Santa Rosa, California is in the heart of Sonoma County wine country. It is the largest city in the county, but still has the warm and friendly feeling of a small town. The downtown area was almost completely destroyed during the April 18th, 1906 earthquake and again in September of 1969, so very few of the historic buildings still remain.
The region offers some of the best wineries and vineyards around, so be sure to look into a tour while you are visiting Santa Rosa. Railroad Square offers the highest concentrations of historic commercial buildings, including the Northwestern Pacific Railroad depot and the Hotel La Rosa. There are also plenty of opportunities to enjoy live music and performances through the North Bay Theatre Groupe (an alliance of around 40 theatre organizations).
The weather in Santa Rosa is usually wet in the winter but dry and mild in the summer. High temperatures in June, July and August just barely reach above 70F with little or no rainfall during those months.
You can find plenty of cheap flights to Santa Rosa through the Charles M. Schulz Airport (STS). Cheap airline tickets round trip from New York to Santa Rosa will start around $350 US. Flying in from Los Angeles to Santa Rosa can start as low as $140 US.
The accommodations in and around Santa Rosa vary from the historic to the extremely modern. There are cheap hotels in Santa Rosa with rates starting under $100 near many of the attractions in the region.