THE 30 BEST Things to Do in Sonoma, CA
Places to Visit in Sonoma
Check out must-see sights and activities:
Gundlach Bundschu Winery, Sonoma Plaza, Wine Tastings, Nature and Wildlife Tours. For personalised recommendations, try our AI trip-planning product.
Gundlach Bundschu Winery, Sonoma Plaza, Wine Tastings, Nature and Wildlife Tours. For personalised recommendations, try our AI trip-planning product.
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- fromper adult₹14,687
Half-day Toursfromper adult₹23,899
Private and Luxuryfromper adult₹15,556- fromper group (up to 4)₹2,172
E-Bike Toursfromper adult₹12,080
Private and Luxuryfromper group (up to 3)₹73,780
Private and Luxuryfromper adult₹14,774- fromper adult₹10,949
Wine Tastingsfromper adult₹15,556- fromper adult₹15,556
Wineries & Vineyards
Points of Interest & Landmarks
Historic plaza surrounded by a scenic park, with a range of wineries, shops, and restaurants. Hosts a lively Tuesday market with fresh produce and live music.
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Wineries & Vineyards
Historic winery set on picturesque grounds, featuring a variety of wine tastings with a focus on Pinot. Enjoy a relaxed atmosphere and the unique "Bubble Room", amidst quirky, Gatsby-era decor.
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Wineries & Vineyards
Italian-inspired vineyard with a courtyard, presenting unique wines, olive oil tastings, and a historic olive press. Enjoy the serene grounds and explore the quaint gift shop.
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Valleys
Wineries & Vineyards
Savor high-quality wine tastings amid picturesque gardens and ponds with the option to enjoy a picnic in a relaxed outdoor setting.
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Wineries & Vineyards
Wineries & Vineyards
Winery in a scenic location presents Italian-style wines and tastings with vineyard and wetland views. Includes a gift shop and opportunities for elevated wine experiences.
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Wineries & Vineyards
Veranda tastings pair sparkling wines with curated tapas amidst breathtaking views. Enjoy a selection of bubbly, rosé, and whites in an elegant outdoor setting.
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Wineries & Vineyards
Wine tasting destination specializing in Pinot Noir, set in a scenic garden. Patrons can learn about winemaking and savor a range of vintages in a serene outdoor setting.
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Other Top Attractions around Sonoma
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.
What travellers are saying
- Kelly BPhoenix, AZ1 contributionI came in with my friends on our day off yesterday, no reservations just on a whim. They were fully booked for tastings which was a bit of a disappointment, but Shannon inside the shop let us do a mini tasting outside with her. She made our experience wonderful and really made us feel welcome and at home. The wine was so delicious that I ended up joining their wine club.
We will definitely be back…with a reservation next time.Written 15 October 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - SeeTheW0rld62Sunnyvale, CA2,354 contributionsThe Plaza is a beautiful historic square in the middle of Sonoma. It has many shady trees and a beautiful rose garden. It's surrounded by shops, restaurants, the Mission, and other historic buildings. When we were there, there were artists with paintings for sale.Written 15 September 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Teresa P1 contributionI’ve been a wine club member for several years, and Buena Vista is by far my favorite winery. It’s always beautiful, and the wine is delicious. Recently I went with a group of friends for their new Aristocratic Tasting, and it was the best experience I’ve ever had.
We spent time touring the grounds, and even got to watch the wine makers at work! We had a great time watching them push the wine down, and touring the museum; the collection of decanters was amazing.
Our table was set with drama and elegance, creating a one of a kind environment for wine tasting (it felt like something out of a movie, or a Bridgerton episode). We sampled their best wines, including many vintage bottles. Brandon, our wine host, was incredibly knowledgeable, and I left feeling as though I had a greater understanding of not only wine in general, but what I actually like.
The entire day was beautiful, relaxing, enlightening, and fun. I’ve been visiting BV for years, but the Aristocratic Tasting was above and beyond anything I’ve ever experienced at any winery. I left with an appreciation for Brandon and his wine knowledge, as well as a case of wine to share with family and friends!
