The quaint, forested village of Carmel-by-the-Sea boasts fairy-tale cottages, hidden courtyards and award-winning gardens, as well as a world-famous white sand beach and sculptured cypress groves. Originally an artists' colony, it attracted such luminaries as Robinson Jeffers, Sinclair Lewis, Robert Louis Stevenson, Ansel Adams, William Rose Benet, and Mary Austin.

Although it is not as much of a bohemian artists' village these days, it still retains much of the same magic for its residents. There are still no street numbers: businesses identify their locations by cross streets. Days are crowded in this one-mile-square village, but at night, when the tourists have left, Carmel recovers a sensation of not-quite-yet-having-been-discovered.

Nearby is historic Carmel Mission, built by Father Junipero Serra in 1771, and one of only two Basilicas on the west coast.

There are few places on earth as incredibly dynamic, yet as quaint and picturesque as Carmel-by-the-Sea. Its beauty will be a tonic for your soul, just as it has for all the photographers and writers who found their inspiration here. Yours may be here, too.