About Sacramento

A generation or two ago, Sacramento was a pretty quiet place, known mainly as the state capitol and the place where you stopped for lunch on the way from the Bay Area to Lake Tahoe. But this city has grown up--and out. One of America's fastest-growing metro areas for many years, it's now pushing two million residents, with nearly a half-million inside Sacramento city limits. It sprawls in every direction now, but the city center has also grown up, with new hotels and office buildings now towering over the once-dominant Capitol Building dome. Most of the best sights worth visiting in Sacramento are still found within walking distance of the Capitol Building. The Old West restaurants and bars of Old Sacramento still get rowdy on Saturday nights. Crocker Art Museum (which is expanding in fall 2010) and Sutter's Fort (HQs of the 49ers who discovered gold) are still must-see sights near the Capitol for culture vultures and history buffs. And newer attractions are also drawing crowds, like the California Museum, two blocks from the Capitol. Downtown also draws crowds every weekend for its increasingly sophisticated mix of ethnic restaurants, and it's especially packed for big events like the Jazz Festival on Memorial Day weekend and Gold Rush Days on Labor Day weekend. Meanwhile, out along the American and Sacramento Rivers that meander into the suburbs, thousands of locals can be seen cycling, running, walking and rafting--especially in the Dog Days of summer, when every Sacramentan knows it's a few degrees cooler on the rivers. All in all, Sacramento has drifted a long way from its sleepy past.