See all Things to do in Sacramento
Sacramento: History with a Dash of Sizzle
980 9th St Ste 400Sacramento, CA 95814-2724 Phone: (916) 442-8575About
Discover fine dining, beautiful biking, and a luxurious spa, plus a whole lot of California history. The state’s capital had its rowdy beginnings along the banks of the Sacramento River. It was here that boats, laden with adventurers in search of their fortune, sailed inland from San Francisco to join the Gold Rush. In the 1960s, historians and city leaders set out to re-create the Old Sacramento waterfront—the first historic district in the West. Today, its cobblestone streets are still packed with visitors enjoying restored buildings filled with candy stores, curio shops, and restaurants, plus excellent museums. A couple of miles south, a splashy resort-style hotel, Le Rivage , rises above the banks of the Sacramento, with pretty riverfront dining and a spoil-yourself spa. Take me to the river 1. Get oriented at the excellent Sacramento History Museum , then walk next door to the amazing California State Railroad Museum (definitely not just for kids and train buffs); take a scenic steam train ride along the river (weekends, April through September). 2. Join a guided walking tour of downtown; spring through fall, take an underground tour for an unusual peek at Sacramento’s past. 3. Pedal or walk a stretch of the paved 23-mile American River Parkway , which heads upstream east to Folsom Reservoir . 4. Walk to the nearby Crocker Art Museum , especially known for outstanding works by California artists like Wayne Thiebaud and Robert Arneson. 5. Take a 1-hour historic tour with Hornblower Cruises (also offering sit-down dinners and Sunday Champagne brunches). 6. Toast the sunset with cocktails on the riverfront deck at Rio City Cafe , then stroll to handsome Ten22 for farm-to-table cuisine and excellent local wines. 7. South along the Sacramento River, indulge in a blissful Golden Tao treatment at Le Rivage ’s Spa LaLé . Sleepover Sleep in one of California’s most unusual accommodations—the 285-foot Delta King , a restored 1927 docked riverboat hotel (also offering dining and live entertainment, open to all). For more information, visit discovergold.org . Photo by Harriot Manley/Sunset Publishing
