Carmel is where most of the action will be happening. Full of boutique shops, restaurants, and hotels, there is plenty to see and do just walking around the small area. Carmel beach is also a short walk from downtown. Aww Shucks is great for oysters, Dawns Dream is great for wine tasting, and is great for a late night drink.
Downtown Monterey is walking distance from several of the hotels near Del Monte center. Fishermans Wharf is a great tourist attraction to walk through and has several boats that go out into the bay or see seal lions basking on the docks. Alvarado Street and Dust Bowl Brewing are excellent spots to grab a local beer (highly recommend the Mai Tai PA at Alvarado), while Alfredo’s Cantina (neither Italian nor hispanic themed) is a great local watering hole in the vein of Cheers.
Cannery Row is the primary tourist area in the Monterey area named from John Steinbecks book Cannery Row, which details the history of the area being full of sardine canning factories. The Monterey Bay Aquarium is world famous and can take up an entire day on its own but watch for crowds. The Intercontinental Hotel and Plaza Hotel are great places to grab a fancy cocktail with a view. Our favorite local walk is along the water about a mile north of the aquarium to Lovers Point which has great views of the bay (and sometimes whales in the water). Lover’s Point is also a short walk to downtown Pacific Groove which also has great restaurants as well as the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary.