Laguna Beach, CA

A century-old Craftsman bungalow on Coast Highway that's been the town's breakfast institution for decades, doing big traditional morning plates on a sunny porch. The classic Laguna start to the day.

A clifftop Mexican-seafood restaurant perched above Heisler Park with one of the best ocean-view patios on the coast. The food is solid; the sunset margarita on that terrace is the reason to come.

A beachfront restaurant right over the sand at the downtown beach, doing California coastal seafood with floor-to-ceiling ocean views. A polished spot for a sunset dinner with your feet near the water.

A restored 1940s cottage right on the sand at Crystal Cove, serving seafood and tropical drinks with the waves a few feet away. As beachfront as dining gets in Southern California.

A tiny downtown spot from a female sushi chef doing creative fusion rolls and Japanese-Californian plates in an intimate room. A cult local favorite for inventive sushi.

A multi-level restaurant doing South African-Portuguese cooking — peri-peri prawns, flame-grilled meats — with a rooftop bar and frequent live music. A lively, festive night out.

A globe-trotting gastropub and pantry in the historic Old Pottery Place, doing eclectic, well-traveled plates and a strong wine selection. The town's most ambitious, wide-ranging kitchen.

A North Laguna institution with a leafy patio doing vegetarian café fare — quiches, salads, bowls — and good coffee, plus a gourmet market next door. The go-to for a light, healthy meal.

A scruffy, beloved surf-taco shack on Coast Highway doing fish, blackened-tofu and mushroom tacos to a sidewalk crowd late into the night. Cheap, eclectic and pure Laguna.

The oceanfront restaurant at the Surf & Sand resort, doing Mediterranean-Californian plates with waves breaking right below the windows. One of the most dramatic dining views in town.

A downtown gelateria churning authentic Italian gelato and sorbet in rotating flavors, a perfect after-dinner village stroll stop. Small-batch and genuinely good.

A charming French café and bistro on Coast Highway doing croissants, croque-monsieurs and proper espresso with a Parisian-corner feel. A lovely spot for breakfast or a light lunch.

A polished, perennially busy American restaurant and bar in the heart of the village, doing dependable steaks, salads and cocktails. The reliable go-to for a solid dinner downtown.

A swath of coastal canyon and ridge wilderness just inland, with trails through sage scrub, oak woodland and seasonal creeks. The wild backcountry that hems the town against the sea.

A large wilderness park behind South Laguna with canyon-bottom and ridge trails, oak groves and the quirky 'Top of the World' connector. A bigger, longer-day hiking option with real elevation.

A ridgetop park reached by trail or a steep neighborhood road, with a 360-degree panorama over the town, ocean and canyons. The best big view in Laguna for the effort.

The inland 'El Moro' canyons of Crystal Cove State Park, with a network of ridge and canyon trails through coastal hills above the sea. Quieter and wilder than the beach side of the park.

An easy, paved bluff-top walk along Heisler Park connecting downtown's beaches, with overlooks, tide pools and benches the whole way. The gentlest, most scenic stroll in town.

A clifftop museum devoted to California art, from early plein-air Laguna painters to contemporary work, with ocean views from its perch above Main Beach. The cultural anchor of the artists' colony.

The town's summer-long fine-art festival, capped by the Pageant of the Masters — a famous show where actors recreate classic paintings as living tableaux on stage. A genuinely unique Laguna spectacle.

A summer artists' colony on a wooded canyon lot where local makers sell work amid sawdust paths, demos and live music. A hands-on, festive counterpart to the formal museum.

A sea-lion and seal rescue and rehabilitation center open for visits, where you can see recovering animals and learn about marine rescue. A small, heartfelt, family-friendly stop.

One of the oldest continuously operating theaters on the West Coast, staging plays, comedy and music in a cozy downtown house. The town's reliable evening of live performance.

A monthly evening art walk when downtown and North Laguna galleries open late with receptions, music and a free shuttle between them. The best way to experience the town's gallery scene.

A sheltered cove within the town's marine-protected area, one of the best easy snorkel and shore-dive spots on the coast, with reefs and kelp just offshore. Clear, calm and close to downtown.

A clifftop park strung along the bluffs above downtown with sculpted paths, picnic lawns, tide pools below and grandstand sunset views. The scenic heart of Laguna and its best free attraction.

The downtown beach where the village meets the sand, with a classic boardwalk, volleyball and basketball courts and people-watching that defines the town's laid-back-arty vibe. The social center of Laguna.

A preserved colony of 1930s-40s beach cottages tucked below the bluffs in Crystal Cove State Park, some restored as rentals and a café. A nostalgic, car-free pocket of old California coast.

A tucked-away cove reached by a steep staircase, famous for the storybook 'Pirate Tower' rising from the sand and a tide-pool sea wall. A hidden-gem beach most visitors never find.

A wide, dramatic South Laguna beach reached by a long, lung-busting staircase (not actually a thousand, but it feels like it), with caves, tide pools and bodysurfing. The reward justifies the climb back up.

The walkable core of Laguna along Forest and Ocean avenues — a dense cluster of art galleries, boutiques and cafes that earned the town its artists'-colony reputation. The browsing heart of the village.

A pretty cove and bluff park below the Montage resort, with manicured clifftop paths, gentle tide pools and a protected marine area. An easy, scenic stop with grassy lawns above the sand.