Monterey County

California
Carmel which includes street scenes, nightlife and signage
Monterey featuring general coastal views, landscape views and rocky coastline
Carmel showing a sunset, a house and autumn colours
Monterey Bay Aquarium showing interior views and marine life
Asilomar State Beach which includes hiking or walking, tropical scenes and signage

Popular cities in Monterey County

Monterey
Monterey
Known for Beaches, Sea and Aquariums
Discover one of California’s most beautiful coastal cities, known for its fabulous aquarium and for being the setting for a famous John Steinbeck novel.

Reasons to visit

  • Monterey Bay Aquarium
  • Cannery Row
  • 17-Mile Drive
Carmel showing autumn leaves and a house
Carmel
Known for Beaches, Sea and Scenery
This charming oceanfront town is a perfect day-trip for art, food and relaxation.

Reasons to visit

  • Carmel Beach
  • Carmel Mission Basilica
  • Bixby Bridge
McWay Falls featuring a bay or harbour, a sandy beach and rocky coastline
Big Sur
Known for Sea, Hiking and Nature
If a place has one of the “best drives on earth”, you’d be mad not to check it out.

Reasons to visit

  • Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park
  • Pfeiffer Beach
  • McWay Falls
National Steinbeck Center which includes interior views
Salinas
Known for Dining, Family-friendly and Business
Discover the rich literary heritage of this agricultural city, the birthplace of Nobel Prize-winning author of The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck.

Reasons to visit

  • National Steinbeck Center
  • Toro County Park
  • Toro Regional Park
17-Mile Drive
Pebble Beach
Known for Pebble beaches, Beaches and Golf

Reasons to visit

  • Cypress Point Golf Club
  • Spyglass Hill Golf Course
  • Lone Cypress Pine
Pacific Grove
Pacific Grove
Known for Beaches, Sea and Aquariums
Soak up the old-style charm of this small seaside city, which is famed for the monarch butterflies that stop here on their great migrations.

Reasons to visit

  • Lovers Point
  • Monarch Grove Butterfly Sanctuary
  • Point Pinos Lighthouse