The Pacific Coast Highway has a way of ending in places that look like film sets, and Santa Barbara is the best of them. The city sits on a narrow shelf of land between the Santa Ynez Mountains and the ocean, facing south, which is unusual on the Californian coast, so the sun seems to hang over the water in the afternoon. The red tile roofs, white stucco walls and arched arcades are not an accident. After an earthquake in 1925 destroyed much of downtown, the city rebuilt in a unified Spanish Colonial Revival style, and the result is a place that feels more like Andalusia than Los Angeles.
The history runs deeper than the architecture. The Chumash people lived on this coast for thousands of years, and in 1786 the Spanish founded Mission Santa Barbara, which they called the Queen of the Missions, on a hill above the town. Its twin bell towers and rose-pink facade are among the most photographed sights in California, and the mission is still an active church. In the town centre stands the county courthouse, built in 1929 with a clock tower you can climb for a free view over the roofs and the harbour, and nearby Stearns Wharf, which dates from the 1870s, reaches out into the bay.
For riders, the approach on Highway 101 along the coast from the south is mostly a fast, straightforward road, with the ocean on one side and the mountains on the other, and the section north of Ventura is among the prettiest. The real riding begins when you leave the coast. San Marcos Pass, on Highway 154, climbs into the mountains behind the city with sweeping bends, and it leads to the Santa Ynez Valley, where vineyards and small towns made the film Sideways famous. Morning fog, known as the marine layer, can linger until midday in late spring and early summer, so the best weather is often in the afternoon or in autumn.
There is no shortage of fuel, food or hotels in a city of some ninety thousand people, though prices are high, and parking along State Street is easy to find in garages. Try fish tacos at a harbourside stand, or a glass of local pinot noir. Watch for cyclists, who are everywhere, and for the speed limits, which are strictly enforced.