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Let Family Travel Forum guide you to the perfect hotels, resturants and more while your family visits Santa Barbara.

Santa Barbara, California, "America's Riviera," sits on a prime Pacific perch overlooking sweeping vistas of the Santa Ynez Mountains and the glistening surf. Just about anything you can do outdoors can be relished in Santa Barbara's flawless Mediterranean climate. In this wonderful seaside sanctuary, kids can play, parents can relax, or all can enjoy activities together.

The blue Pacific invites sailing, kayaking, windsurfing, deep-sea fishing, scuba diving and snorkeling. Hiking in the golden Santa Ynez foothills is an option for the more adventurous. Santa Barbara is also a sightseeing heaven for all ages, with beautiful parks, unique museums, historic buildings and a rich array of natural attractions.

A Cultural and Historic Paradise

The Santa Barbara Courthouse, completed in 1929, resembles a Spanish palace with its red-tile roof. It is surrounded with landscaped lawns, swaying palms, and a tropical garden. The elegant interior -- handpainted ceilings, wrought-iron chandeliers, giant murals, carved doors and exquisite tiles -- makes a great conversation piece for the whole family. You can climb the 85-foot tower for a spectacular panoramic view of the city, ocean, and Channel Islands.

Mission Santa Barbara, the "Queen of the Missions" founded in 1786, is the tenth of 21 Franciscan missions in the State. After an earthquake in 1812 destroyed the church, the represent church was planned and completed in 1820. Still an active place of worship, it is one of the best preserved missions, with a Moorish fountain from 1808 gracing the front and beautiful courtyard gardens for children to enjoy. In December 2004, the 200-year-old Statue of St. Barbara, the mission's best known icon, was returned to public view after extensive restoration by the Travel Conservation Foundation and Globus Tours. All 20 of our family members took the docent tour, which we had planned in advance by calling 805/682-4713.

The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (805/682-4711) especially delighted the younger grandchildren. Tatum, Cassidy, and Baylee loved the interactive hands-on learning, and all were fascinated with the Chumash Hall that included a diorama of prehistoric Indian life in the Santa Barbara area.

In contrast, the fascinating Santa Barbara Museum of Art (805/963-4364) had the family branching out in different directions. The adults and teenagers were fascinated with the just-opened special exhibit "Noble Tombs at Mawangdui: Art and Life in the Changsha Kingdom."  In the Children's Gallery, the younger ones were kept busy creating their own works of art with Sundae Sculpting, an interactive sculpture with an illustion of a chocolate sundae.  The Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum (805/962-5322) doesn't have facilities for young children, but its extensive collection of monumental documents and manuscripts, including books, treaties, letters and maps, many dating back several centuries, completely captured the attention of our family's teens and adults.