cell-phone tour 24/7 (831/998–9458) or download an app.
10 Custom House Plaza, Monterey, California, 93940, USA831-649–2907Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free–$5, 1-hr history walk $10 -
3. A Taste of Monterey
Without driving the back roads, you can taste the wines of nearly 100 area vintners (craft beers, too) while taking in fantastic bay views. Bottles are available for purchase, and food is served from 11:30 until closing.
700 Cannery Row, Monterey, California, 93940, USA831-646–5446Sight Details
Rate Includes: Tastings from $23 -
4. California's First Theatre
Museum/GalleryThis adobe began its life in 1846 as a saloon and lodging house for sailors. Four years later stage curtains were fashioned from army blankets, and some U.S. officers staged plays to the light of whale oil lamps. The building is open only for private tours and events, but you can stroll in the garden.
Monterey State Historic Park, Scott and Pacific Sts., Monterey, California, 93940, USA831-649–7118Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free -
5. Cannery Row
When John Steinbeck published the novel Cannery Row in 1945, he immortalized a place of rough-edged working people. The waterfront street, edging a mile of gorgeous coastline, once was crowded with sardine canneries processing, at their peak, nearly 200,000 tons of the smelly silver fish a year. During the mid-1940s, however, the sardines disappeared from the bay, causing the canneries to close. Through the years the old tin-roof canneries have been converted into restaurants, art galleries, and malls with shops selling T-shirts, fudge, and plastic sea otters. Recent tourist development along the row has been more tasteful, however, and includes stylish inns and hotels, wine tasting rooms, and upscale specialty shops.
View Tours and Activities -
Recommended Fodor’s Video
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6. Casa Soberanes
Historic HomeA classic low-ceiling adobe structure built in 1842, this was once a Custom House guard's residence. Exhibits at the house survey life in Monterey from the era of Mexican rule to the present. The building is open only for private tour requests (call for times and fees), but you can visit the peaceful rear garden and its rose-covered arbor.
Monterey State Historic Park, 336 Pacific St., at Del Monte Ave., Monterey, California, 93940, USA831-649–7118Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free -
7. Colton Hall
A convention of delegates met here in 1849 to draft the first state constitution. The stone building, which has served as a school, a courthouse, and the county seat, is a city-run museum furnished as it was during the constitutional convention. The extensive grounds outside the hall surround the Old Monterey Jail.
570 Pacific St., Monterey, California, 93940, USA831-646–5640Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free, Closed Mon.–Wed. -
8. Cooper-Molera Adobe
The restored 2-acre complex includes a house dating from the 1820s, a gift shop, bakery, and a large garden enclosed by a high adobe wall. The mostly Victorian-era antiques and memorabilia that fill the house provide a glimpse into the life of a prosperous sea merchant's family. The museum is open weekends for self-guided tours; docents are available to answer questions. If the house is closed, you can still pick up walking-tour maps and stroll the grounds.
506 Munras Ave., Monterey, California, 93940, USA800-944–6847Sight Details
Rate Includes: $5 tour, Museum closed weekdays -
9. Custom House
Museum/GalleryBuilt by the Mexican government in 1827 and now California's oldest standing public building, the Custom House was the first stop for sea traders whose goods were subject to duties. In 1846 Commodore John Sloat raised the American flag over this adobe structure and claimed California for the United States. The lower floor displays cargo from a 19th-century trading ship. The Custom House Store sells Monterey-themed items. If the house is closed, you can visit the cactus gardens and stroll the plaza.
Monterey State Historic Park, 1 Custom House Plaza, across from Fisherman's Wharf, Monterey, California, 93940, USA831-649–7118 -
10. Fisherman's Wharf
The mournful barking of sea lions provides a steady soundtrack all along Monterey's waterfront, but the best way to actually view the whiskered marine mammals is to walk along one of the two piers across from Custom House Plaza. Lined with souvenir shops, the wharf is undeniably touristy, but it's lively and entertaining. At Wharf No. 2, a working municipal pier, you can see the day's catch being unloaded from fishing boats on one side and fishermen casting their lines into the water on the other. The pier has a couple of low-key restaurants, from whose seats lucky customers might spot otters and harbor seals.
