Unwind in this oceanside county where you’ll find the most delightful shopping, golfing, dining and beach-going on the California coast.
If you’ve never heard of Carmel-by-the-Sea, then you’re clearly not a pal of Brad Pitt’s. The actor recently bought a vacation home in this storybook spot on the California coast, and one glimpse of the sunset will help you understand why. Pitt is just one of a slew of celebs to discover the secret of this laid-back beach town.
While Carmel, especially the “downtown,” has always been home to mom-and-pop inns, new boutique properties like Villa Mara Carmel and the soon-to-open Carmel-by-the-Sea Resort and Le Petit Pali are catering to a cooler luxury traveller who comes for the ocean breezes but stays for the wine and increasingly groovy restaurants, often helmed by chefs who have decamped from San Francisco. Bonus? The city of Monterey, famous for 1) its world-class aquarium and 2) being the bougie setting of TV show Big Little Lies, is only 15 minutes away.
Morning
A walk from Carmel Point to the center of the tiny city of Carmel-by-the-Sea only takes about 30 minutes, but when you’re talking about a stroll along the coastline on a pathway called Scenic Drive, the journey is truly the destination. Don’t miss Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous Mrs. Clinton Walker House (be sure to walk past the house and peek back so you see how Wright designed it to look like the hull of a ship going out to sea).
Frank Lloyd Wright designed the Mrs. Clinton Walker House on Carmel Point in 1948 to resemble a ship’s bow.
Amble along the absurdly white sand of the area’s main attraction, Carmel Beach. Then, just sit back and watch surfers brave the waves — it’s less a swimming beach and more a staring-with-your-jaw-on-the-sand beach. It’s also an off-leash paradise for exuberant dogs, but the stretch is so vast that you never feel as though you’re about to get attacked by a wayward poodle. When you’re done gazing out at the Pacific Ocean, wind your way through the residential streets to enjoy endless vibrant gardens, twee gates and fairy-tale cottages.
Bite into a big, soft, baked-fresh daily Bavarian pretzel at Carmel Bakery.
The deliberately quaint square mile of downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea is devoid of stoplights and addresses, and the street signs are so unobtrusive they can be hard to find. But never fear, the locals seem accustomed to giving directions, and the streets lined with boutiques, galleries and indie restaurants are easy to navigate. While Ocean Avenue is the main drag (it’s where you’ll find the iconic Carmel Bakery and British-style candy shop Cottage of Sweets), be sure to explore the leafy alleyways on the side streets where many of the best spots like Stationæry, beloved for its elevated all-day brunch, is tucked away. Yes, there’s avocado toast, but you’ll also find a potato pancake loaded with seasonal toppings, like the version with culatello, roasted asparagus and a poached duck egg.
Potato Pancake with Smoked Trout is on the brunch menu at Stationæry in Carmel-by-the-Sea.
The Carmel Plaza is an outdoor shopping mall that’s home to a curious mix of upscale chains and local shops, but it’s a must-visit if only to see the riotously colorful House of Cardoon, a homewares shop bursting with all the hues of a rainbow. Owner Nora Lee Cavallaro honed her eye for delightful decor during a decade as a buyer for the ever-neutral Pottery Barn. “Now I buy all the things I couldn’t before,” she laughs. Her finds come from around the world — you may get obsessed of the bright yellow trays from The Lacquer Company and the pop-y salt and pepper grinders from U.K. label Addison Ross.
Cottage of Sweets, a Carmel icon since 1959, is famous for its homemade fudge and array of imported licorice.
Afternoon
If you’re a golfer, you’ll already know about Pebble Beach and the famous Pebble Beach Golf Links, a bucket-list course and site of the upcoming 78th U.S. Women’s Open. But, even if you aren’t, a trip by car or bike in that direction is worth it to experience a section of the famously stunning 17-mile drive along the coast.
Check out The Spa at Pebble Beach. While all the standard treatments are available, there’s also the Lasapa Lelima Purification Treatment. Created by one of the spa’s Indigenous massage therapists, the soothing Native American-inspired bathing ceremony is a combo prayer session, scrub, wrap and massage incorporating local white sage, elderberry and mud.
The outdoor lap pool at the five-star The Spa at Pebble Beach is kept at 82°F year-round.
Back in Monterey, Alta Bakery and Café is the place to stop for a snack. Munch your freshly baked pastry — an éclair stuffed with orange marmalade and vanilla cream and topped with black sesame whip, kumquats and raspberries is definitely not your average afternoon muffin — inside the bakery’s historic adobe home, or on its large, sun-drenched flower-garden back patio. Then, mosey down Alvarado Street for a fresh juice at Perfectly Pressed.
The delightfully kitschy waterfront wharf — think pirate statues outside restaurants, plus seemingly hundreds of candy stores — isn’t far away. If you’ve got three hours to spare, you can catch a whale-watching tour to spot orcas and, if you’re lucky, blue or gray whales. Afterwards, be sure to pop into Old Fisherman’s Grotto, an old-school steakhouse featuring leather banquettes, dark wood and bowls of tasty clam chowder big enough to swim in. History fans will enjoy a free visit to the Custom House, circa 1827, to explore Monterey’s dramatic Spanish, Mexican and Indigenous past, or you can simply wander the shady recreational trail that skirts Monterey Bay to spot sea lions being cute and fat.
Evening
While Carmel and Monterey may not have a bumping nightlife, what they do have are some great places to eat. Stokes Adobe in Monterey is a beloved (possibly haunted!) neighborhood restaurant housed in a circa-1833 home that serves a seasonal bistro menu. Only the ghosts will know for sure if you ate a whole bowl of crispy fingerlings with brown butter, chives and a lemon truffle crema all by myself, and they’re not talking.
A favorite spots is newly Michelin-starred Chez Noir in Carmel, which has been open for less than two years and feels like it would be more at home in Paris than this casual coastal town. Owned by husband-and-wife team Jonny and Monique Black, chef Jonny has a glittering résumé that includes stints at NOMA in Denmark and triple Michelin-starred Quince in San Francisco. The seafood-centric menu is obsessively focused on locally sourced seasonal ingredients, so that abalone skewer is straight out of Monterey Bay and you better believe your chilled oyster is topped with Big Sur rhubarb.
Chez Noir’s terroir-driven menu is inspired by French and Spanish cuisines.
If you need a nightcap, head to Pearl Hour in Monterey for live music and cocktails, or, if you’re in a beer-y state of mind, choose selections from popular breweries like Other Brother Beer Co and Alvarado Street Brewery — just don’t miss the sunset.
You may well decide to stay the night, in which case Villa Mara Carmel, tucked into a residential neighborhood above the bluffs of Carmel Beach, is just the spot.
Located at the foot of Ocean Avenue, Carmel Beach is known for prime surfing and dramatic sunsets.
The 16-room boutique hotel is a serene, adults-only abode swathed in soothing wood and oversized windows. It’s pointedly unpretentious, despite the luxury price point. You may have never padded downstairs in your socks to get your morning coffee at a hotel before, but here, that’s just what you do.
Stay the Night – Villa Mara Carmel
Villa Mara Carmel, where hotel guests gather round the fireplace to chitchat during golden hour, makes you feel as though you’re weekending at your bohemian aunt’s beach house.
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