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Architectural Foundation of Santa Barbara

Walking Tours

four interesting Santa Barbara architectural landmarks on AFSB walking tours

Architectural Walking Tours of Historic Santa Barbara
Reserve Your Spot Below

Saturday Sabado Tour 10 a.m.

Sunday Domingo Tour – STARTING AGAIN MAY 4th

Weekly year-round tours. Rain cancels tour.

In 1989, a small group walking tour of the downtown area began being led by highly knowledgeable volunteer docents. These Saturday tours focused on architectural styles, significant and historic buildings, aesthetics, past and present building usage, and landscape history. In 2001, due the popularity of the Saturday walking tours, a Sunday tour was added. The Sunday tour continued the history of art and architecture of downtown Santa Barbara as it was reborn after the 1925 earthquake. Currently, tours are available every Saturday at 10 a.m. and led by our dedicated and knowledgeable group of volunteer docents. The Sunday tour is currently on hiatus. Join us for a Saturday tour or ask about how to become a tour docent yourself!

Reservations are recommended as a courtesy to our docents.

Click here to reserve a tour date for the Sabado (Saturday) Walking Tour.

Click here to reserve a tour date for the Domingo Walking Tour.

  • Reservations are recommended as a courtesy to our docents however not required.
  • $20 suggested donation. Donations can be made at the time of the tour. Accepted forms of payment are cash, check or online payment via QR code.
  • Free parking is available in unmarked parking spots in the City Hall parking lot on Anacapa Street between De La Guerra and Ortega Streets. Paid parking is available in the city parking garage at 18 E. Ortega Street. Parking in De La Guerra Plaza is limited to 75 minutes and not advised on Saturdays. 
  • Children under 12 are free and should be accompanied by an adult.
  • Tours are an easy stroll and last approx. 2 hours.
  • Please no strollers, very young children, or pets.
  • Additional group tours and accessible tours can be arranged with advanced notice. Please send an email to info@nullafsb.org.
  • Interested in become a volunteer walking tour docent? Contact the Program Chair, Brian Hofer with any questions!

Interested in becoming a Walking Tour Docent?

The Architectural Foundation of Santa Barbara is looking for volunteers to join its team of docents leading AFSB’s popular weekend Architectural Walking Tours. Training will be provided, and the expected participation is approximately one tour per month, with flexible schedules to accommodate all the docents.

Join us in sharing Santa Barbara’s unique architecture and history with locals and visitors alike.

Contact AFSB at 805.965.6307 or email info@nullafsb.org for further information.

Sabado (Saturday) Walking Tour

El Paseo Santa Barbara

El Paseo

On the Sabado (Saturday) Tour, see the historic center of downtown Santa Barbara. Celebrate with us the rich cultural heritage left by the first Spanish and Mexican settlers and those giants of Southern California architecture. 

This tour leaves from the City Hall steps at 780 De La Guerra Plaza at 10:00 a.m., and is an easy stroll lasting approximately two hours. 

 Rain will cancel the tour, but weather permitting it runs every Saturday all year.

Sabado (Saturday) Walking Tour:
  • Casa de La Guerra, City Hall, Santa Barbara News-Press, and La Placita buildings, the 19th-century center of Santa Barbara
  • El Paseo restaurant, courtyard, and offices
  • Meridian Studios
  • Lobero Theatre (1924)
  • Lobero Office Building by Julia Morgan, architect of Hearst Castle
  • Santa Barbara Recreation Center (1912)
  • Castillo Building Masonic building (1924)
  • Montecito Bank, designed by Myron Hunt and said to be modeled on a basilica in Sicily Hill (1828)

Domingo Walking Tour

La Arcada Santa Barbara

La Arcada

On the Domingo (Sunday) Tour, see the historic art and architecture of downtown Santa Barbara as it was reborn after the 1925 earthquake. Out of the rubble would come a new headline that shaped the city, “Spanish Architecture to Rise from Ruins.”  

This tour leaves the Public Library Plaza at 40 E Anapamu Street at 10:00 a.m., and is an easy stroll lasting approximately two hours.

Rain will cancel the tour, but weather permitting, it runs every Sunday all year.

 Domingo (Sunday) Walking Tour:
  • Pre- and Post-Earthquake Santa Barbara Santa Barbara Central Library (1917)
  • La Arcada (1930)
  • East Figueroa Buildings (1925-1928)
  • San Marcos Building (1913; 1926)
  • Santa Barbara Museum of Art (1914-1937)
  • Granada Theater (1924)
  • Upper Hawley Building (1887)
  • Arlington Theater (1930)
  • US Bankruptcy Court (1946-47)
  • Our Lady of Sorrows Church (1929)
  •  Santa Barbara Courthouse (1929)

Tours for private groups and the physically challenged can be arranged. Special tours for groups larger than 10 people may be arranged at least two weeks in advance and can be scheduled for any day of the week.

For further information on large, private, or special tours, please email us at info@nullafsb.org or call (805) 965-6307.

...a new way to see Santa Barbara

“We had a great time on the Walking Tour yesterday and Jeremy was very informative and knowledgeable. It was a great and new way to see Santa Barbara. We enjoyed it so much we plan to do the Sunday one the next time we get back…”
Steve and Cynthia Morley-Mower
Los Angeles
El Paseo Santa Barbara