Sacramento is the capital city of California. It is a city with an interesting history and several sights and attractions. The European era began in 1808 when the Spanish explorer Gabriel Moraga encountered and named the Sacramento Valley and the Sacramento River. In 1839, John Sutter Sr. arrived with a Mexican land gant and established Sutter’s Fort and his colony of New Helvetia. The colony grew, as more pioneers moved to the west, and Sutter Sr. etablished agriculture in the valley from 1847.

California were added to U.S. control in 1848, and gold was discovered close to New Helvetia the same year. Gold-seekers increased the population, and John Sutter Jr. arrived as well. Sutter Jr. and Samuel Brannan began laying out the City of Sacramento a short distance from New Helvetia in December 1848, and thereby, Sacramento’s origins are closely tied to the California Gold Rush. The place at the confluence of the American River and the Sacramento River was convenient, and Sutter Jr. and Brennan named it Sacramento City.

Sacramento was incorporated in 1850 as the first city in California. On September 9 the same year, California achieved statehood in the United States, and there should be a place for the California State Legislature. The Spanish and Mexican rule was in Monterey, and San Jose was appointed the capital of California. However, it moved to Vallejo in 1852 and Benicia in 1853, before ending up in Sacramento in 1854. It was a result of Sacramento’s offer to use its county courthouse to house the state legislature as a capitol. Since then, Sacramento has been the political heart of the state in front of larger cities as Los Angeles and San Francisco.

When you visit Sacramento, you can explore the early history of the city at Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park. It is one of the most significant historical landmarks in the city, where you can get an idea of the John Sutter’s pioneering days. Sutter’s Fort is located in midtown Sacramento, and it was the economic center of the first permanent European colonial settlement in California’s Central Valley from 1839 to 1849. Today, you can visit the fort as it was in Sutter’s day. Next door is the State Indian Museum, which depicts three major themes of California Indian life: Nature, spirit, and family.

Being a capital city, Sacramento is home to the California State Capitol. It was designed by Ruben S. Clark in Neoclassical architecture, and completed between 1861 and 1874. The design was based on the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. The exterior is dominated by a portico, Corinthian columns, and a grand dome with a height of 64 meters. The interior is as impressive as the exterior, and you can visit the California State Capitol Museum to explore the political history of California and to admire the beautiful architecture. In the surrounding Capitol Park, there are numerous monuments and memorials.

Another must-see place is the so-called Old Sacramento State Historic Park, also known as Old Sacramento, which is like entering a living museum of the Gold Rush era. The cozy streets along the Sacramento River are cobblestoned and full of historic buildings, wooden sidewalks, wrought iron balconies, and evenly spaced full-height windows. Almost every building is from the 1800s with some dating to the 1850s, and they stand together as one great attraction.

Some of the notable buildings in Old Sacramento is the B.F. Hastings Building from 1852, which was the western terminal of the famous Pony Express, the commercial Big Four House fra 1851-1852, and the Eagle Theatre from 1849. You can also visit several museums in the old streets. The California State Railroad Museum is a great choice, and in a rare modern building in Old Sacramento. The exhibits hold iconic steam and diesel locomotives and much more railroad history. You can also visit the Sacramento History Museum, a historical museum, which interprets the history of Sacramento and the California Gold Rush.

In the modern downtown area to the east of Old Sacramento, you can enjoy a stroll and the view of impressive Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. It is a Roman Catholic church known for its Victorian-style interior and Renaissance-Revival architecture. You can also choose a walk along Sacramento River for a nice view to Tower Bridge, one of the landmarks of the city. It is a vertical lift bridge opened in 1935 in the period Streamline Moderne architectural style as a replacement of a 1911 bridge. Increasing population and traffic made the old bridge inadequate. Close to the bridge, you can enjoy an impressive collection of Californian art, European masterpieces, and international ceramics at the Crocker Art Museum.