Santa Barbara · Nightlife

Outdoor amphitheatre in the hills above downtown running a concert season through the warmer months, with national touring acts; recent bills have included Santana and Earth, Wind & Fire. Tickets are sold through AXS, and most people take a shuttle or rideshare rather than trying to park uphill.

Music club and restaurant in the downtown State Street blocks, with a booked live calendar and ticketing on its own site. It is a small upstairs room, so eat there if you want a table rather than standing at the back.

More than twenty tasting rooms for Santa Barbara County wineries, walkable from downtown and the beach and concentrated in the Funk Zone, with others in the Presidio neighbourhood, downtown, Midtown and Goleta. Most pour from the afternoon into the early evening, which is what a night out here usually means.

Theatre at 1214 State Street and the main stage for the Santa Barbara Symphony, Opera Santa Barbara, State Street Ballet and UCSB Arts & Lectures, plus touring Broadway, comedy and film. Box office on 805.899.2222.

Spanish-courtyard cinema and concert hall on State Street, mixing film showtimes with concerts, comedy and lecture nights, and serving as the main house of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival each winter.