Napa is a city in the state of California, located 50 miles north of San Francisco, at the southern end of scenic Napa Valley.
Get in
By plane
Evans Airport Shuttle provides transportation from OAK and SFO. Check the schedules beforehand.
By car
From San Francisco:
Highway 101 North over the Golden Gate Bridge (toll), to Highway 37;
Highway 37 East towards Vallejo/Napa, to Highway 121;
Highway 121 North towards Napa to Highway 29 North to Napa.
From San Francisco or East Bay:
Interstate 80 East Over Carquinez Bridge (toll), to Highway 37;
Highway 37 East towards Vallejo/Napa, to Highway 121;
Highway 121 North towards Napa to Highway 29 North to Napa.
From Sacramento and points east:
Interstate 80 West to Highway 12 West;
Highway 12 West/Jamison Canyon Road toward Napa to Highway 29 North to Napa.
By bus
By boat
San Francisco Bay Ferry ($13 each way, 60 minutes) operates between San Francisco and Vallejo. From the Vallejo ferry terminal, you can take VINE Bus #10 to Napa.
Get around
By bus
- The Vine Public bus service with several routes in Napa County
By chauffeur
- Elegant Wine Tours offers a $299 10-passenger limousine 6-hr wine tour plus tax, fuel, gratuity and license. Elegant Wine Tours specializes in providing boutique Napa and Sonoma limousine winery visits, custom Napa and Sonoma itineraries and off-the-beaten path wine tour destinations.
- Allure Wine Tours based in Napa provides personalized, chauffeured limo excursions throughout wine country. Every guest has the option to design their own trip or have Allure Wine Tour's staff create an itinerary to suit their tastes.
- Perata Luxury Tours is probably the best private tour service. The owner knows most of the owners of the local wineries personally. $65–75/hour, plus taxes and gratuity. 5-6 hour minimum.
- Platypus Wine Tours offers daily 6-hour tours of 4 wineries. 8-12 people per tour. $99 per person. Local pick up included.
- Shayne One Limosuine's Wine Country Tours (dead link: December 2020) offers daily 6-hour tours tours of 4-6 wineries) $99 per person. Local pick-up included.
See
- Labyrinth at the Methodist Church, 625 Randolph St (at Fifth Street), +1 707 253-1411. M-F 11AM-2PM. Cool replica of the labyrinth in Chartres Cathedral. Walking the labyrinth is considered a sacred act. Donation.
- Quent Cordair Fine Art, 1301 First St, +1 707 255-2242. 11AM - 5PM. The gallery features uplifting and inspirational paintings, sculptures and drawings of the contemporary Romantic Realism style.
Do
- Napa Valley Wine Train, 1275 McKinstry St, 38.302196°, -122.283797°, +1 707 253-2111. Various types of train rides offered for the 36-mile round trip to St. Helena, with or without gourmet dinner. Buy the "flight" of wines at the tasting car. Make this institution part of your trip.
- Napa Valley Symphony, 860 Kaiser Rd, +1 707-226-6872. Performs classical and pops repertoire (guests have included Neil Sedaka, Wynona, Glenn Campbell and Johnny Mathis). Performances are at the Lincoln Theater of Yountville.
- Napa Valley Opera House, 1030 Main St, 38.299722°, -122.284444°, +1 707-226-7372. Not just opera.
- Festival Napa Valley. Large festival with music and food. 2018-12-19
Hiking
- Westwood Hills Park, +1 707-257-9529. Nice views of the valley from this park's trails. Children's nature library.
- Skyline Wilderness Park (Skyline), 2201 Imola Ave, Napa, CA, +1 707 252-0481. Skyline Wilderness park offers hiking, biking & equestrian trails, camp sites & a native plant garden. 25 miles of multi-use fireroad and singletrack trails of various skill levels (beginner to advanced). Entrance fee for vehicles: $6.00 (no extra charge for bikes or horse trailers), Bike/Walk-In/Horseback Ride In: $3.00.USD$ 2022-02-23
Horseback riding
Bike tours
- Napa Valley Bike Tours, 6795 Washington St., Bldg. B (inside Washington Square Plaza). Daily 8:30AM-5PM. Offering guided bike tours visiting local wineries, bike rentals and multi-day bicycling vacation packages. Also offering kayaking tours.
