El Presidio De Santa Bárbara State Historic Park

Lovely place to sit and think about the history of Santa Barbara.

Well preserved site giving a good idea of how Spanish soldiers and their families settled and lived. The adobe bricks, ovens, tiles, chapel and utensils are some of the things worth checking. You have to pay about $5 for full access to the site (which in my opinion is worth it), but there are sections you can check out for free as well. The lady at the front desk is very friendly and gives a great overview of the historical background and how to best explore the place. There are a few things which I found a bit problematic and would be good to keep context of while you are doing the tour. In how it glorifies the settlers and their intentions, this is practically a shrine to early settlers and their lives, and hence to colonialism. There is little mention of the native Chumash people, and whatever there is, seems to be a bit whitewashed (e.g. how the fort was built by Spanish soldiers with the 'help ' of the native people). There is one display right at the end which talks a bit about native peoples (in pics), but barring that it would seem as if everything was hunky-dory and everyone co-existed peacefully, which, as history tells us, was certainly not the case. I would still recommend the tour, since it puts you in the same space and rooms occupied by people a century back, but take everything with a pinch of salt.

This is a very interesting place. I didn't have time to tour the entire thing. There are 4 rooms, gift shop included that lay out in fair detail the history of the place. The entire tour cost $5 and gives you access to all the buildings. Its a decent size place. There is no parking so you will have to park off site and walk.

It was nice, but basically a reconstruction of the original buildings. Worth seeing and and interesting juxtaposition from the Mission.

On Labor Day holiday, we went without looking at the specific opening hours, so we had to take photos in front of the door and left. Look at the internet carefully. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are also closed. Friends who want to go must check the opening hours first. Parking is difficult at the door.