I can't recommend Buena Vista enough. If you're visiting wine country, it's a must visit place!Written 23 October 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - 196LindaCMukwonago, WI820 contributionsThe stop was part of a bus tour tour. We were welcomed upon arrival and given a wonderful history of the winery as well as several hand selected wine tastings. We were given time to wander around the winery on our own after the tour with the opportunity to enjoy a glass of wine on the patio.Written 28 September 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- MHarrisonAustin, TX2 contributionsMy husband and I took a much needed couples vacation this past week. We decided on the Sonoma area because it wasn't Napa - what I saw on Napa was virtually the same experience as Sonoma, but with a Napa price tag. So, my first recommendation is to consider literally anywhere else that isn't Napa. My second recommendation is to fly into Sacramento instead of San Francisco - we did this so that we could drive through Napa on our way to our hotel in Glen Ellen - we'd never been to Napa and wanted to at least experience some of it. Fly in early - we landed at 10am, picked up the car and headed to Mustard's Grill for lunch. My next recommendation is make a reservation at Mustard's Grill. Maurine was our server and we each had a half salad, crab cakes, the lobster and mushroom risotto, and their famous lemon and lime meringue pie. Neither my husband nor I are big fans of meringue, but after how amazing the food we had already eaten was (and the fact that everyone was ordering it), we decided to give it a try - it's amazing. Our next stop was Biale Vineyards. If you're looking for a killer view of the area, this is definitely the place! Andrew was our server and he was excellent - extremely knowledgeable about the Biale wines as well as the area's history. Find a wine you like Biale and order several bottles - this winery has very affordable (for Napa) wines - in fact, our order just arrived today! From there, we were quite late to our next reservation at Monticello, which is right next door. Our server was extremely gracious and understanding and poured us a tasting flight anyways. Their reds are great - each one had a completely different taste to offer - if you can stomach the price, get a bottle - but they're about $88/bottle - well worth it though, we brought our bottle back to our hotel room and enjoyed it our last night. After Monticello, it was time to get to our hotel: The Gaige House. It's really more like a bed and breakfast with some extra rooms separate from the main house. We stayed in a typical King room - we had zero intention of spending much time in the room while we were on vacation, so we didn't see the need to spend twice as much on a bigger room. We didn't feel like we were missing anything. The Gaige House is great! Each day they have a wine and sake hour from 5-6 with a very nice charcuterie board. Their breakfasts are also fantastic - made fresh each morning - it's a small enough place for a great kitchen staff to focus on preparing higher quality meals rather than the typical 'continental' breakfast. Our first night in Glen Ellen we didn't have reservations anywhere so we ended up at The Fig and sat at the bar. The food at The Fig was great - my husband had the flounder meuniere and grilled asparagus and I had a cup of the roasted corn chowder - again, the food was amazing. Tuesday was our first official day in Glen Ellen and we hopped up after and awesome breakfast and went to the botanical gardens for a hike just up the street. If you're in for a gentle workout with fantastic views, then I highly recommend the botanical gardens. We're from Central Texas, so doing anything outside in June is nearly impossible - however, the wonderful thing about the Sonoma area is that the highs were in the lower 80's with barely any humidity - it was like hiking in Fall! It's about a 20 minute hike from the bottom of the hill to the top, but the views at the top was worth it! The hike back down was obviously much easier and allowed us to branch off and see some 'off the path' sights. After the botanical gardens, he found ourselves at Salt and Stone for some blackened redfish and cauliflower gnocchi. The cauliflower gnocchi was great - I found a recipe online and have made it twice since getting back a week ago! Later that evening, we went to the Sonoma Market Days - I'd highly suggest that you get there early and bring a blanket or some chairs to sit. The music was great, the food trucks were awesome, and the atmosphere in general was just fun! If you go during the summer, I'd highly recommend going to the Sonoma Market Days - only on Tuesdays. Wednesday, we decided we were gong to San Francisco - my husband had been, but I hadn't. We first drove to Saulsalito, just across the bay from San Francisco, for lunch at Fish. I'm not a big seafood person so there wasn't too much on the menu for me outside of a burger and fries - which was fine, I'm always down for a burger. Fish is mostly outdoor seating right there on the water with a great breeze. There will be a line when you get there and I think it discourages a lot of people, but the line moves fairly quickly. It is seat yourself, but again, they tended to move tables pretty quickly. My husband had the tuna melt and was quite happy with it - get the half salad, though, even the half salad was pretty big. Once we made it to San Francisco, we parked in the Presidio area, like a very nice city park right by the bridge with views of the bay and the bridge that you probably just won't get anywhere