For over 20 years, Pamela Lanier's Sonoma, California Travel Guide has been your connection to Sonoma's tourism community with invaluable details on local attractions, restaurants, shopping, museums, history, outdoor recreation and more.
Sonoma Shopping
Sonoma’s downtown is home to a variety of shops and boutiques offering local goods—edibles like wine, olives and cheese, decorative items like dried flowers, textiles and jewelry, fine art including paintings, sculpture, glass and metal work, and the unusual: "Three Dog Bakery," a bakery specializing in beautiful mouthwatering cakes and cookies made especially for dogs--birthday cakes, small cakes, carrot cakes, brownies… with each item’s doggie-safe ingredients listed on its packaging.
The Sonoma Valley Farmers' Market is held weekly at the Sonoma Plaza from April through October, 5:30 p.m. and going until dusk. Locally grown fresh produce, prepared foods and seasonal flowers abound, and artisans offer craft items while local nonprofit booths raise money and awareness of their causes. Live music is sponsored by The Sonoma Community Center.
First Friday Art Openings are monthly art events featuring local artist members of The Arts Guild of Sonoma, a non-profit organization located downtown at 140 E Napa St. The exhibit and reception are free and open to the public, with snacks and drinks provided by the artists.
Artefact Design & Salvage is a warehouse-like shop stuffed with eccentric objects found by owner Dave Allen. The inventory constantly changes, but there might be 19th- and 20th-century clock faces from European and American train stations; exotic seeds and pods from Brazil and South Africa; tattered, sculptural cargo ropes from Holland; and limestone fountains and basalt birdbaths from France. Prices range from pocket change to tens of thousands of dollars.
