Travel Guides > Sacramento, CA

Sacramento Travel

Once the center of California's infamous Gold Rush region, California's capital city of Sacramento remains one of the state's loveliest and most welcoming cities. While the gold may be long gone, this Northern California city is still an interesting place to visit, with plenty of museums, performing arts opportunities, a growing restaurant district, and lots of free attractions for families on a budget.

Many choose to embark upon day-trips to Sacramento from locations such as San Francisco. The two cities are within close proximity and a visit to the capital means the opportunity to escape the hustle and bustle of the big city for a day or two.

Upon arriving in Sacramento, a good place to begin a sightseeing excursion is the state capital building. Definitely the centerpiece of the Sacramento downtown area, the California State Capital Building looks rather like a mini U.S. Capitol. Free one-hour tours are available for those interested in the artwork inside and some education about the history of the building and the state itself.

The California State Railroad Museum is very entertaining for young and old alike. Here you'll find 21 restored locomotives and cars and several dozen additional exhibits. At 100,000 square feet, this is one of the largest railroad museums in the country. Visitors can also climb aboard a steam railroad for a 6-mile round trip excursion around Sacramento.

The Sacramento Museum of History, Science, Space, and Technology encompasses a huge number of exhibits, as the name indicates. The most fascinating are the Science and Space Center, filled with interactive exhibits on nature and space exploration, and the Gold Rush History Center, where guests can visit the Gold Gallery and find out why everyone came to northern California to get in on the action.

Another fun stop is the Roseville Telephone Museum, a unique museum where visitors will learn about the history of the telephone, with examples of phones throughout the decades.

Crocker Art Museum is the oldest continually running public art gallery in the West. It contains works from the 15th century to the present and the building that houses the collection is considered to be one of the country's finest examples of Victorian Italianate architecture.

For more active pursuits, cyclists can ride the well-maintained 23-mile Jedediah Smith Memorial Bicycle Trail, which runs along the Folsom River. You can also kayak or canoe on local rivers or join a guided whitewater adventure on the nearby American River, where the rapids can be quite challenging.

The performing arts are also well-received in Sacramento. Guests can purchase tickets for numerous theatrical productions, the Sacramento Ballet, the Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra, the Sacramento Choral Society and Orchestra, or the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society.

Also worth checking out: Reno / Lake Tahoe