else. From there, you can Uber to wherever you want. Being Tiki enthusiasts, we went to Smuggler's Cove and had a few drinks: Mai Tai, Kona Cocktail, Hinky Dink, and the Rum Barrel. I mean, you're not goin to go wrong at Smuggler's Cove and you're going to have a good time. Afterwards, we headed to A Mano - Italian - and had the basil pesto tagliatelle, and cod and clam pasta - very good and extremely reasonable. Thursday was our last full day in Sonoma. We had no reservations for anywhere during the day and we ended up al Cline Vineyard - we love their ancient vine Zin and buy it fairly regularly. We did the 'walk-up' tasting which presents itself as confining you to the tasting bar, but we were able to walk around the grounds, feed the fishes, ducks, and turtles, and sit on the front porch. To be honest, I found this to be more appealing than the 'reserved' tasting. We ordered four bottles - they were extremely well priced and were bottles we can't get back home. Lunch that day was at Valley Swim Club - this place was pretty cool. It was clearly an original building from many decades ago - perhaps there was even a pool there at one point, but they certainly had a sense of humor in posting a sign saying that there was no lifeguard on duty ...in front of a field. My husband got fried oysters and a trout sandwich, and I had fried mushrooms and a burger. Again, the food was great! That evening, we had reservations for the Glen Ellen Star - this place has held a Michelin Star for many years and you'll see why if you go. We sat at the chef's table (bar) and it was great! My husband and I love sitting at the bar and watching how the chef's work and seeing other people's food come up. We started with the Brown Sugar and Bacon Marmalade Brussels Sprouts. My God - spectacular! We split the Campenelle Verde for our main dish - again, spectacular! Finally, our dessert was their olive oil cake with strawberry and rhubarb stracciatella - absolutely divine! Perhaps because it's a touristy place that's out of the way enough that chain restaurants don't bother - you're not likely to have a bad meal in Sonoma. The next morning, we had 10am wine tasting reservations at Trefethan - beautiful vineyard! Joe was our server, he was highly knowledgeable and very personable - our whole experience there was great. The wine isn't too expensive - if you wanted to have a few bottles shipped, I'd recommend it - we were on our way out and really just focused on getting to the airport at that point, so we didn't buy any. Thankfully, some Trefethan is available at one of our local stores. That was it for us - each place we visited only added to our overall vacation - and now we're back home in 100* heat with 90% humidity dreaming of when we can go back. So, if you're looking for a Napa/Sonoma vacation - I highly recommend you consider Glen Ellen, The Gaige House, and check out some of our recommendations for activities and places to eat. Happy travels!Written 26 June 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Gwenn B40 contributionsBeautiful relaxing winery with many different areas to spend an afternoon. Nice walking paths with pond of fish and turtles to feed. Scenic train car, cabanas to rent and a pair of mules on the property as well. A lot to explore why tasting good winesWritten 21 August 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Haley K3 contributionsMove this Vineyard to the top of your list! The wine, tour and views are spectacular. Stephen was the best tour guide. He was fun and knowledgeable. It was one of the highlights of our girls weekend.Written 18 November 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- GR-CA1California69 contributionsThe view, cheese board, and ham and jam croissant sandwich were fantastic.
We arrived on an unusually windy afternoon which made it a bit chilly, but otherwise, it offered several beautiful sitting areas from which we took in the view from a variety of perspectives.
The grounds were beautifully kept. It felt a bit corporate and the building itself isn't as pretty as I'd expect for an Italian winery, but the gardening, and other decorative details were wonderful.
We also went on a weekday when it was comfortably busy--not crowded--which was to our liking.Written 23 June 2023This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - Julie F13 contributionsA beautiful facility with lovely views out over the vineyards and hills, beyond. Our group of six thoroughly enjoyed the cave tour and a private tasting in the cave room, complete with delicious mushroom bruschetta and duck liver pate. The wines were/are delicious, and we happily ordered bottles to be sent to our home. Highly recommend!Written 15 September 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Ellie C106 contributionsGloria Ferrar champagnes are always great. However I do agree with a previous reviewer, that a requirement to buy a charcuterie plate with the tasting is a bit much.
With that said, the wait staff was great, the views are spectacular and the bubbles were tasty!Written 12 April 2021This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - Paul T1 contributionMy group had an enjoyable tour, great noshes, nice tasting, and I have enjoyed the wines that I purchased. Highly recommended!Written 8 August 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Trina3 contributionsJennifer was an amazing host and we had a great time. We booked the unreleased tasting.
Learned a lot about one of my favorite wines!Written 20 November 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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