Pacific Coast Highway LA to SF · 5 Days

There is a story in this road’s long contest with wildfire and landslide — every few years a section is washed out or burned and rebuilt. Driving a road that could vanish at any time is a fitting image of California’s relationship with nature.

Photo spot: El Matador’s sea stacks and surf (backlit at sunset); the highway curves from above; Malibu Pier.

The city’s uniform look was not an accident: after a 1925 earthquake destroyed the centre, the town chose to rebuild entirely in Spanish style and passed laws to enforce it — a disaster turned into the chance to redesign a whole city, and a classic case in the history of urban planning.

Photo spot: From the courthouse bell tower over red-tile roofs and the Pacific; State Street’s arcades; the mission’s twin towers.

Two threads make this estate memorable: its architect, Julia Morgan, was California’s first licensed woman architect and led this vast project for decades; and Hearst himself was the model for the lead character of the film Citizen Kane — a film he tried hard to suppress. Fact and fiction knot together on this hilltop.

Photo spot: The outdoor Neptune Pool (the classic shot); the Roman indoor pool’s gold mosaic; the Pacific from the hilltop.

Geology and engineering meet here: this coast was lifted by the San Andreas fault system, and the highway itself was built during the Depression by convict labour and relief crews, only to be cut again and again by landslides. The most beautiful road is also the most fragile.

Photo spot: The viewpoint north of Bixby Bridge; McWay Falls from above; the cliffside highway curves.

One note to remember: the Lone Cypress is a trademarked image — you’re welcome to photograph it as a keepsake, but commercial use is restricted. Monterey was once the centre of the sardine-canning industry; after that industry collapsed it reinvented itself around tourism and ocean conservation — a former industrial district turned into a hub of marine education.

Photo spot: The Lone Cypress (personal keepsakes only); the coastal rocks and surf; the aquarium’s kelp-forest tank.

The colour is the best conversation piece: the Navy wanted black-and-yellow stripes for visibility, but the architect insisted on the rust-preventing orange-red, arguing it sat best against the headlands and the fog — a rare win for aesthetics over pure functionalism. Painting the bridge is a job that never ends.

Photo spot: Battery Spencer overlook (the classic shot); Fort Point looking up from beneath the bridge; the Crissy Field lawn in the distance.

Lombard Street’s curves aren’t for looks: the slope was too steep for vehicles, so the switchbacks were added to ease the grade. The cable cars, likewise, were invented in the 19th century to spare horses the deadly climb — two inventions forced out of the terrain, and together they capture the city’s character.

Photo spot: Lombard Street’s full curve from the base; the cable car with the streetscape; the sea lions at Pier 39.