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Downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea: A Self-Guided Audio Tour

Downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea: A Self-Guided Audio Tour

Overview

This self-guided, self-paced audio walking tour will explore Historic Downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea. This 60-minute tour is designed to keep you on the move while walking at a reasonably slow pace, and still see all of the main sites. You can pause the tour at any time to get a bite to eat or a refreshing drink to quench your thirst.

This tour will cover about 15 square blocks of the downtown Carmel to give you a “lay of the land”. You'll explore some of Carmel’s quaint courtyards and passageways and walk by a number of wine rooms, art galleries, restaurants and hotels. You'll also learn about Carmel’s founding fathers, distinctive architecture and storied past and provides numerous photo opportunities. The tour begins and ends at the Carmel Plaza. En route, you'll pass two public restrooms and four ATM’s.

So start your tour with the app, put your phone in your pocket, and let us direct you on this adventure of downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea.

City: Monterey & Carmel

Mon 23 Dec

Other dates

You can choose the date already on the booking website

Starting at $7.99

Make a reservation

Mon 23 Dec

Starting at $7.99

Make a reservation

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What's Included

VoiceMap App for Android and iOS

Lifetime access to this tour in English

Offline access to audio, maps, and geodata

Additional Info

Public transportation options are available nearby
Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
Suitable for all physical fitness levels

What To Expect

Carmel Plaza

The tour begins at the Ocean Avenue entrance to the Carmel Plaza. On this one-hour tour you'll pass many of Carmel-by-the-Sea's popular stores, restaurants, wine rooms and art galleries.

Devendorf Park

The tour takes you through the Devendorf Park where you'll discover how the park got it's name.

Carmel Art Association

The tour passes the Carmel Art Association and sculpture garden.

The Pilgrim's Way Community Bookstore and Secret Garden

The tour passes the Pilgrim's Way Book Store and Secret Garden. If you have the time its worth exploring.

Steven Whyte's Sculpture Studio and Gallery

The tour passes Steven Whyte's Sculpture Studio. You'll discover more about the internationally acclaimed figurative sculptor known for producing large sculptures including life-size characters.

First Murphy House

The tour passes a small museum run by the Carmel Heritage Society. It's in the First Murphy House. It's open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 12pm until 3pm.

Dawson Cole Fine Art

The tour passes the Dawson Cole Fine Art Gallery which specializes in Contemporary and Modern sculptures. It's a spectacular gallery well worth a visit if you have the time.

Weston Gallery

The tour passes the Weston Gallery that is owned by master photographer Edward Weston's grandson. They exhibit a wonderful collection of photographs by Weston and another legendary local, Ansel Adams.

Harrison Memorial Library

The tour passes the Harrison Memorial Library where you'll discover who it's named after.

Church of The Wayfarer

While you pass by the church you'll discover it's origins.

Tuck Box

The tour passes the fairytale-like tea room where if you have the time you can pose for a picture or two, or even enquire about having a cup of tea.

Show 8 more stops

Cancellation Policy

All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations.

Traveler Photos

Reviews (11)

rcproctor

Aug 2021

3 friends (all retired and semi tech-savvy) each purchased and downloaded this app. It was very easy and informative. If we stopped it stopped. If we took a wrong turn it let us know by not continuing until we went the right way. So much better than just wandering around!

islandler

Jul 2021

I really great tour. Almost like the real tour which I had done about 2 years ago. Having traveled extensively in Europe, Carmel is a real find. Many great art galleries, each one is unique.

hsalinas007

Apr 2021

I booked this because the pictures painted a quaint little town with interesting looking buildings. It wasn’t. It was your typical small town with high end shops. Definitely a lot of art galleries, however, they were not inviting or welcoming. Waste of two hours for sure. We ended up at cannery row which was a lot more fun and less crowded.

Response from Host

Apr 2021

Thank you for taking the time to post a review. We're sorry you didn't enjoy the time you spent in Carmel-by-the-Sea, but it does sound like your didn't enjoy the village of Carmel itself, not the VoiceMap self-guided audio tour. Is that correct? Downtown can be a bit crowded at times. You can visit early in the day to avoid this, but the art galleries in town typically do not open until 11am. And while it's unusual for Carmelite artists to be unwelcoming, in our experience, we understand this can happen. Everyone has a bad day now and then. We know your time is limited which is why we designed this Downtown Carmel tour, which covers 15 square blocks of our historic downtown, to be walked in about one hour. With about 20 wine rooms, 100 art galleries, 50 restaurants, 50 hotels and countless other businesses located in this area it was our intention to give visitors just the “lay of the land,” point out hidden pathways, charming courtyards, wine rooms, art galleries and historic inns as well as help one learn about Carmel’s distinctive architecture and storied past. If you have feedback that we can act on that would have improved the tour, please let us know. We're glad that you enjoyed Cannery Row. There is quite a bit of history there and our audio tour Historic Cannery Row and John Steinbeck really brings the bygone cannery era to life.