Monterey, California, 93940, USA -
11. Fort Ord National Monument
Scenic beauty, biodiversity, and miles of trails make this former U.S. Army training grounds a haven for nature lovers and outdoor enthusiasts. The 7,200-acre park, which stretches east over the hills between Monterey and Salinas, is also protected habitat for 35 species of rare and endangered plants and animals. There are 86 miles of single-track, dirt, and paved trails for hiking, biking, and horseback riding. The main trailheads are the Creekside, off Creekside Terrace near Portola Road, and Badger Hills, off Highway 68 in Salinas. Maps are available at the various trail-access points and on the park’s website. Dogs are permitted on trails, but should be leashed when other people are nearby.
Monterey, California, USA831-582–2200Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free -
12. Larkin House
Historic HomeA veranda encircles the second floor of this 1835 adobe, whose design bears witness to the Mexican and New England influences on the Monterey style. The building’s namesake, Thomas O. Larkin, an early California statesman, brought many of the antiques inside from New Hampshire. Tours are available by special appointment only. If the building is closed, you can peek in the windows and stroll the gardens.
Monterey State Historic Park, 464 Calle Principal, between Jefferson and Pacific Sts., Monterey, California, 93940, USA831-649–7118 -
13. Monterey County Youth Museum
Monterey Bay comes to life from a child's perspective in this fun-filled, interactive indoor exploration center. The seven galleries showcase the science and nature of the Big Sur coast, theater arts, Pebble Beach golf, and beaches. Also here are a live performance theater, a creation station; a hospital emergency room; and an agriculture corner where kids follow artichokes, strawberries, and other fruits and veggies on their evolution from sprout to harvest to farmers' markets.
425 Washington St., Monterey, California, 93940, USA831-649–6444Sight Details
Rate Includes: $10, Closed Mon. and Tues. -
14. Monterey History and Art Association at Stanton Center
This two-story museum in Custom House Plaza showcases works by well-known contemporary artists, as well as artifacts relating to Monterey's maritime history. Featured artists include Salvador Dali, Armin Hansen, Paul Whitman, and Jo Mora. Exhibits focusing on a local artist rotate every three months.
5 Custom House Plaza, Monterey, California, 93940, USA831-372–2608Sight Details
Rate Includes: $20, Closed Fri. -
15. Monterey Museum of Art at Pacific Street
Photographs by Ansel Adams and Edward Weston and works by other artists who have spent time on the peninsula are on display here, along with international folk art, from Kentucky hearth brooms to Tibetan prayer wheels.
559 Pacific St., Monterey, California, 93940, USA831-372–5477Sight Details
Rate Includes: $15, Closed Mon.–Wed. -
16. Pacific House Museum
Museum/GalleryOnce a hotel and saloon, this facility, also a visitor center, commemorates life in pioneer-era California with gold-rush relics and photographs of old Monterey. On the upper floor are Native American artifacts, including gorgeous baskets and pottery.
Monterey State Historic Park, 10 Custom House Plaza, Monterey, California, 93940, USA831-649–7118Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free -
17. Presidio of Monterey Museum
This spot has been significant for centuries. Its first incarnation was as a Native American village for the Rumsien tribe. The Spanish explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno landed here in 1602, and Father Junípero Serra arrived in 1770. Notable battles fought here include the 1818 skirmish in which the corsair Hipólito Bruchard conquered the Spanish garrison that stood on this site and claimed part of California for Argentina. The indoor museum tells the stories; plaques mark the outdoor sites.
Corporal Ewing Rd., Monterey, California, 93944, USA831-646–3456Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free, Closed weekdays. -
18. Stevenson House
Historic HomeThis house was named in honor of author Robert Louis Stevenson, who boarded here briefly in a tiny upstairs room. Items from his family's estate furnish Stevenson's room; period-decorated chambers elsewhere in the house include a gallery of memorabilia and a children's nursery stocked with Victorian toys and games. Visit the website or call for tour times and fees. If the building is closed, you can stroll around the gardens.
Monterey State Historic Park, 530 Houston St., near Pearl St., Monterey, California, 93940, USA831-649–7118
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