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| Travel Destination Guide - California |
CALIFORNIA (USA)
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Vacation Rentals & Holiday Rentals in California. |
Hotels |
Flights to California. |
Car Hire/Rental |
Tickets & Attractions in California |
California is too large to be fully explored in a single trip, but in an area so varied it's hard to pick out specific highlights. Los Angeles is far and away the biggest and most stimulating city: a maddening collection of freeways, beaches, seedy suburbs, upscale neighborhoods and extreme lifestyles. From Los Angeles you can head south to the growing metropolis of San Diego , with its broad, welcoming beaches and easy access to Mexico; or push inland to the desert areas , most notably Death Valley , a barren and inhospitable landscape of volcanic craters and salt pans that in summer becomes the hottest place on earth.
More than just a terrestrial paradise of sun, sand and surf, California has high mountain ranges, fast-paced glitzy cities, primeval old-growth forests and vast stretches of deserts. The landscape is imbued with history, ranging from rock carvings left by indigenous Native Americans to the eerie ghost towns of the Gold Rush pioneers.
The legend of California, the embroidered image portrayed by Hollywood's worldwide film and television industry, really does exist. Days are warm and sunny, the mansions of Beverly Hills are the height of luxury, beautifully-sculpted bodies roller-blade along the beachfront boardwalks, blonde-haired surfers compete for waves and the allure of Hollywood's fame and fortune is as strong as ever.
Most people, though, follow the shoreline north up the central coast : a gorgeous run that takes in lively small towns like Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz. California's second city, San Francisco , at the top end, is about as different from LA as it's possible to get: the oldest, most European-styled city in the state, set on a series of steep hills, its wooden houses tumbling down to water on three sides. It is also well placed for the national parks to the east, such as Yosemite , where waterfalls cascade into a sheer glacial valley, and Sequoia/Kings Canyon with its gigantic trees, as well as the ghost towns of the Gold Country. North of San Francisco the countryside becomes wilder, wetter and greener, approaching Oregon through spectacular and almost deserted volcanic tablelands.
The climate in southern California consists of seemingly endless days of sunshine and warm dry nights, with occasional bouts of torrential flooding in the winter. LA's notorious smog is at its worst when the temperatures are highest, from July through September. All along the coast mornings can be hazily overcast, especially in May and June; in exposed San Francisco it can be chilly all year, and fog rolls in to ruin many a sunny day. Much more so than in the south, winter in northern California can bring rain for weeks on end, causing massive mudslides that wipe out roads and hillside homes. Most hiking trails in the mountains are blocked between October and June by the snow that keeps California's ski slopes among the busiest in the nation.
CALIFORNIA MAIN ATTRACTIONS
San Diego Zoo, San Diego
As humane and "natural" a zoo as you'll find anywhere, with a vast collection of rare species.
Mono Lake
The blue waters of remote Mono Lake are prime bird-watching territory; it's also a spectacle in its own right.
Joshua Tree National Park
The eerie "arms" of Joshua trees beckon visitors to explore this long-abandoned mining country.
Hearst Castle, San Simeon
A million visitors a year now tramp through "Citizen Kane's" opulent unfinished home.
Highway 1
Thrilling drive along the US's west coast, with pounding Pacific surf as far as the eye can see.
Yosemite National Park
Giant sequoias, towering waterfalls, the sheer face of Half Dome - your eyes will hardly get a rest.
The streets of San Francisco
Get the flavor of the Beats in North Beach, flower power in Haight-Ashbury, and gay pride in the Castro.
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