On the road... California State Road 1

Visit California through the legendary California State Route 1 from Los Angeles to San Francisco.

Mythical roads are not what is missing in the United States. Where the car is queen, the road trip is part of the DNA of the travellers who want to get out of the beaten paths. And it's going well, since the one we explore today takes us to one of the most beautiful places in the country: the peaceful coast of California with the California State Route 1.

Not to be confused with the "US Route 1", which dates from Florida to the Canadian border, California Route 1, also known as California Dream Road, is almost 900 kilometres long. It obviously passes through the two world-famous cities: Los Angeles and San Francisco. It’s time to start your reusing cabriolet, wind hair, sunglasses on the nose and attack an incredible journey from South to North.

Los Angeles

To make this road, Los Angeles is an ideal starting point. Not only are flights from Europe direct and regular, but it is also a mandatory crossing point for all travellers who pass through large national parks Western , or the most adventurous coming from Chicago by the Route 66 .

Although technically, Route 1 begins (or ends according to the meaning) south of the city, in the commune of Dana Point, it is in L.A. that will really start your journey. The city is huge and offers many things to see, do, taste, feel and experience.

To name just a few, the famous Hollywood Boulevard pays a very pronounced tribute to the cinema, with its famous Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame , its numerous shops for tourists, its disguised characters ready to be photographed for a few dollars, or the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and its famous prints of the cement stars.

Los Angeles is also the visit Universal Studios , where the cinema meets an incredible amusement park, Venice Beach and its very Californian multicultural atmosphere, Santa Monica and its beautiful beaches, Rodeo Drive and its luxury shops, Beverly Hills and its celebrity houses...

In short, planning at least three days is a minimum to get a glimpse of the city. Once you're shaved, Route One is waiting for you.

Santa Barbara

First stage after leaving Los Angeles, located two hours north, Santa Barbara is obviously an ode to the famous TV series of the 80s that made dream a whole generation. The city is planted by the ocean and cultivates a very "cool" side. It is both a seaside resort, a city with an exceptional climate and a beautiful residential city with a rich history. A place where it makes good living and where you can enjoy spending one to two days.

Its port and beaches are perfect for a beautiful walk, but to learn more about the culture and roots of the city, it is on the side of the Mission of Santa Barbara It will be necessary to turn to the history of the missionary fathers of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Solvang

The road will then lead you to a nice step, just 45 minutes from Santa Barbara, a little more inside the land. Solvang is a small town founded in 1911 by Danes who created here, from any room, a typical decor of Denmark. Very neat city center, colorful house, very touristy and surprising atmosphere where you taste a very different atmosphere from California of postcards. Certainly, it can make a little decor in Disneyland-style cardboard paste, but it is still worth a look. It's hard to find sleep for a modest price, but if you can afford it, it may be a good step for one night before leaving the next morning.

Los Alamos

Just 20 minutes' drive from Solvang, back here in the great American west with this tiny, almost lost village of Los Alamos. There’s not much to see, and that’s why it’s an indispensable detour. Ancient stop of diligence in the 19th century, this village smells like deep America of the Poney Express, of the rush to gold and pioneers who came to settle in the West. In the only street, the historic hotel is worth a visit.

The Union Hotel will be your stage for a single night or meal, unless you would prefer this incredible B✱B Victorien to the six rooms and eclectic decoration:

In the end, it is a almost ghost village, vaguely dusty, totally authentic and truly unique.

Hearst Castle

The One Route now sinks into nature and winds between the Pacific coast, dense forests and steep cliffs. Your next stop will be the visit of a place that is both incredible and improbable: a castle demeasured, completely crazy, with multiple styles and inspirations, which belonged to a press magnate: William Hearst.

The work began in 1922, but was never really completed. At the head of one of the largest American fortunes, Hearst wanted what is more beautiful. In the end, it is a castle of 115 rooms, including 38 bedrooms and 41 bathrooms, with incredible swimming pools, gardens and other extravagances.

The visit allows you to learn more about the life of this man who inspired the film Citizen Kane d’Orson Welles, released in 1941 and considered the best of all time.

Big Sur

By taking the road to the North, you approach Big Sur , which is the name given to one of the most beautiful areas crossed by Route One. It is wild, exalted, preserved, stuck between cliffs, ocean, sequoia forests and rocky creeks with impressive waves. We're in the middle of Route 1. These landscapes have inspired diverse communities of artists, writers and hippies who come to settle here, far from any glance, in a perfect communion with nature.

The road winds up in the hills, along the coast, overlooking the ocean and takes you on a unique journey to make at your own pace. The road is not wide and you have to take the time to enjoy it and stop as much as possible to immortalize these moments. Among the monuments of this part of the road, the famous Bixby Bridge is particularly photogenic.

Many parks are located on both sides of the road. State parks managed by the state of California that offer hiking, camping, walking and relaxation in the middle of nature. Among them the Andrew Molera State Park with a beautiful path leading to a wild beach typical of Big Sur .

The Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park is home to beautiful waterfalls, the only ones on the California coast, which fall into the ocean. A real dream landscape in which you can spend a few nights in a tent, if the experience tempts you.

Monterey

Beautiful little seaside resort, Monterey marks the end of the Big Sur region and a return to civilization. The city is best known for its aquarium aquarium which is one of the largest and most beautiful in North America. A visit to do absolutely with lots of animations planned for the whole family.

Always in Monterey, make a crochet by the 17 mile Drive. It is a road that makes the tour of the peninsula and passes through typical landscapes of the California coast and passes through beautiful districts where the villas of millionaires cleave the golf greens and beautiful views of the ocean.

San Francisco

World famous for its urban landscapes, hills, lifestyle and suspended bridge, the city of San Francisco offers what California can offer better. A city that runs very pleasantly on foot or by public transport and seems almost familiar, so its monuments and views have been imposed in American films and series. The first of them is obviously the Golden Gate Bridge. Far from being a simple bridge, it is an icon, both immense, majestic and poetic.

Trônant dans la San Francisco Bay , the famous and sinister Alcatraz prison Today welcomes travelers for an incredible visit. The opportunity to walk in the footsteps of the myth, from Al Capone to the mystery escape of Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers, through the film of Clint Eastwood or the most recent « Rock » with Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery.

It is in the city centre of San Francisco that you can discover magnificent examples of unique and very different architectures, from Transamerica Pyramid to Union Square to Chinatown or Haight-Ashbury.

The city also offers several museums of international class, beautiful atmospheres in the different neighborhoods of the city or, a few kilometers from the centre, the visit of the famous Stanford University.

Three to four days are a minimum to visit San Francisco and fully enjoy it. For most travellers, it will be your final step to go back to Europe. The purists, or those who have time, will continue to the north on Fort Bragg to actually walk the California one road to the end.

And if you enjoyed the adventure, nothing prevents you from continuing your journey along the Pacific Coast to Seattle or even Vancouver, Canada. But that is also another story!

Main photo credit: Flickr – Giuseppe Milo