Downtown, Pacific Grove, CA

Downtown is built around Lighthouse Avenue, the commercial spine of Pacific Grove, a town that began in 1875 as a Methodist seaside resort. The shops, galleries and cafes along it run for several walkable blocks. The houses behind the avenue are some of the oldest in town. The original lots measured 30 by 60 feet, and the narrow frontages still show in how the houses sit close to the sidewalk. Board-and-batten cottages, some of them built over old tent platforms, sit next to larger Victorians, and the chamber of commerce lists a self-guided walking tour through them. A few newer condos fill gaps between the older houses. Downtown food starts with Hops and Fog Brewing at 511 Lighthouse Avenue makes its own beer and serves pizza. Rudolfo's builds an Italian-ish menu around sourdough, and Passionfish is the sustainable seafood room. Mornings start with coffee at Captain + Stoker, The PG Meetinghouse at 599 Lighthouse, or Red House Cafe at 662 Lighthouse, and The Bookworks sells books and coffee under one roof. Sugar Farms Marketplace and Coffee House sits next door to the Meetinghouse at 601 Lighthouse. Culture is close by. The Pacific Grove Art Center and the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History are both downtown, Lighthouse Cinema screens films on the avenue, and the Lovers Point waterfront is a few minutes' stroll toward the bay. Grove Market handles milk and dinner ingredients without a car. The big supermarket trips go to Forest Avenue, where Safeway and Trader Joe's draw most of the traffic. Most errands here are done on foot, and the library and Art Center sit within the same few blocks. Weekend visitors fill the sidewalks and the parking, and the old houses sit close together with little yard, so living downtown means sharing the streets with tourists. Hops and Fog keeps late afternoon to evening hours, and the avenue settles down soon after.