The city of Davis is quite an experience for members of the outside world, and this guide serves as an overview of these experiences for any visitors to the community. In addition to pointing out some highlights, we encourage you to take a look around the rest of the Davis Wiki to learn more about the Davis community. When planning your trip to Davis, remember to keep the weather in mind.
Getting to Davis
Davis is accessible (and connected to the outside world) by train, bus, car, and hike'n'bike paths. I-80 is the major highway that connects Davis to the nearest metropolitan areas; additionally Highway 113 connects Davis to the north. Buses and shuttles also run between the city and Sacramento Airport (SMF) . The transportation page provides complete coverage on all the transportation options available in and around the city.
Finding yourself in the city
Many entires on this site include a map, but unless you have a laptop and know where the hotspots are, those are not terribly helpful if you are wandering around. Speaking of maps, the Davis Downtown Business Association has map stations scattered throughout downtown that would greatly assist you in exploring the downtown area. Other maps those scattered about the UC Davis campus. If you are wanting to take a bus, you might want to consider looking into unitrans and acquiring a map from them, it may be quite useful for finding your way through town. On the county level, the Yolo County Visitors Bureau also provides moderately useful maps of the area without charge.
Things to do while here
- Employment, finding a job provides the necessary economic resources to shop and otherwise survive in the city.
- If you rather have someone else do the work, you could consider getting hitched as well.
- Visiting family or friends is always nice.
- Visiting the university, even if you don't plan to attend it is an interesting place.
- Spend some time downtown.
- Get some cash at an ATM, a bank, or a credit union.
- Museums and exhibits are an excellent way to spend a quiet afternoon.
- Restaurants and bars serve excellent food and drink.
- Upcoming events are happening all the time.
- Regular events attract large numbers of people.
- Stay here for a night.
- Stay here even longer if you would like.
- Leave when you want to move on.
- Bicycle in and around Davis if you want to move around.
- Walk or run if you are in such a mood.
- Enjoy the beautiful skies or stop and smell the flowers along the way.
Particularly notable things of Davis
Are you only spending a few days in Davis? There are a few notable things about Davis that no tourist should miss.
- The arboretum is one of the nicest places in town, provided pleasant weather it is perhaps the best outdoor area.
- The weekly Farmers Market is a grand time when central park comes alive. Saturday morning markets are always lively and fun (though a bit quiet during December). From March through October, the Wednesday evening Picnic in the Park is probably a better choice if you're in town on a Wednesday - the Farmers Market has live music, and much of Central Park is covered by people on picnic blankets.
- Picnic Day! or the Whole Earth Festival are annual events which are central to the community culture.
- The Greenbelt naturally
- The Domes is a very interesting, unique experiment in student housing. The Davis Student Co-op is also very interesting, though it's not quite as visually unique.
- The Experimental College Community Garden is fun, and is worth checking out while you're at The Domes. (If you're very familiar with community gardens in other places, it's probably not worth a separate trip.)
- Davisites tend to be proud of the social or behavioral idiosyncrasies, spend some time talking to them to learn more about their interests which vary greatly.
