Search results
- Hollywood. As the world’s entertainment epicenter, Hollywood has shaped global pop culture through its film and television industry. It’s synonymous with the glitz and glamour of the silver screen, producing iconic movies and introducing countless stars to the world.
- Silicon Valley. Silicon Valley, located south of San Francisco, is a powerhouse of innovation and technology. Birthplace to companies like Apple, Google, and Facebook, this region has fundamentally transformed the way we live, communicate, and work.
- Golden Gate Bridge. The Golden Gate Bridge, a remarkable feat of engineering, connects San Francisco with Marin County across the San Francisco Bay. An iconic symbol of the city and the state, its distinctive orange-red color and elegant design make it one of the most photographed bridges in the world.
- Disneyland. Located in Anaheim, Disneyland is the original theme park created by Walt Disney. It’s a magical world that brings beloved Disney characters to life, enchanting visitors with its imaginative attractions, parades, and shows.
- Californians Are Hella Creative
- California Is Known For Its Mouthwatering Cuisine
- California Is Known For Its Stunning Landscape
- California Is Known For Its Peculiar Climate
- California Is Known For Its Rich History
- California Is Known For Its Man-Made Landmarks
- California Is (In)Famous For Its One-Of-A-Kind Culture
1. The Hollywood film industry
Though brimming with landmarks like its namesake sign, the Walk of Fame, and Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, Hollywood’s global fame derives from the gigantic industry historically located in the neighborhood and its surroundings. In 2019 alone, studios released 87 titles and made an astonishing $42 billion at the box office worldwide. Ironically, Paramount is the only of the so-called Big Five whose facilities are still in Hollywood proper. Columbia has been on Westside L.A. since 1990, and Disne...
2. Counterculture
People now commonly look back at the hippie age sympathetically and even admiringly, but at the time it was a whole nother story. Beat poets, also referred to as “hipsters”, were notorious for their bohemian lifestyle and experimental drug use. “Squares” then took to calling youth they thought copied the Beats — while more interested in drugs than actual poetry — “hippies”. Yet their legacy includes the sexual revolution that the West only from that point on started to embrace, tons of fantas...
3. California Cool decor
Because Californians have to do everything their own way, of course, they’d come up with a house decor style that mixes together the state’s bohemian, laid-back, beach-loving, and artsy vibes. Since modernist icons such as the Eames House (1949)and the Stahl House (1960, pictured above) have made a name for themselves, Cali Cool has invaded homes all across the world.
6. Fresh and local
“Locally sourced” is the key to understanding the appeal of California’s gastronomy with foodies. What’s more, the obsession of Californians with whatever superfood has just been confirmed as the new elixir of life makes the state truly exciting for culinary tourism. For fancier eaters, it boasts 90 Michelin-starred restaurants, which attests to its excellence food-wise.
7. Wine country
While wine has been produced north of the Bay Area since the early 1800s, it wasn’t until the mid-1970s that California’s Wine Country started to trend. Before that, there were around 25 wineries in the triangle within Napa, Sonoma, and the Russian River Valley. Now, there are more than 800 world-class cellars.
8. In-N-Out Burger
Though In-N-Out is now present in select locations across six other U.S. states, it’s still very much a California (family) business. Founded in 1948 by the Snyder couple, it has never adopted the franchising model to avoid compromising the quality of its food or its customer service. The chain’s Animal Style dressing, together with its fairly simple menu (hamburger, cheeseburger, and the “Double-Double”), has developed a cult following — so much so that when a new store opens in a previously...
9. Countless national and state parks
Fine, “countless” is an overstatement, but California’s 280 state parks and 28 areas protected by the federal government (nine of which are national parks) make up the largest park system in the United States. Highlights include the impressive peaks of the Sierra Nevada, where three national parks are located (Yosemite National Park being one of them), the deep-blue to turquoise waters of Lake Tahoe, (around which you’ll find an extensive network of state and county parks), and the Death Vall...
10. Giant redwoods
Redwoods, also called sequoias, are ubiquitous in the evergreen forests along the coast of the Pacific Northwest, from British Columbia in Canada through Washington, Oregon, and northern California. Giant sequoias in turn are exclusive to the Golden State. They have become a major symbol of the incredible diversity of ecosystems that California is known for. Besides Yosemite, you can visit places like Sequoia National Park (home to General Sherman, the largest tree by volume on the planet) an...
11. Big Sur
State Route 1 spans most of the coast of California; it’s hardly more scenic, however, than when it crosses this isolated tract of mountainous land overhanging the sea right between the central and southern portions of the state. Big Sur is home to roughly 1,800-2,000 permanent residents and has limited tourism infrastructure. Yet even a day trip through its winding highway is worth the drive, if only to spot sea lions and pristine beaches from the dizzyingly tall cliffs. If you have more tim...
14. A (mostly) Mediterranean climate
One of the things that California is known for is its perfect weather year-round. The state does have both cold and hot desert climates in some areas. Yet most of its territory is characterized by the same climate as southern Europe — which isperfect indeed.