Balloon & helicopter rides
Golf
- Napa Golf Course at Kennedy Park, 2295 Streblow Dr, +1 707-255-4333. Eighteen-hole, par 72 course.
- Chardonnay Golf Club, 2555 Jamieson Canyon Rd. Hwy 12. Eighteen-hole Championship golf club. Par 72, 6,919 yards.
- Silverado Resort - North and South Courses, 1600 Atlas Peak Rd, +1 707-257-5586. Two Robert Trent Jones, Jr. courses.
- Eagle Vines Golf Club, 580 South Kelly Rd, +1 707-257-4470. Eighteen hole, par 72, 7,283 yards.
Buy
Eat
Budget
- Asia Cafe, 825 Main St, +1 707-224-0840. It looks like a hole in the wall, but the food is fantastic. Two people can eat for roughly $7. Tip nice though because they are trying to put their girls through college.
- Andie's, 1042 Freeway Dr, +1 707-259-1107. Near the Outlet Mall. Little hamburger stand that shares its location with a detail car wash. Appearances can be deceiving, though. It has the well-deserved reputation of having the best hamburgers in the Napa Valley. It can be very busy around lunchtime though, so it is recommended that you call in your order.
- Centre Cafe, 388 Devlin Rd, +1 707-603-3260. 8AM to 6PM. Centre Cafe features soups, calamari, sandwiches, pizza, rotisserie chicken, New York steak, fish and pasta. The breakfast menu consists of torta wedges, eggs benedict, freshly baked goods. Centre Cafe is open for breakfast, lunch and happy hour.
- Vallergas. A local supermarket. There is one on the corner of Silverado Trail and 1st Street (now JV liquors), and one near Highway 29, in the Redwood Shopping plaza, located at the Redwood and Solano intersection. It has a very fine deli. It is a good place to pick up things for a picnic.
- Keva Juice, 3816 Bel Aire Plaza (in the same shopping center as Whole Foods), +1 707-265-6900. M-Sa 9AM-8PM, Su 10AM-7PM. Owned by Napa natives, a relaxed, fun vibe. It's where all the locals go for smoothies. Yummy smoothies of all kinds, with vegan friendly options as well. Be sure to try the Red Bull smoothie, it's a local favorite. With nothing over $6, it's the perfect budget snack. (If the owners are there, they're the perfect people to ask about local food and wine.)
Mid-range
- Angele, 540 Main St, +1-707-252-8115. Enjoy the fabulous French Country cuisine on their riverside patio in the heart of the Historic Hatt Mill & Market.
- Ristorante Allegria, 1026 1st St, +1 707-254-8006. Italian. $12–$20
- Celadon, 500 Main St, +1 707-254-9690. $15–$25
- High Tech Burrito, 641 Trancas St, +1 707-224-8882. Tex-Mex. $5–10
- Zuzu, 829 Main St, +1 707-224-8555. M-Th 11:30AM-10PM; F 11:30AM-midnight; Sa 4PM-midnight; Su 4PM-9PM. Popular place serves terribly tasty tapas. $10–30
- Taqueria Las Palmas, 1730 Yajome St, +1 707-257-1514. Good all around Mexican food restaurant with a pleasant outdoor dining area. $5-15 per person.
- Gott's Roadside, 644 First St, +1 707-224-6900. Burgers, sandwiches, seafood, salads, ice cream, and shakes.
- Mary's Pizza Shack, 3085 Jefferson St, +1 707-257-3300. Pizza and Italian food.
- Downtown Joes Restaurant & Microbrewery, 902 Main St, +1 707-258-2337. Downtown, over looking the river. Lively atmosphere, good beer, excellent food, a bit pricy. The menu is very limited. Entrees tend to be $15-20.
