Carlsbad, California is located about 30 miles from downtown San Diego, and about 100 miles south of Los Angeles.

With terrific weather year-round, fabulous beaches, lots of shopping, award-winning schools, a terrific arts program, a variety of tourist attractions (e.g., Legoland, The Flower Fields), and wonderful golfing opportunities (the Four Seasons Aviara Resort; La Costa Resort and Spa; Rancho Carlsbad; and the newest public course, The Crossings at Carlsbad), Carlsbad has a fine reputation as a place to live and to vacation.

For an overview of Carlsbad with photos and virtual tours, including beaches, restaurants, shopping, and housing, visit the Carlsbad community profile.

Let’s take a tour of Carlsbad Village itself, the downtown area located right along the coast. The majority of the hotels and vacation rentals are in, or very close to, the village, with some properties directly on the beach; many are within walking distance to the ocean and some offer views. The well-known Carlsbad Inn, a Bavarian looking hotel at the edge of town with ocean views from some rooms, is a prime example.

Carlsbad homes in this area, due to proximity to the ocean, are expensive; attached homes within a couple blocks of the beach range from about $500K (for a 1 bedroom) to around $2 million; detached Carlsbad Village homes currently on the market within a few blocks of the ocean range from around $1.1 million to $12.8 million for a fabulous beachfront home.

The downtown area is very walkable, and that’s the best way to experience it. Find a parking spot for a few hours, and you can explore all the shopping that Carlsbad Village offers – second hand clothing shops; antique stores (especially on State Street a couple of blocks north of Carlsbad Village Drive – the Carlsbad Village Are and Antique Mall is particularly well known with over 100 vendors); jewelry; gold; toys (European Toy)furniture and home furnishings; florists; a popular bridal shop; a myriad and eclectic array of clothing stores and boutiques for men, women (e.g., Global Heart) and children; a few art galleries; the Witch Creek Wine Tasting Shop (corner of the Coast Highway, a.k.a. Carlsbad Boulevard, and Carlsbad Village Drive) and The Wine Spot; hair (e.g., Chizel) and nail salons; spas (Skinsational, and Michel Petite Spa)…the list goes on and on.

Don’t miss one of the more famous landmarks, the Alt Karlsbad Hanse Hous, site of the first mineral water spa in the town, a mainstay of Carlsbad since the 1880s. Located on Carlsbad Boulevard just north of Carlsbad Village Drive, Carlsbad was named after the famous Karlsbad Spa in Europe (in the present-day Czech Republic).

The Carlsbad Farmer’s Market is a great place to buy local fruits and vegetables, among many other products and service. The market is held on Wednesdays from 1 – 5 PM on Roosevelt between Grand and Carlsbad Village Drive, and on Saturdays from 1 am until 1 pm.

Got restaurants? You bet. Lots of places to enjoy from very casual to a bit more upscale. Le Passage (their website is under construction) on State Street is a favorite, a charming French bistro with outdoor dining. Fish House Vera Cruz is a popular family style seafood restaurant with a terrific fish market, located on Carlsbad Village Drive 1 block east of the coastal road.

Jay’s Gourmet is another favorite, as is Dini’s by the Sea (with views of the ocean from across the road); Vigilucci’s, at the corner of Tamarack and the coast road, about ½ south of town, also enjoys ocean views. Fidel’s Norte is a Mexican eatery on Carlsbad Boulevard that has been in business for 30 years. There are dozens of places to choose from and to suit most taste buds and budgets.

There are also a number of bars and night spots, which can get rather rowdy on the weekends, especially in the summer months when the crowds are more substantial.

The town also boasts a train station built in the 1880s, now used as a visitor’s center. But there are two train stops on the Coaster in Carlsbad – one at 6511 Avenida Encinitas by Poinsettia south of the Village, the other at 2775 State Street in the Village. While Amtrak passes through, the nearest stops are in Oceanside a few miles to the north or in Solana Beach to the south.

Last, but not least, the Carlsbad beaches are a hit with residents and visitors alike. While the beach runs continuously from one end of Carlsbad to the other, there are specific areas, such as Carlsbad State Beach, Ponto and Tamarack Beach; Frazee Beach is located at the end of CarlsbadVillage Drive in the Village. There is a wonderful cement boardwalk along the beach in town running south from the small parkas you enter the Village, offering terrific views north to Camp Pendleton and south as far as La Jolla.

The beaches and the boardwalk are popular all year, especially for sunset watching, but can get fairly crowded during the summer months. It’s a great area to walk, ride bikes, or simply watch the surfers, pelicans and seagulls and other colorful characters that also enjoy the Southern California lifestyle that Carlsbad is so famous for.