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Visiting Mission Santa Barbara California

California’s twenty-one Spanish Missions have played an integral part in the state’s history. Founded by the Franciscan priests, each Mission was built a day’s worth of horse back riding apart from each other. Santa Barbara is a beautiful town and it is only fitting that it has the Queen of the Missions, so named because many consider it the prettiest. Here are tips and things to do in Old Mission Santa Barbara.

Mission Santa Barbara fountain and church

The priests built these missions as centers of religious and cultural activities. Today, they function as parishes and living museums. Unfortunately, the Missions are not always at the top of many tourist attraction lists.

Mission Santa Barbara church

Old Mission Santa Barbara Architecture

Located on a hilltop overlooking the city and the Pacific Ocean, it was impressive. Its architectural style was a combination of Greek, Roman and Spanish – inspired by a Latin temple.

The church with its six pink-hued columns made it quite unique from other Missions we’ve visited. Its facade was based on a Roman architect’s picture of a Greek temple. The statues on top were Faith, Hope and Charity and St. Barbara in the center niche.

Mission Santa Barbara church

It is the only Mission with twin bell towers. The six huge bells welcomed guests and announced various events throughout its history. In the old days, they used it to summon the Indians to assemble in church and rang during the day as activity reminders.

Mission Santa Barbara bell tower

History and Tour of Inside Old Mission Santa Barbara

Founded in 1786, Mission Santa Barbara’s purpose was to convert the native Chumash Indians into Christians. We did the self-guided tour and for a small fee of $5 was truly worth it. 

It started with the beautiful courtyard called the Sacred Garden with a fountain in the middle amid towering palm trees and a well maintained landscape of roses and cacti. This was the Native Americans’ work area for learning trades. The adjacent buildings were their workshops.

Mission Santa Barbara sacred garden

Through a maze of newer buildings and a couple of outdoor exhibits, the path ended at the Mission cemetery. More than 4,000 Chumash Indians were buried here.

Juana Maria, the Indian girl who inspired the award-winning novel, ISLAND OF the Blue Dolphins was one of those buried in an unmarked grave. A plaque in her memory lies towards the exit. 

Tombs and mausoleums of early Spanish families were also here. The giant fig tree in the center provided some much needed shade.

Mission Santa Barbara cemetary

Tour signs pointed us towards a a door with skull and crossbone carvings over it. Contrary to my son’s thoughts of this being pirate territory, these were actually traditional signs marking a cemetery.

Mission Santa Barbara skull crossbones door

Santa Barbara Mission Church

This door led to the Mission’s church – its main attraction. I could see why this church was very popular for weddings. 

The altar was absolutely stunning and very colorful. The canvas backdrop behind the altar almost looked three-dimensional and imitated the church’s facade of columns and intricate designs.

Mission Santa Barbara church altar

I don’t think I have ever seen such a colorful church.  It actually felt more like a museum.

Mission Santa Barbara church

Various enclaves contained large stone sculptures of saints. Its walls were adorned with large religious artwork masterfully painted by Mexican artists in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Mission Santa Barbara wall art

Beneath the paintings were entire walls painted with vivid colors.  It was so worth it to sit there for a few minutes and admire the church’s fine art and architecture.

Mission Santa Barbara church walls

Even the kids enjoyed walking around the church admiring everything. With doors like these, how can you not feel a bit of joy walking in here?

Mission santa Barbara door

For something unusual, the ceiling was decorated with various carved, wooden designs where the chandeliers hung. While not very large, this church absolutely made up for its lack of size with grandeur and ornate decorations.

Mission Santa Barbara church chandelier and ceiling art

Mission Santa Barbara Museum

A walking tour through the museum was the last portion of our visit. These rooms used to be the missionaries’ living quarters. 

The exhibits gave us a sense of what life was like for the priests and the Indians. There were various displays of what the Indians did – weaving, candle making, and woodcraft among other things. It was a fascinating glimpse into this part of history.

Mission Santa Barbara museum

The kitchen exhibit was actually interesting. It was a recreation of a smaller Mission indoor kitchen used for cooking meals for the priests and guests in the 1800s.

