The Perfect Weekend Getaway: Carmel by the Sea
Carmel by the Sea, or just simply Carmel, is the “land” Disney could have built for food and wine lovers. Carmel’s compact, one-square-mile downtown area makes it easy to meander and check out all the inspiring galleries and hidden alleyways. Feast on seafood or sample a tasting menu at Michelin restaurants. Sip on local wines at numerous tasting rooms, or take a stroll on one of the most beautiful beaches in the USA.
Am I biased? Not at all! I lived in Florida, which has won numerous “Best Beach” titles over the decades, and I still consider Carmel Beach the best.
Carmel is “Dog Heaven” for the many dog-friendly restaurants, hotels, and beaches that welcome your furbaby to join you around town. So grab your favorite travel buddy and your furbaby and explore all the nooks and crannies of Carmel.
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How to Get to Carmel
Carmel is 20 minutes from Monterey and 22 minutes from the Monterey Regional Airport off Highway 1. If you are driving from San Francisco, it’s less than a 2.5-hour drive.
The best exit that takes you straight into the downtown area and then on to the beach is Ocean Avenue. Once you enter Carmel, the speed limit is reduced, so be aware.
Parking in Carmel
Street parking is available around Carmel. If you get there before 11 am, you shouldn’t have trouble finding a parking spot along the street. Street parking is free for two hours, then you have to move your car. The Sunset Center parking lot is large and is located between 8th and Mission St. We always found parking along the street and then moved our car throughout the day.
Carmel Beach Parking
Parking down by the beach is free all day. It’s a half-mile walk uphill to the downtown area.
What to Do in Carmel
Though Carmel is a compact town, you’ll want to visit for a few days. With the choices of restaurants and wine tasting rooms, it would be hard to pack your day with everything you want to do, eat, and drink. But here are a few highlights of what not to miss while visiting Carmel.
Carmel is a storybook town, and it was built that way on purpose. In the 1920s, architect Hugh Comstock wanted to make Carmel stand out from other towns. His style of architecture is whimsical and makes you feel like you just stepped into the pages of a Brothers Grimm story. These enchanted cottages are scattered around Carmel, so wander up and down the streets and see how many you can find.
Hidden Alleys and Courtyards of Carmel
The hidden alleys in Carmel make you feel like you stumbled onto a delicious secret. Some hide small eateries, while others shelter galleries or historic sites.
Der Ling Lane Passageway
One of the hidden alleys is right off Ocean Avenue between Dolores and Lincoln. It’s a modest walkway where only one person at a time can pass. Once we reached the end, a Thomas Kincade store, Galante Vineyards Tasting Room, and the cutest international chocolate shop, The Xocolatl Garden.
The Doud Arcade
The Doud Arcade is located right off of Ocean Avenue as well. It’s flanked on either side by A.W. Shucks Oyster Bar (highly recommend) and the Kris Kringle Shop for Christmas year-round. Inside this bazaar, you’ll find quirky shops like the Sock Shop and the Carmel Hat Company.
Court of the Golden Bough
Follow the cobblestones behind the Cottage of Sweets to the Golden Bough Theatre and an Italian restaurant, Il Tegamino. Another hidden alley took me behind a candy store to a plaque that said this was the site of the old theater.
Other Courtyards and Passageways
Paseo San Carlos has a few galleries, Basil Restaurant, and the Shale Canyon Wine Tasting Room. The restaurant Anton and Michelle is hidden in the back of the Court of Fountains. Check out the full list of courtyards and passageways on the Visit Carmel website.
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Wine Tasting Rooms
The best reason to come to Carmel (in our opinion) is to taste wine at 9 wine tasting rooms! Where else in the world (besides Haro) can you walk to so many tasting rooms and sample local wine? A word of warning, some of the pours are very generous, like Taste Morgan Winery, so it may be impossible to hit them all in one day.
We stopped into Talbott Vineyards Tasting Room and tried two chardonnays and two Pinot Noirs. The staff was very friendly and informative, and even gave us a sampling of their sparkling.
At Taste Morgan- Morgan winery tasting room, we got to choose four wines from their list. Besides Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, they also make Albarino, Syrah, and Tempranillo. Their Pinot Noir is amazing!
Where are the Wine Tasting Rooms Located in Carmel?
Chalone Vineyards, Blair Estate, and Wrath Wines are located in the secluded two-story Carmel Plaza. Sheid Wines, Dawn’s Dream, and Cypress Grove Wines are located at the intersection of 7th Avenue and San Carlos Street.
