CARMEL, CA

Pebble Beach

Famed as the site of the Pebble Beach Country Club and Resort and Spyglass Hill golf courses, and home to the yearly AT&T Celebrity Golf Tournament (where huge crowds await Bill Murray's schtick), Pebble Beach has what may be one of the finest stretches of coast on the Monterey Peninsula. Craggy shorelines, crashing surf and cypress groves mark the spot where Portola landed in 1769 on his first fruitless expedition to find Monterey. Pebble Beach has long been the enclave of the very top tier of country club society.

Carmel

Carmel takes quality-of-life matters very seriously, which is why you will see no neon signs, telephone poles or street numbers on houses, and may be scolded by a perfect stranger if you are seen eating in the street. Affluent Carmel preserves its idyllic gracefulness with a stern propriety one might associate with Martha's Vineyard. Known far and wide for exclusive gift shops, award-winning restaurants and secluded resort hotels, the town has been a popular tourist destination for more than a century. The city fathers remain adamantly... more