Santa Barbara is one of those rare places that genuinely seems to have it all: a 200-year-old Spanish Mission above the city, a working harbour below it, a near-perfect Mediterranean climate, south-facing beaches, the most beautiful courthouse in America, and a wine country an hour's drive away. The locals call it the American Riviera, which is exactly the sort of self-congratulatory phrase travel writers should be suspicious of — except that, this once, the locals are mostly right.
The defining feature is the architecture. After a 1925 earthquake levelled much of downtown, the city adopted a strict Spanish Colonial Revival building code that has remained in force ever since. The result is a city of white walls, red-tile roofs, wrought-iron balconies, and hidden interior courtyards (paseos) all the way along State Street. It looks like a deliberate setting, because it is one.
The other sights cluster in three areas. Downtown: the courthouse, Lobero and Arlington theatres, the Presidio and Casa de la Guerra adobes, Museum of Art. Waterfront: Stearns Wharf, the harbour, East Beach, and the warehouse-converted Funk Zone where the Urban Wine Trail runs through. Foothills and Montecito: the Mission, the Botanic Garden, Lotusland, and the celebrity neighbourhood that has produced more tabloid stories than is fair.
It is also a great food city — La Super-Rica Taqueria on Milpas Street, dependable seafood at Brophy Bros. in the harbour, and a strong showing of Funk Zone small plates. Beyond town, the Santa Ynez wine country, Solvang, and the Channel Islands National Park are all within day-trip range. Most travellers stay two nights; three is better.