Location: Santa Cruz
Top Things to do in Santa Cruz
Top 10 Shopping in Santa Cruz, California (CA)
The quintessential California beach town of Santa Cruz! It was here that surfing was first brought to the mainland by Hawaiian royalty. Home to the legendary Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, a pedestrian-friendly, tree-lined downtown area, and the historic Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf, which stretches out a half-mile into the waters of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Other highlights include UC Santa Cruz, the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum, and nearby redwood forests.
Restaurants in Santa Cruz
1. Richard Donnelly's Chocolate
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 14 reviews
Reviewed By mini - Fremont, United States
We made a stop at Richard Donnelly's chocolate shop. They make very good chocolates. With Valentine's Day coming up, we purchased four types. One with apricots, one with nuts, one with cayenne, and another. Service is good. The nice staff also gave us a complementary sample. They also sell ice cream bars.
2. Bookshop Santa Cruz
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 24 reviews
Bookshop Santa Cruz is a large, general independent bookstore located in the heart of downtown Santa Cruz, California since 1966. Owned by the Coonerty family since 1973, Bookshop Santa Cruz is a multi-generational family business currently under the care of Casey Coonerty Protti who grew up in her parent's business. Bookshop Santa Cruz fills over 20,000 square feet with a wide selection of new, used and sale books along with extensive magazine, card and gift sections. Bookshop is known for its comprehensive children's and new release sections as well as strong sections in travel, politics, cooking, science and fiction.
Reviewed By 509macd - Auburn, United States
When you are in Santa Cruz, you have to stop bye Bookshop Santa Cruz. This independent book store is a much loved icon in that town and has been around for over 50 years surviving recessions, earthquakes and fires. The staff is great and will help you find anything you're looking for from best sellers, to local books, to quirky gifts. Check out their UC Santa Cruz Banana Slug section. We tried their brand new concierge service, and it is a great addition to what hey offer. For $40, you get a private to the book shop after hours with your personal concierge. They will help you find great books for people on your gift list (or just for you). Give them a list of interests for each person, and when you arrive for your private hour, they will have a selection or recommendations already laid out for you. You'll also have time to browse the store to discover new treasures. This is well worth the $40, but to make it even better, you get a $40 gift card (which we had no trouble spending.) We were able to do almost all our Christmas shopping with the help of Melinda, who did a wonderful job helping us find unique gifts. On top of that, we had a great evening. To sign up for the service, go to bookshopsantacruz.com and make your reservation. I highly recommend it.
3. Om Gallery
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 3 reviews
Reviewed By mini - Fremont, United States
We went to Ohm Gallery, which is in downtown Santa Cruz. It is an eclectic store with many hand made items I especially liked the light features. There is a lot to see and enjoy and if fall in love with a piece purchase. Staff is nice.
4. Salazar Glass Studio
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1 reviews
5. Patagonia Outlet Store
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2 reviews
6. Tannery Arts Center
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 5 reviews
Reviewed By mini - Fremont, United States
We went to Tannery Art Center. This is also an area where people live. There is a cafe called Bistro One Twelve. There were a variety of studios - most were open when we were there. We enjoyed seeing the art. There are interesting large art work outside such as Spirit Nest - artist Jayson Fann. Its interesting to watch the artists at work. There is a performance hall which has shows. its a pleasant place to go if one enjoys the arts. The name Tannery is as it used to be a leather making facility. There are some historic pieces to see on site such as the dry mill. We also watched people enjoying the exercise facility on site. They offer a variety of exercise and dance classes.
7. Marini’s Candies Downtown
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 6 reviews
8. Santa Cruz Downtown
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 48 reviews
Reviewed By mini - Fremont, United States
We went to downtown Santa Cruz. We went to the Art and History Museum, which is a three story facility and intereting. There is a sculpture garden there. We also explored the various stores in downtown Santa Cruz. There is also movie theaters. In addition, there are many restaurants, cafes, cookie shops (yum), and coffee/tea shops.
9. DIG gardens
10. PF Atelier
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 1 reviews
We host temporary shows by Californian artists with paintings, mixed media, textile art, ceramics, sculptures, and selected collections of one of a kind studio jewelry.
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