Silvestri Tasting Room is on 7th Avenue next to Dawn’s Dream. Albatross Ridge, Caraccioli Cellars, Galante Vineyards, and Lepe Cellars are on Dolores Street. Windy Oaks and Talbot Vineyards are on Lincoln Street. Morgan Tasting Room is outside Carmel in another shopping center, a mile from Carmel.
Travel Tip:
Carmel houses and businesses do not have street numbers. Locations are described by street names, intersections, and distinct landmarks. Have a map handy!
Carmel Plaza
I already mentioned the Carmel Plaza for the wine tasting rooms, but there is so much more to explore in this shopping plaza. Our #1 reason for visiting Carmel was because of the Cheese Shop. It’s packed with cheese from all over the world, but not stinky like European cheese shops.
Tom was over the moon choosing cheese from England, France, Italy, Ireland, and a few local cheeses for us to nosh on for the week. I picked out a few spreads to add to our stash.
There is also a Donut Shop, galleries, and some unique shops to look around in. Seating areas with big, plush cushions and café tables are scattered in the middle of the plaza.
Michelin Restaurants in Carmel
Seafood reigns supreme in this little corner of California, and you have several choices of where to eat. But did you know that Carmel also has Michelin-starred restaurants?
Dine at Michelin 1-star restaurants, Aubergine for its farm-to-table menu, or Chez Noir for its Mediterranean cuisine. Other restaurants recommended by the Michelin guide are European-style La Bicyclette and Casanova, Japanese Akaoni, Mexican Cultura, Mediterranean-style Yafa, and American Stationaery.
Where We Ate in Carmel
We were set on seafood, so we ate at A.W. Shucks Oyster Grille. I had the sand dabs (this is a bottom-dwelling fish similar to flounder), and Tom had the jumbo lump crab. The place was packed from the time it opened, and the food was outstanding.
La Bicyclette, one of the restaurants recommended by the Michelin Guide. We had the Mezzo Guscio Nero, a squid-ink shell pasta with pesto, scallops, shrimp, and salmon roe, which was outstanding. We also had the Basque pizza with sausage, but it was a bit too oily. Even better, the wine list had one of our favorite Italian white wines, Vietti Areis. If you visit Carmel, we highly recommend this place.
We also ate at Pangea. It’s a beautiful restaurant, and our tuna poke was very flavorful.
We didn’t get a chance to try Bar Napoli, but the menu and wine list look phenomenal.
Carmel Beach
Even if you are not a beach person, you need to see Carmel Beach. It is massive. We were there on a weekday during the summer, and it wasn’t crowded (of course, it was in the 60s). We watched a dog barking at its owners, telling them to “hurry up!”, so it could play frisbee on the beach.
To the right, I could see the golf courses at Pebble Beach. And way to my left, the Clinton Walker House, also known as the “Cabin on the Rocks”, was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Carmel is “Dog Heaven.”
Carmel is also known as “Dog Heaven,” and it’s easy to see why. Dogs are welcome just about everywhere in Carmel. Any restaurant with outdoor seating welcomes dogs and will bring a water bowl for them. We even saw dogs in the wine tasting rooms. And as I mentioned before, Carmel Beach is also dog-friendly.
The most dog-friendly place to stay with your furbaby in Carmel is the Cypress Inn. Dogs are allowed in the hotel rooms and on the outdoor patio of Terry’s Lounge. The Cypress Inn was once owned by Doris Day, and she advocated for places to be dog-friendly. Inside the lobby and bar area, several of her movie posters and other movie memorabilia can be seen.
Where to Stay in Carmel
On this trip, we were petsitting through TrustedHouseSitters.com, which is a great way to “live locally” and cut some of the trip expenses. Next time we will stay in Carmel for a long weekend so we can walk everywhere and have more time to dine in the evenings.
Here are some of our top choices:
L’Auberge Carmel, Relais & Chateaux– For the ultimate in luxury and fine dining.
Horizon Inn & Ocean View Lodge– large rooms, fireplaces, and outdoor firepits make this a perfect location for those cool nights.
Pine Inn – Carmel– historic hotel with large rooms and its own hidden alley on Ocean Avenue.
Book your visit to Carmel with either Booking.com or Expedia.com.
Carmel is one of those places that reminds you to slow down and take in every detail. It’s easy to visit on a day trip if you are staying in Monterey or Pacific Grove, but there’s something magical about being there all day, watching the light play on the cottages and seeing a spectacular sunset at Carmel Beach. Not to mention, your pampered pooch is welcome all over town. We know we will be back. Will you?
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