The towns of Napa Valley are as varied as types of grapes grown here. Pack a picnic and take a country drive to see the most special towns of Napa Valley. Each one has its own unique character and culture.

St. Helena
Recognized as the center of the wine growing region of Napa Valley, St. Helena is a quaint town of just 5000 residents, with many buildings built before the turn of the century from native stone. The lighting on Main Street is by antique electrolaires brought from the 1915 Pan-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco. Main Street hosts specialty shops, boutiques, restaurants, florists and other businesses, each adding to the small-town atmosphere of the community. The impressive architecture of the former Christian Brothers stone winery, Greystone, is now the home of the Culinary Institute of America. There, professional chefs continue their studies and prepare meals at the popular gourmet restaurant. Also of interest are the Silverado Museum, with its Robert Louis Stevenson memorabilia, and the Napa Valley Wine Library, housed in the town’s public library.

Calistoga
Located at the northern end of Napa Valley, Calistoga is famous for its hot springs, mineral water and spa mud baths. In the 1860s, millionaire newspaper publisher Sam Brannan of San Francisco realized the relaxing qualities of the area and developed a resort property there. From that time on, tourists have found the mud and steam baths a welcome respite from the pressures of life. Old Faithful Geyser, Robert Louis Stevenson Park, the Petrified Forest, Sam Brannan’s Cottage, Pioneer Cemetery, and the Sharpsteen Museum are all points of interest to be found in Calistoga amid the wineries, shops, restaurants and lodging places.

Napa
With a population of over 63,000, Napa has the largest population of all the towns in the Napa Valley, representing over half of the county’s population. The city of Napa has many restaurants and interesting places to shop for gifts, clothing or antiques. Premium Outlet Stores are located near Highway 29, with designer stores that offer outlet prices for bargain hunters. Every Friday in season, the Farmer’s Market downtown offers fresh farm produce, food and gifts. The famous Napa Valley Wine Train leaves from Napa for the trip up the valley with guests enjoying fine wines and elegant dining as they pass vineyards, wineries and orchards. The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts or Copia is a cultural institution, museum and educational facility dedicated to exploring the distinctively American contribution to the character of wine and food, and its close association with the arts and humanities. It is being built on 12 acres, fronting the banks of the Napa River in the heart of downtown Napa.

Oakville & Rutherford
Located mid-valley, the tiny towns of Oakville and Rutherford are home to some of the area’s most famous wineries and restaurants. The vineyards of the Oakville/Rutherford were some of the first in Napa Valley and their ideal conditions have for decades produced some of the Valley’s greatest wine.

Yountville
In 1831, George Calvert Yount became the first white settler in the Napa Valley. He planted the first vineyard and was also the first United States citizen to receive a Spanish land grant in the Napa Valley in 1836. By 1855, he brought in a surveyor to lay out a city, which he named Sebastopol, in spite of the fact there was already a town over the hill with the same name. Two years after his death in 1867, the town was renamed Yountville in honor of its founder. Immigrant Gottleib Groezinger purchased 20 acres of land from the Yount estate in 1870 and built a winery, barrel room and distillery. The buildings remained a winery until 1955, but for 11 years laid dormant until it was bought and restored to its present state. Today, the three massive stone buildings are known as Vintage 1870, and house a collection of specialty shops and restaurants. Yountville has many fine shops, restaurants, art galleries and wineries.