Downtown Tours

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Walking Tours

These unique tours through Downtown Sacramento introduce visitors and residents to people, places and events that shaped California history. From John Sutter to Cesar Chavez, the tours cover more than 150 years of state and local history with topics that range from art and architecture to cultural, religious and urban history.

Call 916-442-8575 or email dsp(at)downtownsac.org to make a reservation. Each of these guided walking tours last approximately one to two hours.

FEATURED TOURS:

Old Sacramento Speakeasy Tour | Rich History & Dirty Little Secrets

NOTE: February’s Tour is canceled because it’s MARDI GRAS! Take the Mardi Gras Pub Crawl through Old Sac instead.

DSP tour guide and history buff, Shawn Peter, takes you on a guided tour through Old Sacramento’s underground watering holes. The tour begins at the River City Saloon, an Old Town bar decorated in prohibition-era style. Your group will head to several other speakeasy spots including the famed Delta King Riverboat, which at the time served as a ‘floating’ hotspot for illegal drinking, jazz bands, gambling and fine dining.

Along the way, you’ll learn fascinating tidbits about the people and events that shaped the city’s early history as one of the ‘wettest cities in the union’ during this pivotal era in American history. Enjoy prohibition-era themed cocktails (or simply your favorite drink) available for purchase at each participating tour stop. This tour lasts approximately 2 hours.

  • WHEN: The 3rd Saturday of each month, 6pm
  • STARTING POINT: River City Saloon, 916 2nd Street in Old Sacramento
  • COST: $10 per person, drinks not included

Tour participants must be 21 years of age or older. Tickets for this tour must be pre-purchased, please, no walk ups.

Rock & Roll History Tour & Pub Crawl | Locally grown, internationally known

Sacramento has a reputation as a strong local music scene, but plenty of national acts have made music history in our Downtown as well. Dig deep into Sactown’s rich music history, and learn about some of our most fun, fascinating, and mischievous stories on our Rock & Roll History Tour through Downtown Sacramento.

On the tour, learn about Sacramento’s contributions to the contemporary popular music scene. Shawn Peter, your tour guide, will take you from the Torch club to Tequila Museo Mayahuel, and down K Street while he fills you in on Downtown’s historical connection to The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, The Grateful Dead, Nirvana and more. As he gives you the scoop, he’ll also let your group stop, have a drink and mingle at each location. The tour ends at Marilyns on K just in time for their Thursday Night rock & roll live band karaoke!

Check back in late April to purchase tickets for this season’s tours.

  • WHEN: Every Thursday starting in May through July
  • STARTING POINT:  Torch Club, 904 15th Street, just west of the Memorial Auditorium
  • COST: $10 per person, drinks not included. Each tour includes one beer ticket to use at Concerts in the Park on Friday.

 Tour participants must be 21 years of age or older. Tickets for this tour must be pre-purchased, no walk ups please.

REGULARLY SCHEDULED TOURS:

Tales of the Central City | An overview of early Sacramento history

Walk with us down memory lane on a guided tour of one of the oldest cities in California. Learn how Sacramento managed to snag the distinction of California’s State Capitol, walk the original route of the famed Pony Express, see the influence of railroad’s ‘Big Four’ on early urban planning and learn why downtown sidewalks are hollow. Our Gold Rush era specialist, Mike Munson, leads this tour.

  • Sundays: 11 am
  • Mondays: 10 am
  • Fridays: 11 am
  • NEW! Saturdays at 1 pm.

STARTING POINT: Cesar Chavez Plaza at 9th & J streets

COST: $10 per person

Structural Stories | Local examples of historical architecture styles

Stroll through the ages of architectural history right here in Downtown Sacramento. From our renaissance-style Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament and the graceful art deco shapes of Crest Theatre, to Chicago-style architecture, we will show you local examples of the world’s finest styles. Shawn Peter leads this tour.

  • Tuesdays: 10 am
  • Wednesdays: 11 am
  • Thursdays: 3 pm

STARTING POINT: Cesar Chavez Plaza at 9th & J streets

COST: $10 per person

Art is All Around Us | A tour of Sacramento’s collection of art in public places

Tour Sacramento’s impressive collection of permanent works of art integrated into Sacramento’s built and natural environments. See works by both notable local and regional artists. This tour was developed in partnership with Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission’s Art in Public Places program. Richard MacGill leads this tour.

  • Tuesdays: 3 pm
  • Wednesdays: 10 am
  • Thursdays: 11 am

STARTING POINT: Indo Arch outside of Downtown Plaza at 3rd & K streets

COST: $10 per person

Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow | K Street commerce, growth and redevelopment

Beginning in Old Sacramento at Front and K streets, this tour will trace Sacramento’s commercial growth by traveling on foot toward 13th and K streets. On this walk, see Sacramento’s first commercial district, learn about K Street’s early history as a vaudeville and entertainment hotspot, and be the first to hear future plans for Sacramento’s most talked-about pedestrian mall. Shawn Peter or Mike Munson will lead this tour.

  • Tuesdays: 2 pm
  • Wednesdays: 1 pm
  • Thursdays: 11 am
  • Fridays: 2 pm

STARTING POINT: Delta King docks at Front & K streets

COST: $10 per person

The Art of Terra Cotta | An architecture tour featuring local clay artisans Gladding McBean

This tour will discuss the history of terra cotta as an architectural art form and will highlight downtown’s best examples of this turn-of-the-century technique. This tour emphasizes the contribution of the Gladding McBean studio, one of the region’s best cultural and artistic assets, which has provided terra cotta tiles, pipes and sculpture for customers worldwide. Based in Lincoln, California, this studio has been in continual operation since 1874. As you’ll see on the tour, many downtown buildings still showcase the studio’s early works. This tour will highlight these structures as well as discuss the evolution of this notable clay studio, the process of working with this unique type of clay, and the studio’s legacy on the art of terra cotta. Mike Munson leads this tour.

  • NOTE: This tour is currently by reservation only. Please call 916-442-8575.

COST: $10 per person

Contact the DSP

Downtown Sacramento Partnership
980 9th Street, Suite 400
Sacramento, CA 95814
P: (916) 442-8575
F (916) 442-2053
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