Once a sleepy agricultural area and seemingly remote state capitol, today Sacramento has grown into one of California’s finest and most affordable cities with a unique blend of modern urban sophistication and old-west audacity. At the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers, the city offers many recreational opportunities right in town as well as easy access to Lake Tahoe and Yosemite to the east. To the southwest, the Bay Area and coastal attractions are little more than an hour and a half away.

Old Sacramento stretches along the riverfront and offers a glimpse into the city’s past with its many historic buildings, monuments and artifacts. Few original structures remain from the California Gold Rush days when Sacramento served as a major supply center for miners and speculators, but devoted preservationists have brought back the early Victorian buildings, wooden sidewalks and horse-drawn carriages of this city’s first years and filled them with museums, dining and shopping to keep visitors well entertained.

To get to the heart of Gold Country, drive along Highway 49, which winds through several friendly small towns including Coloma, where gold was first discovered. These hills now offer gold of a different sort in the productive vineyards that help feed the state’s wine industry. In fact, this area’s winemaking tradition dates back to Gold Rush days, when some fortune seekers planted small vineyards in these fertile Sierra foothills.