Mission Santa Barbara

Mission Santa Barbara tickets: which one to buy

Mission Santa Barbara stands on a rise above the city of Santa Barbara in California, with views to the Pacific and the Santa Ynez mountains behind, and it is known as the Queen of the Missions. A ticket is required for the self-guided tour, which covers the museum, the church, the gardens and the cemetery; docent-led tours are offered on certain days for a slightly higher price and are worth taking. The mission is about ten minutes' drive from downtown and the beach, and local trolley tours include it on their route.

Many visitors drive up the coast from Los Angeles on the Pacific Coast Highway and combine the mission with the Santa Barbara County Courthouse, the waterfront, Stearns Wharf and the wineries of the Santa Ynez Valley. Parking is free in front of the mission. The church is an active parish, and visits pause during mass. The mission gift shop sells tickets and serves as the starting point for the self-guided route.

Visiting Mission Santa Barbara: what to see

The mission was founded by Spanish Franciscans in 1786, the tenth of the twenty-one missions established in California, and it is the only one that has remained under the continuous care of the Franciscans since its foundation. The first adobe churches were destroyed by an earthquake in 1812, and the present stone church was completed in 1820. Its facade, with two bell towers and a classical pediment, was inspired by a Roman temple design from an architecture book by Vitruvius in the mission library. Inside, the church keeps painted decoration, statues and paintings brought from Mexico.

The museum displays artefacts from the mission period and explains the lives of the Chumash people, who built the mission and whose culture was profoundly disrupted by it. In front of the mission is a Moorish-style fountain and a stone lavanderia, a washing basin, fed by the mission's aqueduct system. The cemetery beside the church holds the graves of thousands of Chumash people and early settlers, and a mausoleum on the grounds holds the remains of friars. The mission archive and library preserve records from the whole Spanish mission period.

Mission Santa Barbara opening hours and the best time to go

The mission is open daily for self-guided tours, with shorter hours on some holidays. Santa Barbara enjoys a mild Mediterranean climate all year, with warm dry summers and occasional winter rain; mornings can be foggy in early summer, known locally as June gloom.

The Old Spanish Days Fiesta in early August celebrates the city's heritage with parades and dancing, and the I Madonnari chalk painting festival over Memorial Day weekend fills the plaza in front of the mission with street art. The rose garden across the road is lovely in spring. Allow about an hour for the mission and museum, and take a walk in the botanical garden a short drive up the canyon. The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History is a five-minute walk north along the creek.