California - Wine Country

Sonoma

Sonoma is a gem of a town. By simply exploring the boundaries of its main square you will glimpse some of California’s most important periods in history. (A small admission fee is charged to tour Sonoma’s historic buildings.) On the square’s northern edge sits the Sonoma Barracks, a two-story adobe building that was the Mexican provincial headquarters for the Northern Frontier under the command of General Vallejo. The adjacent wood-frame Toscano Hotel has been restored and on weekends guides lead interesting tours through the rooms. The nearby Mission San Francisco Solano de Sonoma, the last Franciscan mission built in California, was restored in the early 1900s. If you visit during the week, you may see elementary-school children, dressed as missionaries with their simple cloaks and rope ties, experiencing history “hands on” as they work with crafts and tools from the days of the missionaries. One hall of the mission houses an unusually beautiful collection of watercolor paintings depicting several of California’s missions. The long, low adobe building across the way, the Blue Wig Inn, originally built to house soldiers assigned to the mission, enjoyed a more colorful existence as a saloon and gambling room during the Gold Rush days. www.parks.sonoma.net/sonoma.html. In addition to the historic sites on Sonoma’s plaza, there are numerous shops and boutiques to investigate, including some wonderful specialty food stores where you can purchase picnic supplies. The Sonoma Cheese Factory on Spain Street is interesting to visit.

Located along this Karen Brown Itinerary:

Wandering Through Wine Country

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Nearby Hotels and Bed & Breakfasts:
Listed Alphabetically, Not By Distance.

• Farmhouse Inn
• Gerstle Park Inn
• Inn at Occidental
• Olema Druids Hall
• The Inn Above Tide
• Hotel Sausalito
• Union Street Inn
• Washington Square Inn
• Auberge du Soleil
• Belle de Jour Inn
• Beltane Ranch
• Blackbird Inn
• Chateau de Vie
• Christopher’s Inn
• Cottage Grove Inn
• The Cottages of Napa Valley
• Haydon Street Inn
• Healdsburg Inn on the Plaza
• Inn at Sonoma
• Landmark
• Lavender
• Madrona Manor
• Maison Fleurie
• Meadowood Napa Valley
• Oak Knoll Inn
• La Residence
• Vineyard Country Inn
• Wine Country Inn