Page 98 - 2023-2024 Travel Guide to California

and Fashion Island in Newport
Beach, vie with dozens of local shop-
ping districts.
Sports fans cheer the Los Angeles
Angels at the Angel Stadium of
Anaheim and the Anaheim Ducks
hockey team at Honda Center, which
doubles as a big-name concert venue.
Fifty courses and a temperate climate
await golfers, while hotel and day
spas stand ready to soothe aches and
tone muscles.
City & Town
By population, Anaheim is the largest
of Orange County’s 34 cities. None has
a typical downtown, though Hunting-
ton Beach offers a vibrant seaside city
center. History buffs gravitate to San
Juan Capistrano’s beautifully pre-
served 18th-century mission, Yorba
Linda’s Richard Nixon Presidential
Library and Museum and the restored
Victorian homes and historic city
centers in Santa Ana and Orange.
INSIDER’S TIP
As Orange County’s seat,
second-most populous city and
home to JOHN WAYNE
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Santa
Ana projects an image more
businesslike than fun. However,
residents treasure their artsy
downtown with its funky
galleries, theaters, folk-art
shops and inexpensive
sidewalk cafés. Start a journey
into Santa Ana’s bohemian side
at the 10-block ARTISTS VILLAGE,
anchored by Cal State
Fullerton’s GRAND CENTRAL ART
CENTER with its theater, dance
studios, edgy galleries and
artists’ live-work spaces. Just
outside, go gallery-hopping
around the SECOND STREET
PROMENADE, which serves as
the village’s leafy, fountain-
studded central courtyard.
For a broader sense of the
downtown arts scene, the first
Saturday of the month brings
ARTWALK, when local galleries
open their doors at 6 p.m. Trees
twinkling with lights, street
vendors and corner musicians,
and live arts performances
provide a festive atmosphere
for glimpses into art studios
and design workshops.
grandcentralartcenter.com
dtsaartwalk.org
96 2023-24 TRAVEL GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA
STEVE CUKROV/SHUTTERSTOCK. OPPOSITE: PAUL MASSIE PHOTOGRAPHY/SHUTTERSTOCK, SIMONE HOGAN/SHUTTERSTOCK