15. San Francisco’s Indian Summer
In case you’re planning a San Francisco vacay around July, be advised you shouldn’t bother to bring swimsuits along. It’s quite chilly, and Karl the Fogrolls in virtually every evening. Trust me: not looking up San Francisco’s microclimate before packing taught me a bitter lesson. In October, instead, while the rest of the country is already bracing for winter, everybody goes crazy over the warm and sunny weather, and the city explodes with outdoor events.
16. The L.A. smog
When smog first seized the skies of Los Angelesin 1943, it was so hard to breathe that locals started wearing gas masks. As nobody knew what was happening, people thought the city had fallen victim to a Japanese chemical attack. But the bad guys were more mundane: cars, which by then were already all over the place. After that, the city’s air quality would only worsen. Since the 1990s, though, legislation meant to reduce car pollution has been quite successful in reversing the trend. Scenes l...
17. California’s Spanish and Mexican past
The fact that California was under Spanish colonial rule and subsequently became a province of independent Mexico before the U.S. annexed it surely left deep traces. Its architecture, political history, racial composition, and toponymy (San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Cruz…) can’t be conceived of without taking into account this rather troubled history.
18. The California Gold Rush
In 1848, in the middle of the Mexican-American War, sawmill operator James W. Marshall discovered gold in California. A single year later, San Francisco had gone from a modest 1,000-inhabitant village to a boomtown. 24,000 people rushed there to join the mining effort. Many other towns, such as Sonoma (seen above) sprang up around those years. The craze prompted Congress to admit California as a U.S. state in 1850, merely two years after Mexico had handed it over.
19. The Bear Flag
In 1846, within the context of the Mexican-American War, a group of 33 American immigrants started a rebellion in what was then the Mexican province of Alta California. This became noted as the Bear Flag Revolt, after the banner that the rebels had designed. The uprising resulted in the short-lived California Republic, which controlled roughly the region around modern Sonoma County. Less than a month later, the American army, which soon would occupy the entire province, absorbed the insurgent...
20. The Golden Gate Bridge
Spanning the strait that connects San Francisco Bay to the Pacific (i.e. the Golden Gate), the international orange, Art Déco bridge needs no introduction. It has served as San Francisco’s (and California’s) most iconic monument since its opening in 1937. To protect the bridge from corrosion by the bay’s salty air, a team of more than 30 painters has been continuously repainting it since the late 1960s.
21. Googie Architecture
If you’ve ever watched The Jetsons (Gen Z should google it), you know what Googie architecture looks like. Originating in Southern California around the middle of the 20th century, it synthesized the Atomic Age, car culture, and the space race into a pop aesthetic. Possibly the one modernist style that the American middle class ever approved of, Googie architecture was a widespread sight across the country for the best part of 30 years. It left behind suggestive monuments such as the LAX Them...
22. Disneyland
Florida’s Magic Kingdom may be slightly more popular. But Disneyland is the second amusement park in the world when it comes to the number of visitors. Opened in 1955,the happiest place on Earthis the sole theme park that Walt Disney managed to supervise through completion before passing.
23. The Los Angeles vs. New York City rivalry
The City of Angels couldn’t be more different from the Big Apple. It’s sunnier, warmer, spread-out and car-oriented, and more about having fun than working. Nowadays, the only feud that still stands is the one between the L.A. Dodgers and the New York Yankees, two of the most successful baseball teams in the United States. It’s intriguing, though, how New Yorkers are forever saying how they hate L.A., whereas Angelenos don’t seem to care that much about New York.
24. Surf culture
Despite hailing from Polynesia, surfing got big on the shores of California, brought over by Hawaiian students in the 1880s. It has since developed into a permanently thriving scene, spawning new surfing styles, its own lingo and music, clothing items like bikinis and boardshorts, and even a whole new sport: skateboarding.
25. Car culture
Between the 1940s and the 1960s, suburbs expanded in every direction. At the same time, car-owning households went from a little over 40% to 80% of the U.S. population. Meanwhile, youths in Southern California were, of course, a step ahead and wouldn’t settle for simply havingcars. They’d soup up the engines, paint the cars crazy colors or patterns, and race them on dry lake and river beds. In recent decades, regular cars became more potent, and the government implemented a (relatively) compr...
Santiago de Cali (Spanish pronunciation: [sanˈtjaɣo ðe ˈkali]), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,227,642 residents according to the 2018 census.
- +57 602
- Colombia
- 1,018 m (3,340 ft)
- Valle del Cauca
Jun 1, 2022 · Advertisement. “The Golden State.” “NorCal” and “SoCal.” The loathed “Frisco.” When it comes to famous — and debate-provoking — nicknames, California has the rest of the United States beat. The...
Apr 22, 2024 · Cali has been a strategic Colombian transportation centre for the last 400 years and is linked by railroad and highway with major cities of the northeast and the Pacific littoral (Buenaventura). It also possesses a major international airport and a military air base.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
2 days ago · Geographical and historical treatment of California, including maps and a survey of its people, economy, and government. The fluid nature of the state’s social, economic, and political life—shaped so much by immigrants—has for centuries made California a laboratory for testing new modes of living.
Cali is known by the rest Colombia as the "Rumba Capital" and by the world as the "Salsa Capital" , thanks to its characteristic street parties and dance. Photo: ProColombia. What is there to do in Cali?
