At the risk of sounding like someone from the tourism board, there's a lot of history in this town. The first permanent settlement by Europeans was at what is now called Discovery Park, at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers, near the I Street Bridge and Old Sacramento. The first European settler, a Swiss immigrant named Johann Augustus Sutter, set up camp along the river, later building a fort several miles up the American River and above its flood plain.
Sutter's Fort is one of the city's most popular attractions. School children who study California history often spend overnight campouts at the fort as part of the curriculum. There is an active living history group there, as well as a museum showing the daily lives of the original inhabitants of the area, our local Pomo, Maidu, and Nisenan peoples. (This isn't the place to discuss the fascinating history of the Native Americans of California, but I do note that there is an SFnal connection of a sort. The cultural anthropologist most famous for his study of Califiornian natives is Albert L. Kroeger, the father of Ursula Kroeber LeGuin.)
Another popular historical attraction is Old Sacramento. The buildings date for the most part from the Gold Rush era. It is famous as being the Western terminus of the Pony Express, and a monument exists on what is thought to be the exact spot of the building. After falling into disrepair, the area was revitalized in the '60s and '70s to become a shopping and restaurant haven. There are a number of interesting shops (I recommend Evangeline's for costumers in particular) and food emporia (Fat City, run by the family of the late restauranteur Frank Fat, offers the best banana cream pie in the world, and the Firehouse is one of the most popular upscale places in town.) Nightlife is available in Old Sac as well, with watering holes such as Fanny Ann's (which offers some of the tastiest burgers around), Laughs Unlimited (one of our local comedy clubs, frequently featuring Big Name talent), and Suspects Dinner Theater (like a good murder-poo with your dinner?)
Museums? We have them in droves--well, maybe not, but there are five in Old Sac and 7 more nearby. Like trains? Try the Railroad Museum. Local history? The Sacramento History Museum is just next door. There is a museum devoted to California's military history, and a certain Major Banking Corporation (you know, the one with the stagecoach?) has two museums, one in Old Sac and one just outside the area at 4th St. and Capitol Mall.
Another museum just outside Old Sac is the Crocker Art Museum, newly refurbished and expanded this year. It contains works by local artists from the Gold Rush era and later, European masters, sculpture, furnishings, and all sorts of other things.
Leland Stanford was an early governor of the state and a noted philanthropist (he endowed an institutuin of higher learning in the Bay Area and named it for his son, Leland Jr. You may have heard of it.) The Stanford Mansion is now a state historic park, and has been used for Regency dances locally for years. The mansion is located downtown at 8th and N Streets.
On the downside: If you are driving, parking in Old Sac is really tricky. There are two large public parking lots, one at the northern edge of the area, the other at the south end. On weekends and holidays, it fills up fast. There is curbside parking as well, but you have to make the correct offerings to the gods of parking in order to get one. The upside of this is that the area is so small, it can be walked by someone who is semi-mobile (walkers or crutches). Most, if not all, of the shops are fully accessible, although access may not be easy to find. When in doubt, ask a local.
This is just a summary of what is available near the downtown area. As we get closer to July 2013, these items will be reviewed and updated.
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