21 Best Sights in Paso Robles, The Central Coast

Elegant wines, a stylish tasting room, and knockout hilltop views make for a winning experience at this winery along winding Peachy Canyon Road. Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Zinfandel grapes thrive in the summer heat and limestone soils of the two vineyards near the tasting room. A third vineyard on cooler York Mountain produces Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and a Cabernet with a completely different character from the Peachy Canyon edition. Food is available for purchase daily.

A family-owned winery in the Willow Creek district, Niner is known equally for its range of estate wines (especially powerful reds) and its farm-fresh lunches designed to complement tasting flights. For a special treat, sign up for a private tour of the solar-powered, gravity-fed winery, followed by a tasting flight of current releases. The option to order lunch is available with tasting reservations, which are required.

While touring the idyllic west side of Paso Robles, take a break from wine tasting by stopping at Pasolivo. Find out how the artisans here make their Tuscan-style olive oils on a high-tech Italian press, and test the acclaimed results. If you're in downtown Paso Robles, stop by Pasolivo's urban tasting room at 1229 Park Street.

This multi-acre outdoor adventure honors the natural topography and engages the senses with amusing, mystical, and kinetic experiences. Here you can walk through internationally renowned artist Bruce Munro's installation, Field of Light, a huge array of stemmed spheres with solar-powered fiber-optic lights that morph into different hues. More than 17,000 wine bottles were used to create the 69 colorful structures of Light Towers, an installation whose fiber-optic illumination ripples to a musical score. Nearby the towers are two new-in-2023 attractions: the magical Fireflies display with more than 10,000 flickering points of light and the reflective Gone Fishing exhibit, which offers a playful interpretation of a contemplative pastime.

A visit begins in the predusk hours to capture the changing light of the landscape and the installations as darkness descends. A hospitality area offers live entertainment by local musicians, as well as wine, beer, and meals or snacks in the casual, indoor–outdoor Mercado Sensorio dining space. Sign up for the Terrace Experience to gain exclusive access to an Airstream bar, private tables, and firepits on a terrace overlooking Field of Light. Reserve tickets well in advance: Sensorio is phenomenally popular.

This industrial park on the southern border of Paso Robles houses a collection of wineries, craft breweries, distilleries, and specialty shops where you can pick up sheep's milk ice cream, fresh pasta, and other local wares. Good places to start your explorations include Giornata Winery, Levo Winery, and TinCity Cider Co. Dine upscale (dinner only) at Michelin-starred Six Test Kitchen.

Small-batch superpremium wines sold exclusively in the tasting room are the focus of this much-lauded, 40-acre, Westside estate winery. Specialties include Albariño, Cabernet Franc, and Rhone blends. Brecon also crafts Bordeaux varietals, including the reserve Old Vine Cabernet Sauvignon, with estate grapes from one of the oldest vines in Paso Robles. Taste wines within the urban-chic cedar barn, which combines Scandinavian and Australian design elements, or at tables on the shady patio.

Stop here to join a tour (reservations essential) of the huge wine caves beneath the vineyards and to participate in various types of seated tastings. Eberle produces wines from Bordeaux, Rhône, and Italian varietals and makes intriguing blends including Côte-du-Rôbles Blanc and Rouge and Cabernet Sauvignon–Syrah.

An entertaining homage to fighter planes, flyboys, and flygirls, this museum maintains indoor exhibits about wartime aviation and displays retired aircraft outdoors and in repair shops. Bonus attraction: a huge building with spruced-up autos, drag racers, and "funny cars."

At this working craft brewery you can sample medal-winners such as the Double Barrel Ale and learn about the beer-making process on 45-minute guided tours of the brewhouse and cellar.

A good place to learn about contemporary Paso Robles wine making, this ultramodern operation produces high-quality wines from estate-grown Bordeaux and Rhône grapes grown in sustainably farmed vineyards. The gravity-flow winery, which you can view on tours, is a marvel of efficiency. Ancestor, the flagship wine, a potent Bordeaux-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, and Malbec, is named for the ranch's huge centuries-old coast oak tree.

This suave winery built its reputation on Isosceles, a hearty Bordeaux blend, usually of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot. JUSTIN's Cabernet Sauvignon is also well regarded, as is the Right Angle blend of Cab and three other varietals. Tastings here take place in the expansive outdoor patio overlooking the hillside vineyards.

Most local wineries pour at this mid-May outdoor festival that has live bands and diverse food vendors. Winery open houses and winemaker dinners round out the weekend.

The owners of Villicana Winery in west Paso Robles launched the first local distillery in 2011, aiming to repurpose the saignée (free-run juice) that's typically tossed out during the wine-making process. They ferment and distill the high-quality juices into premium spirits, thus reclaiming about 70 acres of premium wine grapes. Taste vodka (including kumquat and cucumber versions), gin, whiskey, bourbon, and limoncello in the tiny barrel-room tasting space or outdoors under the oaks.

The lakeside spa, on 240 hilly acres near the intersection of U.S. 101 and Highway 46 East, is a great place to relax after wine tasting or festival-going. Soak in a private indoor or outdoor hot tub fed by natural mineral springs, or indulge in a massage or facial.

In recent years, Robert Hall Winery—known for its Bordeaux-based reds, Rhone-based reds and whites, and sparkling wines— has become a regional leader in sustainable and regenerative viticulture at its 130-acre estate. The pet-friendly, kid-friendly property has an on-site kitchen with a seasonal menu, and you can taste wine (from $25) and sign up online in advance for various tours, including the Sustainability Tour and Tasting ($75), Cavern Tour and Barrel Tasting ($75), and Paired Culinary Experience ($75).

A 1951 Hudson Hornet (a nod to the building's automotive past) greets you at the entrance to this nonprofit, open-studios arts center on the east side of City Park. Interact with professional artists as they work on their latest pieces, browse the four galleries and gift shop, and, on the first Saturday evening of the month, sip wine and listen to music while viewing the center's latest exhibit.

Rhône varietals do well in the Paso Robles AVA, where many wineries, including this one, produce GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre) red blends, along with whites such as Viognier, Marsanne, and Grenache Blanc. Winemaker Mauricio Marchant displays a subtle touch with Rhône whites and reds, as well as Sentio, a Petit Verdot–heavy Bordeaux red blend. Tastings here are relaxed and informal, and there's a patio from which you can enjoy the vineyard views.

Tucked in the western hills of Paso Robles, Tablas Creek is known for its blends of certified biodynamically grown, hand-harvested Rhône varietals. Roussanne and Viognier are the standout whites; the Mourvèdre-heavy blend called Panoplie (it also includes Grenache and Syrah) has received high praise in recent years. A free guided tour of the cellar and vineyard starts every day at 10:15; reservations are required.  There's a fine picnic area here.

"European inspiration, California character" is the motto of this winery whose owners hail from Switzerland. The flagship Suendero wine is a lush blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. You can enjoy it along with some winery-only whites and reds at the large hospitality center.  The patio out back—outfitted with a fountain and a firepit and shaded by a large oak tree—is a nice relaxing space to hang out.