Visiting the City of Sonoma

By Paul Franson

If you're heading for Napa Valley from San Francisco, you pass only a few miles away from the town of Sonoma, and if you're heading toward most of Sonoma County's wine country, you zip up highway 101, which lies a mountain range away from the delightful town.

In other words, you won't just stumble in. You have to visit Sonoma on purpose and it would be a big shame not to make the small effort.

The small city of Sonoma is one of California's most delightful. Arrayed around a historic plaza, it couldn't be better designed for visitors. Stroll around Sonoma Plaza and you'll find history, nature, fine food and shopping, entertainment, classy lodging – and lots of wine. And perhaps most of all, you'll find many other people having a great time – though not too many even during the frequent farmers' markets, festivals and fairs held in the Plaza.

The usual approach to Sonoma is by highway 121 from San Francisco's Golden Gate. There are treasures aplenty even before you turn off for the town. Passing through southern Sonoma's Carneros Region, you pass Infineon Raceway at Black Point – admittedly an obstacle when races are being run -- then numerous wineries including Roche, Viansa (with its Italian-style deli and shop), Cline Cellars and its sister Jacuzzi Winery rising across the road, Gloria Ferrer, one of America's best producers of sparkling wine, and off to the left, Pinot Noir specialist Schug Winery.

Follow highway 12 when it turns left at Larson Family Winery. It becomes Broadway Ave., the grand entrance into Sonoma. The name of the street can be taken literally, as it is a broad way that passes the Lodge at Sonoma, one of the towns' few new hotels, and the large MacArthur B&B complex and restaurants. Soon the old city hall looms in the center of the plaza. It's the largest such plaza in California at 8 acres – 666 feet on a side – and was laid out by General Mariano Vallejo in 1834.

When you get to the plaza, turn right and park as soon as you can – not always an easy task. If necessary, you can drive a block or two off the square and are sure to find a place for you car. Don't park in the spaces reserved in the middle of the street, however. Those are for delivery trucks.

The only way to appreciate the plaza is on foot. The action extends a bit off the main square, particularly on Napa and Spain Streets, but that's easy to accommodate.

The prime attraction – other than the attractive plaza itself – is the group of historic buildings along its northeastern corner. The most interesting is Mission San Francisco Solano, naturally called the Sonoma Mission by locals and visitors alike. The present building is a reconstruction; the original was built in 1823, then abandoned by the Mexican government and fell into disrepair like almost all of the missions in California. It's worth a visit to the mission to appreciate the way of life of the padres and their charges, which the historic exhibits explain.

Across the street is the Sonoma Barracks where the soldiers that were assigned to keep peace lived. Next to it is the remaining servant's wing of La Casa Grande, General Vallejo's first home, and the Toscano Hotel built in the 1850s.

The Swiss Hotel was built in 1850 by General Vallejo's brother, Don Salvadore Vallejo, as his home, and is now a popular restaurant and inn with five rooms.

A prefabricated building, originally built on General Vallejo's property as a warehouse, is now a visitor center and museum for the Sonoma State Historic Park and lies just off the square on West First Street.

You could spend many pleasant hours walking around the plaza, with short detours up the main side streets. You'll pass a surprising diversity of cuisines for a town of less than 10,000 people, including formal and informal restaurants from Mayan to Italian to Thai, Italian-American, Mexican, Nepalese, Irish, French, Portuguese, Swiss-Italian-American, Rhône, New Haven Pizza, a cheese shop and more. There are also delicatessens, coffee shops and even a Basque bakery. It serves sandwiches, too.

The shops and restaurants are in constant flux, but it's easy to find some of interest. Not so easy, however, can be finding a table for lunch or dinner. It's imperative to make reservations for weekend and holiday dinners, though many restaurants save space for walk-in visitors.

The shops are as varied as the eateries, and a number sell cookware that satisfies the wine country's equal interest in food, fashion items and home items, gifts and furniture -- and wine. You'll find plenty of well-stocked wine stores and tasting rooms around the plaza. Some of the tasting rooms are for wineries that are up in the hills or off the beaten track, and though it's fun to visit the wineries, it is convenient to be able to taste many wines in such a small area. You can even taste cheese made at the California Cheese Company on Spain Street (and at the Vella Cheese Company near the plaza).

It's also hard to miss the Sebastiani Theater, a beautifully restored auditorium built for the town by the benevolent family of wine fame. It's used for special showings and live entertainment as well as interesting movies. Other entertainment occurs in various venues around the square, some down narrow alleyways that are well worth exploring.

Of course, if you walk around the plaza, you'll undoubtedly want to explore the park itself. There are always plenty of people enjoying the plaza, often musicians and the raucous ducks and famous chicken that are sometimes exiled for fighting back at the little boys who harass them.

The Sonoma City Hall in the center of the Plaza was made famous by the TV program Falcon Crest , where it was called the Tuscany County Courthouse, and the present-day visitors' center in the old town library is obviously worth a visit.

A number of attractions lie not far off the plaza itself. General Vallejo built his second home four blocks from the plaza in 1851 after he had become an elected state senator. He called it Lachryma Montis —Latin for “mountain tear”—after the Indian name for a spring they called "crying mountain" on the property. The house is a Gothic Revival Victorian building prefabricated in the northeast before being shipped around the Horn.

The historic Sebastiani Winery is nearby and even runs a shuttle for visitors from the plaza. Other nearby wineries worth visiting are Buena Vista, one of the oldest in California, and Bartholomew Park. The Ravenswood Winery is a famous spot for having fun, as is Gundlach-Bundschu on the way to Napa. Nicholson Ranch, in spite of the name, is owned by a Greek-American family. It has a shrine on the property as well as an elaborate cave.

North of Sonoma is the Valley of the Moon where there are many other wineries, both large, well-known companies, as well as boutique providers.

Outside the square, Sonoma is primarily a town of well-kept older single-family homes in quiet neighborhoods. Just north of the square are modern shopping centers and the Sonoma Market, worth a visit for its fantastic produce, wine and other items.

Accommodations in Sonoma range from a few modest motels to luxurious B&Bs. Just north of town in Boyes Hot Springs is the famous Sonoma Mission Inn, which is now part of the Fairmont chain. It's perhaps Sonoma County's most famous and certainly one of its most luxurious properties, though you wouldn't realize it from looking at the slowly gentrifying surroundings.

The Ledson Hotel, which is owned by the eponymous winery, is the queen of the Sonoma Plaza; it also has a restaurant.