Visiting Napa, United States: Top Sights on Foot

Napa is a California city on the Napa River, known for its wine heritage, historic downtown and distinctive nineteenth- and early twentieth-century architecture. From stone wineries and restored commercial buildings to a historic train and former entertainment venues, there are plenty of things to do in Napa beyond visiting vineyards. Neywo offers a free audio guide for Napa with 25 narrated places, available in 11 languages.

What to See in Napa

Downtown Napa is compact enough to explore on foot, with many of its most interesting places connected to the city’s commercial, religious and wine-making past.

First Presbyterian Church

At 1333 Third Street, First Presbyterian Church is one of downtown Napa’s historic landmarks. The congregation was established in 1853, while the current Neo-Gothic building was completed in 1874. Its Gothic Revival design includes soaring ceilings, intricate woodwork and stained-glass windows.

The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. After the 2014 South Napa earthquake caused significant damage, it underwent seismic retrofitting and careful restoration, including repairs to its walls, floors and stained glass.

Hatt Building

The Hatt Building is Napa’s largest brick industrial structure, although it is actually a complex of four connected buildings constructed over four decades. Its bricks were made from clay gathered locally along the Napa River.

The first section began as a feed and grain mill in the early 1880s. In 1885, a second floor became a skating rink, which remained open until 1930. The complex has been in continuous use since it was established and now contains the Napa River Inn, restaurants, specialty shops and event spaces.

Alexandria Hotel and Annex

Built in 1910, the Alexandria Hotel and Annex combines Mission Revival and Mediterranean Revival elements. Its three square towers, metal tile roofs, overhanging eaves and wrought-iron balconies make it one of the more memorable buildings in downtown Napa.

The Annex is older than the hotel. When the hotel was built, the older structure was redesigned to match it, creating a unified façade with decorative details, string courses, pilasters and glazed tile. Today, the Annex contains two shops.

Winship-Smernes Building

Near the First Street Bridge, the Winship-Smernes Building illustrates the Italianate Victorian style that shaped Napa’s late nineteenth-century commercial district. Built in 1888, it has a brick façade, cast-iron details and a large glass storefront.

The building was designed by Napa architect Luther Turton and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. It has also been known as the Hennessey Building.

Goodman Library

Goodman Library on First Street was built in 1901 and is a striking example of Richardson Romanesque architecture. Rusticated stone, broad round-arched windows and its imposing scale distinguish it from Napa’s earlier Victorian buildings.

It became the longest-operating library in the state. When Napa moved its main library elsewhere in the 1970s, the Napa County Historical Society took over the building and preserved its role as a research library. The building was damaged in the 2014 earthquake, restored with new structural bracing and a roof, and reopened after restoration was completed in 2018.

Sam Kee Laundry Building

The Sam Kee Laundry Building, also called the Pfeiffer Building, is Napa’s oldest stone commercial building. Constructed in 1875 from locally quarried sandstone, it has a false-front Italianate design and decorative cornice.

Its earlier lives included a brewery, boarding house, saloon, brothel and meat market. It eventually became the Sam Kee Laundry. Today, it houses Vintner’s Collective, a wine tasting bar featuring boutique wineries. The building was restored after earthquake damage and reopened in 2015.

George E. Goodman Mansion

At 1120 Oak Street, the George E. Goodman Mansion is a historic home built in 1873. Designed by San Francisco architects McDougall and Marquis, it is a notable example of Second Empire architecture. The mansion was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.

Noyes Mansion

The Noyes Mansion offers a glimpse of Napa’s early twentieth-century residential elegance. Built in 1903 for lumber dealer Frank Noyes, it was designed by local architect William H. Corlett in a shingle-style softened by Colonial Revival details.

The house covers approximately six thousand square feet across two floors. Details to look for include wide-trimmed doors and windows, a grand staircase with an oak balustrade and a floral stained-glass skylight. The estate also includes a large carriage house. The mansion was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992, and a later restoration preserved its historical character.

Lisbon Winery and Jarvis Conservatory

The Lisbon Winery is one of Napa’s surviving links to its late nineteenth-century wine boom. The two-story stone building was made from native rock quarried in the hills east of Napa. Its walls are two feet thick, and its solid rectangular form reflects the industrial warehouse style used by wineries in late nineteenth-century Napa County.

Portuguese, Swiss, French, German and Italian immigrants contributed to the area’s early wine industry. Prohibition forced the winery to close, and production later resumed before the building became storage space. It now houses the Jarvis Conservatory.

Napa Valley Wine Train

The Napa Valley Wine Train offers a historic rail journey between Napa and St. Helena, combining vineyard views with dining and wine tasting. The round trip covers 36 miles and passes through Yountville, Rutherford and Oakville along the way.

The railway dates from the nineteenth century. After Southern Pacific planned to abandon the line, local entrepreneur Vincent DeDomenico bought it in 1987. The restored Pullman cars date from the early 1900s and feature Honduran mahogany paneling, velvet seating and etched-glass partitions.

COPIA

COPIA, the American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts, opened in downtown Napa on November 18, 2001. Planned and largely funded by vintners Robert and Margrit Mondavi, it was created as a nonprofit museum and educational center focused on wine, food and American art.

The center included galleries, theaters, classrooms, a demonstration kitchen, a restaurant, a rare book library and a three-and-a-half-acre vegetable and herb garden. Its permanent exhibition, Forks in the Road, traced the development of cooking from its origins to modern advances. Although COPIA operated for only seven years, it played an important role in downtown Napa’s development.

Uptown Theater

The Uptown Theatre first opened in 1937 as a movie theater. Its Art Deco design connects its current role as a music and entertainment venue with its earlier history as a cinema.

Other historic stops

Napa’s heritage also includes York House, First Baptist Church, Third Street Bridge and the Semorile Building. The latter, built in 1888, is a two-story commercial building noted for its red brick, cut stone, ornamental iron balcony and distinctive parapet.

For a broader trip through the state, you can also explore the wider California destination or continue planning elsewhere in the United States.

Explore Napa with Neywo

Neywo turns a visit into a Napa self-guided walking tour: the app tells the story of each place as you reach it, at your own pace, with no group and no schedule. Its free Napa audio guide includes 25 narrated places and narration in 11 languages.

Napa currently has two walking tours and one bike route:

• Downtown Napa: Brick, Banks and a Gilded Opera House — a 2.35 km walk lasting 80 minutes, with 11 narrated stops.
• Victorian Mansions and Wine Money — a 3.46 km walk lasting 79 minutes, with 7 narrated stops.
• Riverside Roll on the Napa Vine Trail — a 1 km bike route lasting 5 minutes, with 3 narrated stops.

Download Neywo and explore Napa while the story plays at the places themselves—without joining a group or following a fixed schedule.