Splurge
- Bistro Don Giovanni, 4110 Howard Ln, +1 707-224-3300. Located on the outskirts of town, Bistro Don Giovanni is a restaurant with a rustic warm Italian ambiance located in the heart of the Napa Valley, serving fresh Italian and French style cuisine.
- FARM at The Carneros Inn, 4048 Sonoma Highway, +1 707-299-4890. A relaxing and elegant location, FARM offers both indoor seating, and an outdoor lounge, complete with fire pits and heaters. Extensive wine list with varying prices. It is open for dinner only. Reservations recommended for weekends.
Desserts
Drink
- The Wineries of Napa Valley, 1285 Napa Town Center, +1 707-253-9450. Taste from a selection of 40 wineries, including some of the smaller family vineyards.
Wineries
Sleep
Napa includes many bed and breakfasts, which include breakfast and more home-like, romantic atmospheres than regular hotels, but these establishments have strict cancellation policies and most require non-refundable deposits of 50-100% of the room cost at the time of booking and multiple-night stays on the weekends.
Budget: $200, mid-range: $200-$400, splurge: $400+ (standard double room).
Budget
Mid-range
- 1801 First Napa Bed and Breakfast. $295–425
- Arbor Guest House, 1436 G St (Downtown). Jacuzzis and fireplaces in every room. $270
- Beazley House Bed and Breakfast Inn, 1910 First St (Downtown).
- Carneros Inn, 4048 Sonoma Highway. Carneros has 86 individual cottages, including 10 suites and three restaurants.
- Candlelight Inn, 1045 Easum Dr (on the bank of the Napa Creek), +1 707-257-3717. Away from the noise. This was the home of the Napa postmaster. Jacuzzis and fireplaces in every room. $310
- Churchill Manor Bed and Breakfast, 485 Brown St, +707 253-7733. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: 11AM. Victorian Bed and Breakfast Mansion set on a 1-acre estate. Breakfast, Wi-Fi & afternoon wine social included. $165 - $345
- Embassy Suites Napa Valley, 1075 California Blvd, 38.30049°, -122.30130°, +1 707-253-9540. Three-story Mediterranean-style full service hotel featuring a millpond and park-like atmosphere. Complimentary cooked to order breakfast and evening beverage reception. One indoor and outdoor swimming pool, complimentary passes to nearby health club, on-site spa services and sundeck. Meeting space for 10-200 people. Restaurant, Lounge and Business Center. $170–250
- Hawthorn Inn & Suites, 314 Soscol Ave, +1 707-226-1878. A swimming pool, free Wi-Fi.
- Inn on First, 1938 First St. Bed and Breakfast in downtown Napa. It has elegant rooms, a long list of amenities, food, scenery and hospitality. Jacuzzis and fireplaces in every room. No TVs in the house. $220–330
- Marriott Napa Valley Hotel & Spa, 3425 Solano Ave (Just off Highway 29, 1.8 miles from downtown), +1 707-253-8600. Modern business hotel. $300–400
- Meritage Resort and Spa, 875 Bordeaux Way (7 miles south of downtown, just off Highway 29 and Soscal Ferry Road), +1 707-251-1900. Check-in: 4PM, check-out: 11AM. Has spa in a wine cave, a private wedding chapel and meeting space. $185-465, Cheaper rates are for non-refundable advanced purchases
- Napa Inn, 1137 Warren St (Downtown). $180–270
- Vino Bello Resort, 865 Bordeaux Way (7 miles south of downtown), +1 707-251-1900. Has 64 studio, one bedroom or two bedroom condominium-style suites. $178–410
- White House Inn and Spa, 443 Brown St (On the river, at the edge of the downtown area), +1 707-254-9301. A luxury hotel with spacious suites, a private cottage, spa service, pool, hot tub, gourmet breakfast and wine tasting packages. Weddings, parties and reunions are available at the property. $340
Splurge
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