Napa Valley Attractions

Calistoga

Calistoga is probably the prettiest town in Napa Valley. It retains a small-town feel, albeit with a gourmet-ified edge (would you like your mixed greens with bleu or goat cheese?); even the appellation 'Calistoga' is synonymous with the bubbly bottled water that brandishes its name.

Guiseppe Musante began bottling Calistoga mineral water here in 1924, and the same natural hot springs have spawned a collection of spas where you can indulge in the local specialty, a hot mud bath. Herbal wraps, seaweed baths and exotic massages are some of the frills that accompany the experience.

If you don't feel you deserve such attention, you can just watch all the geothermal action at Old Faithful, Calistoga's slightly smaller version of Yellowstone's famed geyser. It spouts off on a fairly regular 45-minute cycle, shooting boiling water 60ft (18m) into the air.

It's said the town's curious name came from tongue-tied Sam Brannan, who founded the town in 1859 with the heartfelt belief that it would emulate the New York spa town of Saratoga, perhaps as the 'Cali-stoga' of 'Sara-fornia.'

Sonoma

The small town of Sonoma makes an excellent base for exploring the vineyards of Sonoma Valley, Northern California's other favourite place to get elegantly plastered. 'Slow-noma,' the locals' term for their relaxing, livable wine town, hints at the low-key charms of the Sonoma Valley.

With its family-owned wineries and quiet rural back roads, the 'Valley of the Moon' (Jack London's literary name for the region) can be a more enjoyable place to wander around than the larger and more crowded Napa Valley. There are several wineries within easy bicycling distance of the town centre.

The wine is just as good as Napa Valley's, but the wineries in Sonoma Valley are generally less crowded, and free tastings are still the norm. Valley of the Moon, Wellington and Kenwood are three top-quality Sonoma winemakers worth a visit.