Wine Tasting and a Historic Spa

Eureka has more Victorian buildings than any other incorporated city in California: more than 10,000, each one with more detail than the next. The Carson Mansion is the best example of this "gingerbread" style of architecture and is reputed to be the most photographed Victorian house on the planet. It certainly is extremely striking, located in a commanding position on 2nd and M streets. Built by pioneer lumber baron William Carson between 1884 and 1886, which were years of depression for the lumber industry, the mansion was effectively a job creation program financed by Carson specifically to avoid laying off his best workmen. It's now a private club, so visitors aren't allowed in, but if you like architecture, spend a bit of time driving past the town's other gems as well.

At Vichy Springs, a resort and spa, naturally carbonated water comes bubbling out of the ground at 90 degrees Fahrenheit and fills 150-year-old outdoor and indoor tubs. Jack London, Teddy Roosevelt, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Mark Twain all bathed here, in the same sulfur-stained tubs you'll use. It's a wonderfully relaxing experience. The resort sells two-hour passes and will also rent you towels.

Locally sourced, wild, and organic seafood and produce are what's served here, and though that may sound too virtuous to be pleasurable, the opposite is true. Left Coast knows how to amp up flavor, whether it's the Poseidon Fries, which dump a load of fresh-picked crab, aioli, and lemon-butter atop shoestring fries, or elevating mac 'n' cheese with fresh lobster. The restaurant also serves such seafood classics as raw clams and oysters, beer-battered fish and chips, and cioppino. For those who don't like the treats of the sea, there are vegetarian and beef-based choices. All are served in a clean-lined dining room that has a welcoming bar, or at sidewalk tables.

Foppiano Vineyards has been crafting great wine since 1896. It survived Prohibition by selling “make your own wine” kits. It’s less fancy than neighboring Sonoma wineries, but that’s part of its charm, as are the terrific hosts here, who infuse a bit of humor into the wine tasting process. This should make for a very fun stop.

A visit to the Coppola Winery, which does not require reservations, is less about wine tasting and more about the movie memorabilia on display. Although Academy Award-winning director Coppola sold the winery in 2022, he agreed to let the new owners continue displaying his Oscars, the famous desk from "The Godfather," assorted memorabilia from "Apocalypse Now," and set pieces, props, and other ephemera from other films the master created. Entrance is free, though there is a charge for tastings.

In 2022, Healdsburg's Single Thread was the only California restaurant named to the exclusive World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. Meals there cost a ridiculous amount of money, and reservations are nearly impossible to snag, so try Single Thread's affordable vegan offshoot, Little Saint, instead. Set in an airy, neo-industrial space with a market attached, Little Saint doesn't play the usual vegan game of trying to disguise produce as meat or fish. Instead, it serves up some immensely satisfying salads, pastas, soups, roasts, and spreads, much of which is created from produce that Little Saint grows itself. The cocktail and wine selections are also first-rate, but be careful about indulging if you're driving back to San Francisco after dinner. Little Saint is award-winning in its own right: In 2022, the New York Times named it, too, to its list of the best restaurants in the United States.