| | Overview (Source: Frommers) |
90 miles E of San Francisco; 383 miles N of Los Angeles Sacramento, with a metro-area population of nearly 1.8 million, is one of the state's fastest-growing areas. It's far from being a tourist town, but it does have its share of touristy activities. Visitors and locals alike enjoy a day spent walking through Old Sacramento, floating down the American River, or biking the shady paths along the Sacramento and American rivers. In addition to being the state capital, it's a thriving shipping and processing center for the fruit, vegetables, rice, wheat, and dairy goods produced in the Central Valley. Within the past decade it's also become a receptacle of high-tech spillover from Silicon Valley, and more recently, a suburb for Bay Area workers seeking affordable homes. As such, the quantity and quality of downtown restaurants -- such as the Esquire Grill and The Waterboy -- have greatly improved. Visitors are often surprised and how pretty the River City's downtown area is, with its tree-shaded streets lined with some impressive Victorians and well-crafted bungalows. And at its heart sits the majestic capitol building -- Sacramento's most visible attraction -- situated within a large park replete with flower gardens, memorial statuary, and curious squirrels. Inside the capitol, visitors strain to get a glimpse of California's movie star governor, Arnold "The Governator" Schwarzenegger. Back to Top
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| History (Source: WCities) | Top | In 1808, Spanish explorer Gabriel Moraga found the Maidu Indians living peacefully in the Northern California valley formed by the majestic Sierra Nevada Mountains to the east and the Pacific Coast Mountains to the west. Warm summers, mild winters, a dependable yearly rainy season and water from the confluence of two great rivers resulted in a landscape so verdant and abundant that Gabriel Moraga named the valley after the Holy Sacrament—Sacramento. Word of Moraga's lush western valley spread slowly. By the 1830s and 1840s, only a handful of Anglo-American settlers were living in coexistence with the native Maidu and other Native American tribes. While their numbers were few, these first settlers had learned the secret of the Sacramento Valley: if you plant it, it will grow. Sacramento has continued to flourish since then, both agriculturally and economically. In 1834, Johann Augustus Sutter, a 19-year-old clock merchant’s clerk, sailed from Switzerland, hoping to find success in America. Sutter's dream of founding a great new city for his fellow European immigrants led him to California. He was sent by the Governor of Mexico to California to establish an outpost on any 26-square-mile area he chose. Sutter and his party established Sutter’s Fort on August 12, 1839, near the American and Sacramento Rivers. Sutter then made a decision that would forever change the history of California and the westward expansion of America. Realizing that more large trees would
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| How To Get There (Source: WCities) | Top | Getting There By Air Sacramento International Airport ( +1 916 929 5411/ http://www.sacairports.org/int ) provides daily direct or nonstop service to Northern California destinations and major cities worldwide from the following passenger airlines: Alaska Airlines ( +1 800 426 0333/ http://www.alaskaair.com ) Aloha Airlines ( +1 800 367 5250/ http://www.alohaairlines.com ) American Airlines ( +1 800 433 7300/ http://www.aa.com ) Continental ( +1 800 525 0280/ http://www.continental.com ) Delta ( +1 800 221 1212/ http://www.delta.com ) Frontier ( +1 800 432 1359/ http://www.frontierairlines.com ) Hawaiian Air ( + 1 800 367 5320/ http://www.hawaiianair.com ) Horizon Air ( +1 800 547 9308/ http://www.horizonair.alaskaair.com ) JetBlue ( +1 800 538 2583/ http://www.jetblue.com ) Mexicana ( +1 800 531 7921/ http://www.mexicana.com ) Northwest ( +1 800 225 2525/ http://www.nwa.com ) Southwest ( +1 800 435 9792/ http://www.southwest.com ) United ( +1 800 241 6522/ http://www.ual.com ) US Airways ( +1 800 428 4322/ http://www.usairways.com ) Supershuttle ( +1 800 258 3826/ http://www.supershuttle.com ) is an on-call van service providing transportation to Sacramento and neighboring counties. Pick-up areas are located near the baggage claim in Terminal A and at the center island curb at Terminal B. Yolobus ( +1 530 666 2877/ http://yolobus.com ) provides bus service to and from the airport via Rou
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| What To Do (Source: WCities) | Top | Taking its name literally, the Art Foundry Gallery includes a working bronze foundry, as well as gallery space featuring the artistic works of local artisans. Art A diverse array of museums and galleries in the Old Sacramento, Downtown and Midtown districts feature everything from treasures of the Old Masters to cutting-edge examples of post-modernism. Occupying a Victorian mansion in Downtown, the Crocker Art Museum is the oldest public art museum west of the Mississippi. Several galleries display contemporary art by Californian Wayne Thiebaud alongside works by Pieter Brueghel, Rembrandt and Jacques-Louis David. Dance Sacramento Community Center Theater , at the eastern end of the K Street Mall , highlights traveling Broadway song-and-dance extravaganzas with dozens of high-stepping dancers. The Sacramento Ballet , a few blocks east on K Street, is dedicated to bringing classical and contemporary ballet to the locals. The award-winning California State University, Sacramento Department of Dance hosts diverse, cutting-edge interpretations of contemporary dance works. Film You can always view Hollywood’s latest blockbuster at the huge megaplexes scattered around town. Century has four locations: the Century Downtown Plaza 7 , the Century 16 Laguna megaplex, the Century Stadium 14 on Arden Way and the Century Cinedome 9 off of Interstate 80 at Greenback. The Regal Natomas Marketplace 16 megaplex is huge with 16 screens. Th
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