Yountville, CA

Yountville is one of the smallest towns in the valley and carries the reputation of a much bigger place. It lies along Highway 29 north of Napa, with Washington Street as its spine, and it takes its name from George Yount, the pioneer who received the first Mexican land grant in this part of the valley and settled it. The Veterans Home of California, established in 1884, is the town's best-known institution, and a good share of residents live there. The rest is a mix of resorts, tasting rooms and quiet residential blocks. Dining is what people come for from across the country. The French Laundry, now run by Thomas Keller, is the most famous, Bouchon Bistro is its casual sibling, and the clustering of Michelin-starred kitchens along a few blocks is unusual anywhere. Ciccio, inside a hundred-year-old Italian grocery building at 6770 Washington, serves wood-fired pizzas and fresh pastas for those who want something looser. The French Laundry Culinary Garden is free to wander, and the Art Walk strings 29 sculptures through the blocks nearby. Culture fits in around the edges. The Napa Valley Museum Yountville hosts exhibitions, and the Lincoln Theater is the town's venue for live performance. The Napa Valley Vine Trail passes through on a paved path that gives bikers an easy route through town and out toward the next vineyards. Homes are a blend of vintage houses and condominiums. Day to day, people walk or bike for coffee and errands, and drive for anything large. The honest limit is size. With so few blocks, a town this small leans on visitors to keep its restaurants going, and a quiet Tuesday can look very different from a Saturday in harvest season. Yountville shows that a main street can feel finished, with nothing left to add and nothing in a hurry.