Team the crashing waves with the towering mountains and valleys of the National Parks.
Stretching over 900 miles along the west coast of the United
States, California is a huge state of enormous
contrasts.
From the golden beaches of the Central Coast in the west to the
imposing peaks of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the east -
from the forests of towering Redwoods in the northwest to
the expansive Mojave Desert in the southeast,
the geography here is as diverse as the options
available to the around 700,000 UK tourists visiting the
state each year.
Off the beaten track
As you'd expect from a state that is larger than many countries,
there's a great deal to discover in California beyond the better
known popular tourist destinations. Visit San Diego
and take a whale watching cruise or drive the Big Sur Highway and
marvel at the incredible views of the Pacific Ocean and Santa Lucia
mountain range.
Much of the area surrounding Lake Tahoe is devoted to its
burgeoning tourism industry which is popular with domestic and
overseas visitors. In summer why not hire a boat and head out onto
the lake itself to sneak a look at some of the palatial mansions
which are not visible from the shore? In winter skiing, snow tubing
and snow mobile riding are amongst popular activities for tourists
and locals alike.
The tourist trail
Visit Los
Angeles, the centre of the American entertainment
industry, and take in the famous movie industry landmarks including
the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Mann's Chinese Theatre, Chateau
Marmont and the Kodak Theatre (where the Oscars are
held).
Include some time in San Francisco and visit
Alcatraz, the infamous prison in which some of America's most
notorious criminals were housed until its closure in 1963 or take a
ride on the city's historic cable car system (actually more like
trams) which has been in continuous operation since 1873.
Elsewhere the twists and turns of Lombard Street make for a
fantastic holiday photo and the vibrant Chinatown is the oldest in
North America and home to the largest Chinese community outside
Asia.
Back to nature
From its zigzagging coastline to the wonders of Yosemite
National Park, California is a region of dramatic and
beautiful landscapes forged by millennia of epic land movements
along the San Andreas Fault. In Mount Whitney and Death Valley
California boasts both the highest and lowest points in the
contiguous United States (excluding Alaska and Hawaii) and the
states vast Sequoia groves are home to the world's largest
trees.
Named a World Heritage Site in 1984, over 3.7 million people visit
Yosemite each year, many taking open air tours of Yosemite Valley
and the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. You can enjoy a range of
activities here, from hiking, rafting, biking and climbing to
fishing, bird spotting horseback riding and even gold panning.