Community Corner
Sonoma Among Top 10 'Coolest Small Towns' In America
Among the city's coolness factors is its Spanish Colonial flavor, according to a new list from a travel website.
SONOMA, CA — Sonoma's Spanish Colonial flavor and its chic wine-tasting rooms have helped land the North Bay city in the No. 2 spot for the country's Top Ten Coolest Small Towns, according to BudgetTravel.com. Describing the city as "a wine-lover's paradise," the travel website ranked Sonoma several spots above such well-known destinations as Sedona, Arizona, which came in at No. 8.
Sonoma, which has a population of around 10,000, scored points with BudgetTravel for the wine-tasting rooms lining its downtown plaza, "pouring the best wines of the Sonoma and Napa valleys," according to Robert Firpo-Cappiello, the site's editor in chief.
Sonoma's historic mission and former military headquarters make a trip there "a bit like stepping back in time," according to BudgetTravel.com, which has scouted out the country's best destinations with populations under 20,000 for more than a decade.
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"I absolutely agree," said Sonoma Mayor Madolyn Agrimonti, reached by telephone Thursday. "There is a very rich history in the city. And of course we have General Vallejo and the bench."
Agrimonti was referring to a life-sized statue of Lt. Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo. The lieutenant laid out the eight-acre central plaza downtown in the mid-1800s, according to the city.
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Some controversy arose when the statue was announced in 2016, but since it was unveiled in June 2017, it has become a popular tourist sight, the mayor said. The lieutenant is depicted sitting on a bench.
"You can sit right there with him and have your photo taken," Agrimonti said. She also extolled the city's hiking trails and the art on the plaza.
By Bay City News Service
Photo by Al Francis/Napasonomaphotos.com
