Monterey is a spectacular coastal community in northern California with a temperate climate year-round. Visitors from around the world come to Monterey to experience its natural beauty, cultural resources and rich historic past.

Located 115 miles south of San Francisco and 350 miles north of Los Angeles, Monterey offers an excellent quality of life and unparalleled beauty. The City features a dazzling waterfront along the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, a lush urban forest, a rich array of historic and cultural resources, museums, gardens, recreational activities and a wide variety of special events scheduled throughout the year. Maps & Directions

Monterey is the home of the world-class Monterey Bay Aquarium, located on the street immortalized in John Steinbeck's novel Cannery Row, and features renowned events such as the annual Monterey Jazz Festival. Monterey has a world-class Monterey Conference Center,  and many wonderful restaurants, < hotels, galleries and shops sprinkled among its various shopping districts. Monterey's rich history includes Spanish exploration dating back to 1542, and the establishment of the San Carlos Cathedral by Father Junipero Serra in 1770. It was the site of Alta California's capital under Spain and later Mexico, and the place where California statehood began in 1849. This rich history can be explored by visiting Monterey's many historical sites and interpretive centers.

The military presence in Monterey spans from the city's founding with the original Spanish presidio to the present. The Naval Postgraduate Schooltrains officers from the U.S. and many other nations, and the Defense Language Institute.

Everywhere you look in Monterey there are remnants of other times and other lives, from the Spanish influence of the City's founders to the sardine canneries of the fishing era. History is part of our daily routine: we do business and work in historic buildings and stroll along historic walkways.

Monterey also is home to a wide variety of public art - paintings, sculptures, photographs and murals. One example is the sculpture of The Grizzly, which represents the grizzly bears that once called the Monterey hills home. Our grizzly and her cubs are on display on the front lawn of Colton Hall, where the California Constitution was signed in 1849.