Visiting Solvang is a MUST if you are traveling to the Central Coast. Think wineries, olive oil, warm weather that is not hot, and laid back vibes.

Solvang is a beautiful city and one of my absolute favorite cities on the Central Coast.

Solvang is known for Danish-style architecture. It has Christmas lights year-round and is such a beautiful area to explore.

Things to do when Visiting Solvang

1. GO WINE-TASTING

Wine tasting is a must in the Central Coast or basically anywhere in California. When visiting Solvang, wine tasting is absolutely wonderful for wine tasting. Walking along the main street, you can sample many wines from several different wineries. If you leave downtown Solvang, you can visit many other wineries in the area in their actual vineyards. All are within walking distance to the accommodations and lodging within the city.

2. GO OLIVE OIL TASTING

Since my last trip to Italy, I’ve been obsessed with olive oil. Solvang Olive makes amazing olive oil and they do olive oil tasting! At Solvang Olive, they have several different oils and vinaigrette you can sample with bread. There are many places to try olive oil tastings.

3. WHEN VISITING SOLVANG, TRY SOME LOCAL EATERIES

Solvang has so many specialty and cuisine eateries. They have Italian, Vietnamese, Japanese, Danish (of course!), American, and more.

When visiting Solvang, be sure to check out the Solvang Restaurant! They have Aebleskivers, which are similar to beignets, with powdered sugar and jam. You can’t miss them. They’re scrumptious!

You can pick up Danishes and baked treats at the Olsen’s Danish Village Bakery. They also ship! Their butter cookies are super delicious. If you’re craving coffee, tea, boba, gelato, ice cream or anything of the sort, I highly recommend Cafe Dolce! Each time I’ve been there, I’ve gotten great customer service. I love their Spiced Chai Latte. Super delicious.

The Succulent Cafe has some amazing food. They are a wine and charcuterie place with amazing dishes. I got the Piccata and paired it with the Sauvignon Blanc.

4. GO SHOPPING

When visiting Solvang, you can find many great products. There are boutiques and specialty shops. One place you can check out if you love tea is the Solvang Spice Merchant! They have loose leaf tea leaves and so tea-making products. Their tea leaves are so fresh and smell heavenly.

5. EXPLORE THE LOCAL AREAS

When in Solvang, you can visit Santa Ynez, Los Olivos, Buellton, Los Alamos and Santa Barbara. You can hike to Nojoqui Falls, waterfalls nearby, which is suitable for families!

LOS OLIVOS

Los Olivos is country town full of wineries, taste-testing olive oil places, and more. They even have a General Store you can check out. One of my favorite places to go is Saarlos & Sons for wine & cupcake tasting! Their wines are pretty good but their wine & cupcake tasting is divine!

BUELLTON

In Buellton, you can visit Ostrichland and see ostriches and emus.

Buellton has wonderful places to eat. Some of my favorite experience-based eateries are:

• Morrell’s Farm Fresh Dining: Amazing and fresh foods. I’ve had burgers and sandwiches here and they’ve all been scrumptious. I’m talking gourmet, too. They have things like bleu cheese on their burgers. Yum.
• AJ Spurs: A steak place. My steak was super yummy and the atmosphere is great for groups!
• Industrial Eats: A lot of my friends highly recommend this. I’m more of a comfort-foods-and-wine gal but Industrial Eats is a hipster eatery and butcher shop that serves wood-fired pizza and deli foods. They also have a beer and wine selection! (Biggest critique is the foods they pair are not super common so it’s hard to choose what to order. One example is they have duck and pistachio toppings on one of their pizzas.) Still, it’s always fun to have a go at new places! It was a fun experience.
• DorWood Distillery: They make Vodka, Gin, Limonchello, Agave and provide “experiences” over tastings. I have not gone yet but it is on my list!
• Figureroa Mountain Brewing Co: Great atmosphere. Yummy burgers and other brewery-kinds of foods and lots of beer.
• Avant Tapas: This is all about the wine! If you’re about exploring the local wines, you should absolutely come here. I went with my girlfriends for my 21st birthday. So. much. fun.

Are you visiting Solvang or do you plan to? I’d love to hear all about your plans! Solvang is one of my favorite little nooks on the Central Coast. It is so cute and having lived abroad, it is a getaway to explore.