The UC Irvine campus is worth a visit even if you have no particular business with the university. The ring-road design, with Aldrich Park at the centre, gives it a planned elegance that suits the city it sits in. Walk the park, sit under a tree, and you get a sense of why the institution draws serious researchers and students from around the world.
The campus houses the UCI Arboretum on its western edge — twelve acres of cultivated gardens specialising in California native plants and South African species, particularly proteas and bulbs. It's free to enter on most days and makes for a quiet, unhurried hour. The Langson Library holds a notable art collection accessible to visitors, and the Claire Trevor School of the Arts puts on regular performances and gallery exhibitions throughout the academic year. If you're interested in seeing a well-funded, well-designed public university doing what it's supposed to do, this is a worthwhile stop.