Santa Barbara · Things to do

A working Franciscan mission on 15 acres at 2201 Laguna Street, above the town. Self-guided tours Monday to Saturday 09:30 to 16:00 and Sunday 12:30 to 16:00, $17 adults, $15 seniors, $12 for ages 5 to 17, covering the church, museum, gardens and cemetery.

A working courthouse from 1929 and a National Historic Landmark, with Spanish Colonial Revival murals, tiled rooms and a tower looking out over the red roofs to the sea. The Courthouse Docent Council runs guided tours and keeps current visiting hours on its site.

1130 State Street, open Tuesday to Sunday 11:00 to 17:00 and until 20:00 on the first Thursday of the month, closed Mondays and holidays. Free on the second Sunday of each month for residents of Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties.

78 acres of California native plants in Mission Canyon at 1212 Mission Canyon Road, open daily 10:00 to 17:00 with reservations required. It is a short drive above the mission, and there are free community days in October.

Wooden pier at the foot of State Street, run by its merchants' association, with seafood restaurants, shops, a bait and tackle shop and the Sea Center aquarium partway along. You can drive onto it, but walking down State Street from downtown is the better approach.