Sacramento maintains a glimmer of the Gold Rush and, if there weren’t cars on the cobbled streets, when wandering Old Sacramento you almost feel like you’re back in those days. Like in classic Westerns, horses pull covered wagons past a wooden boardwalk linking covered shopfronts.
The blossoming Californian capital attracted more than one kind of pioneer though. The Big Four entrepeneurs devised the Central Pacific Railroad, as detailed in the State Railroad Museum. The Eagle Theatre was the state’s first, on a considerably smaller scale than the modern-day arts venues showcasing everything from opera to ballet.
A paddle steamer is moored on the nearby Sacramento River, and the American River Parkway lines the city’s other river, opposite the first settlement site. The founder created Sutter’s Fort, and the State Indian Museum documents the native people that lived there long before.
Despite such mass immigration, Sacramento is surprisingly well integrated, but with that glorious Californian sun, it’s easy to see why the locals are so laidback. Palm trees shade streets including Capitol Mall, connecting the State Capitol to Tower Bridge. The nearby Crocker Art Museum is the oldest museum in the western US, while historic figures are remembered in the California Hall of Fame.
Accommodation Houston’s accommodation options include apartments near the convention centre, cheap motels and Sacramento Airport hotels.
