San Luis Obispo, CA

A buzzing, casual grill near downtown famous for its Santa Maria-style tri-tip sandwich on a soft roll — a Central Coast rite of passage. Always packed with students and locals.

A bright downtown café doing farm-to-table breakfasts and globally-roaming comfort food from local produce, a SLO institution for decades. The go-to for a satisfying, all-day morning meal.

A globally-inflected restaurant with a coveted creekside deck downtown, doing Mediterranean- and Asian-touched plates and a deep wine list over the water. The prettiest dinner setting in town.

A tapas-and-small-plates restaurant beside Mission Plaza with a leafy patio, doing Mediterranean and Californian shared dishes and cocktails. A lively, social dinner by the creek.

A warm Northern-Italian restaurant downtown doing house-made pastas and a serious wine list in an intimate room with a back garden. The town's go-to for a proper Italian dinner.

A downtown gastropub with craft cocktails and elevated comfort food, from burgers to seasonal plates, in a convivial brick room. A reliable, fun spot for dinner and drinks.

A long-running downtown sushi spot with a loyal local following for fresh fish and classic rolls in an unpretentious room. The town's reliable Japanese standby.

A no-frills downtown taqueria turning out cheap, generous tacos, burritos and a salsa bar to a steady student-and-local crowd. The honest Mexican fix in town.

A waterfront seafood restaurant on the Avila Beach promenade with cove views, doing fresh local fish, oysters and chowder. The seaside special-occasion meal a few miles from downtown.

A beloved local coffee roaster with a beautiful tiled downtown café, doing carefully pulled espresso, house pastries and famous old-fashioned doughnuts. The town's third-wave caffeine anchor.

A downtown ice cream shop building made-to-order ice cream sandwiches from house cookies and small-batch scoops. A perfect post-dinner stroll stop.

A restaurant, wine shop and bar in a cavernous downtown space, doing seasonal Californian plates alongside an extensive Central Coast wine selection. The spot to drink local with a proper meal.

The tallest and most iconic of the SLO 'morros' — ancient volcanic plugs — with a steady climb through oak woodland to a boulder-strewn summit and panoramic valley views. The town's signature hike.

The morro overlooking downtown, marked by the white 'M,' with a switchbacking trail to a summit view over the city and surrounding peaks. A close-to-town climb with a big payoff.

A flat, paved creekside path running from near Avila Beach down to the sea, shaded by sycamores and passing wineries and a farm. The area's easiest, most family-friendly walk or ride.

A trail starting at a small seasonal waterfall just east of town, climbing through oak canyon and open grassland to a ridge with sweeping views. A varied, moderate hike close to downtown.

A wild stretch of coast west of town with bluff-top trails over tide pools and crashing surf, plus a peak climb for those wanting more. The Central Coast at its most rugged and uncrowded.

A ridge-and-canyon open space above Pismo Beach with broad trails and sweeping ocean-and-dune views, opened to the public in recent years. A scenic, moderate hike overlooking the coast.

An easygoing afternoon of tasting cool-climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir at the oak-dotted wineries minutes south of downtown, many with valley-view patios. The region's signature experience.

The Thursday-evening market that closes Higuera Street for blocks of produce, street food, live music and sizzling Santa Maria barbecue. One of California's best farmers markets and the town's weekly party.

A small, free museum on Mission Plaza showing contemporary California and regional art across rotating exhibitions. A quiet, central cultural stop.

A beloved downtown art-house cinema — the first solar-powered movie theater in the US — showing independent and foreign films in an intimate setting. A charming alternative to the multiplex.

A rustic farm stand and family attraction near Avila with farm animals to feed, u-pick fruit in season, and famous pies and olallieberry shakes. A wholesome, only-on-the-Central-Coast outing.

A modern concert hall on the Cal Poly campus hosting symphony, touring music, dance and theater with strong acoustics. The area's main stage for a cultural evening.

A classic retro drive-in cinema on the edge of town showing double features from your car, a nostalgic throwback that's increasingly rare. A fun, only-in-a-place-like-this evening.

A small, hands-on aquarium on the Avila Beach waterfront with touch tanks and local marine life, focused on Central Coast species. A gentle, kid-friendly stop by the sea.

The 1772 Spanish mission that gave the town its name, fronting a creekside plaza that's the heart of downtown. The historic and social anchor of the city.

A downtown alley whose brick walls are coated, end to end, in decades of chewed gum left by passersby — equal parts gross-out and folk-art landmark. A quintessentially weird small-town attraction.

A walkable, leafy downtown along Higuera Street and the restored creek, full of independent shops, cafes and restaurants with a relaxed college-town buzz. The compact heart of the Central Coast.

A gloriously over-the-top pink roadside hotel from 1958, with 110 wildly themed rooms, a rock waterfall, a famous Gold-Rush steakhouse and a pink-frosted cake everyone orders. Kitsch elevated to an art form.

A small, sunny beach town on a south-facing cove a few miles from the city, with a walkable promenade, hot springs nearby and calmer water than the open coast. The city's go-to seaside escape.

A small, scenic wine valley just south of town, its oak-dotted vineyards known for cool-climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir along a relaxed tasting trail. The city's wine country, minutes from downtown.

The hands-on polytechnic university whose 'learn by doing' campus spreads across the hills north of downtown, with an architecture 'graveyard' of student-built structures and the white 'P' on the hill. The town's youthful engine.