Vallejo sits at the northeast end of San Francisco Bay, a working-class city with more character than its reputation suggests. It served briefly as the state capital of California in the 1850s, and for over a century the Mare Island Naval Shipyard — the first on the West Coast — was the economic engine of the town. The shipyard closed in 1996, but the island is now a sprawling historic park with officer's mansions, massive dry docks, and St. Peter's Chapel, which contains one of the largest collections of Tiffany stained glass in the western United States.
Downtown Vallejo has been quietly reinventing itself around a small arts scene and the ferry terminal, which runs boats directly to San Francisco's Ferry Building. The Empress Theatre, a restored 1911 vaudeville house, is now one of the more atmospheric live music venues in the Bay Area. The former California State Capitol site is marked downtown — the legislature came here twice and fled both times, eventually settling on Sacramento.
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, a theme park combining roller coasters with marine and animal shows, draws families from across the Bay Area. Nearby Benicia, a picturesque waterfront town just across the Carquinez Strait, is worth a short detour for its antique shops and historic arsenal buildings.