Mission Santa Barbara kitchen

We particularly liked that a corner of the museum was dedicated to keeping kids busy while the parents were preoccupied. The tile overlay coloring activity provided a great souvenir for the kids.

Mission Santa Barbara kids corner

Old Mission Santa Barbara Exterior

While the Mission’s interior was full of history, the outside area also had some noteworthy structures – the Moorish fountain built in the 1800s and the lavanderia. This long stone structure was used by the Indians to wash clothes.

Mission Santa Barbara lavanderia

The wide open grassy area was a popular spot for sunbathers, picnickers and for kids to run around.  Also, a popular photo background for wedding and engagement photos. 

The rose garden across was a wonderful place to visit and sit back and admire the Mission. If you’re ever in the area, we definitely recommend a visit to one of California’s historic gems.

Mission Santa Barbara

Have you visited Mission Santa Barbara or any of the California Missions?

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Mission Santa Barbara

31 thoughts on “Visiting Mission Santa Barbara California”

  1. I’ve never visited a mission but this one makes me want to. What a beautiful place!
    Even though I know a mission is a church, as I was reading through, I was thinking it was more like a monastery. I’ve probably only seen them in books or movies but this one is beautiful. Your daughter made a good choice. That pink was surprising to me. Thanks for sharing.

    1. Thanks InsideJourneys! Glad you enjoyed this. It was a beautiful and tranquil place. My daughter was inspired even more to do a great jon on her report after visiting.

  2. Debbie Beardsley @ European Travelista

    I have been to a few of the missions in California but not this one. I have to say, the mission in Santa Barbara seems to be one of the better kept and beautiful mission the state offers. I was just in Santa Barbara for a wedding at the court house which is equally beautiful. It has an amazingly beautiful chapel too.

    1. Thanks for stopping by Debbie. I agree – this mission and its museum was well preserved and kept up well. This may be due to the Franciscan Friars owning it. I have not been to the courthouse and would definitely check it out next time.

  3. I’ve been to several of California’s Missions including the one in Santa Barbara.
    But if you want to the Mission Trail in just an hour or less, head to the Mission Mueseum at Cline
    Cellars on the road to the Town of Sonoma (where you’ll find one of those Missions.

    1. Thank you Michael! I kinda wished I went to 4th grade in California to do this fun project. We passed by Santa Ynez last year too during a Solvang trip.

  4. The history is amazing! Thank you for sharing it with us! It looks like a beautiful mission – we have several in San Antonio, but nothing this pretty!

    Thanks for linking up!

    ~Becca

  5. Your daughter made an excellent choice – the mission is beautiful! I had hoped to visit a mission on our trip to San Diego, however, a combination of some bad weather and too many theme parks to visit meant that we weren’t able to. The next time we visit California I will be sure to visit a mission.

  6. I never knew about the missions. They look like the old west version of hostels. Only a lot more elaborate obviously. I’ll have to make sure to pay a visit next time I’m in SoCal.

    1. Thanks Steve. I’ve never heard of them being described as old west hostels but I guess in a way, they are =) I hope you get to visit one on your return trip.

  7. A beautiful series of images. Looks like a very interesting place to visit.
    In 2007, we went to the San Juan Bautista Mission, and enjoyed that very much.

    1. Thanks Andrew! It was very interesting indeed. I haven’t been to San Juan Bautista yet and it looks very quaint. It looks like the same priest who founded Santa Barbabra also founded it.

  8. I’ve actually been to the Santa Barbara Mission, years and years ago, when I was a teenager. I’ve an aunt who lives in California. The first time I first visited her, she was very keen to show me this place.

    For some reason, the building reminds me of Vertigo, the Hitchcock film. Wonder if it was filmed there…

  9. Wow, what a beautiful place! As you know, I visited the Carmel mission recently and was surprised at how large and beautiful it is– I had been to a couple other smaller CA missions before but nothing like that. I haven’t been to Santa Barbara yet but hope to get there soon. Of course, theis mission will be one of my stops!

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