The Dong people sing love songs, drinking songs, and work songs; “gate-barring songs” to greet visitors while assessing their intentions; and Grand Songs, epic historical ballads passed down orally from song masters to young disciples. In other respects as well, the people of Dimen, one of 15 Dong villages in Guizhou province, still practice a way of life that dates back to the 13th century. They build their houses and bridges with wooden pegs and posts. They use ancient, integrated farming methods, raising rice and carp together in thousands of terraced ponds cut into the mountainside. The women weave and dye their own cloth, including a glossy black fabric they buff with boiled cow skin and egg whites.

But Dimen isn’t completely stopped in time. Its tiny commercial center consists of a bus station, an elementary school, a grocery store—and a cell phone shop. And even though Guizhou is one of the poorest provinces in China, televisions, washing machines, and other trappings of modern life increasingly crop up in Dong households, largely because the government offers subsidies on surplus consumer goods.

China is rocketing into the future—lacing itself up with superhighways, swallowing rural towns, and spitting out gleaming cities. In Dimen, nearly half of the village’s 2,340 residents work in nearby towns and cities, forgoing the rice fields for better-paying jobs in construction and manufacturing. But in the past decade, privately administered conservation projects have encouraged the people of Dimen to reestablish a self-sustaining local economy and, even while engaging with the outside world, preserve many of their traditional ways. The Western China Cultural Ecology Research Workshop, founded by Hong Kong professor and entrepreneur Wai Kit Lee, strives to bolster indigenous Dong culture without turning Dimen into a tourist trap that puts villagers on display.

The Research Workshop collaborated with residents to rebuild the Dimen drum tower, which burned down in 2006. The restoration of this symbol of village unity set the precedent of a rural community empowered to safeguard its heritage.

One of the Grand Songs of the Dong, which takes more than an hour to sing, is titled “Village Elder Tang Gong.” According to local legend, Tang founded Dimen 800 years ago. This traditional red pagoda was built as a memorial to him and restored in the 1980s.

The Dong people of Dimen live much the way their ancestors did. But a few modern amenities have appeared in recent years, as in the home of Niangqian Wu and her husband, a rice farmer and carpenter who helped construct the Western China Cultural Ecology Research Workshop. They live in a house built into a hillside, its front half hanging precariously over the slope. In the living room, which is heated by a coal fire, the ceiling is low and the thin wooden walls are plastered with peeling sheets of newspaper. Asked how her life has changed over the past decade, Wu nods in the direction of the single bare lightbulb overhead. “Better wiring, piped water, better roads,” she says through a translator. “Fire hydrants.” Indoor plumbing is now standard.

A glossy white refrigerator sits in the corner of the room. It is empty, its interior still coated with protective plastic film and the manufacturer’s labels. In the dim light it glows like an alien. “She says the fridge is for decoration, to make them look like a modern family,” the translator says. “On TV, they see that city people have refrigerators. But she says her family has no use for it. When it is time to eat, they kill chickens. They catch fish. They pick vegetables from their garden.” Wu giggles, covering her mouth. “She thinks it’s very funny,” explains the translator, “that the fridge is empty.”

Distinguished by its stone arches and tiered tiled roofs, a covered “flower bridge” is an architectural highlight of most Dong villages. It provides shelter from the rain and a year- round place to rest, socialize, and play games.

A narrow pebbly river bisects Dimen’s dense patchwork of wooden houses. Spanning the water stand five exuberantly ornamented “flower bridges,” also known as “wind-and-rain bridges” for their utility in a storm. Just outside the village, terraced rice paddies and fields of vegetables and tea plants provide residents with their main livelihood and sources of food.

In the spring of 2010, Wai Kit Lee and fellow researcher Leon Ren helped launch an experimental pilot project, inspired by the Community Supported Agriculture movement. They paired approximately 150 rice-farming families in Dimen with families in Beijing, Hong Kong, and Shenzhen. The city dwellers pay the farmers directly, and fairly, for their organic rice. The hope, Ren explains, is to foster personal connections and spark “interactive tourism and cultural exchange.” He envisions urban families visting Dimen to see where their rice comes from, getting to know the farmers, and learning more about ethnic-minority culture and rural life.

SIDEBAR: Lifestyles in the Balance

In 2003, Wai Kit Lee arrived in Guizhou with a team of musicologists. A Hong Kong businessman, publisher, and professor of ethnic-minority culture at universities in Beijing and Guiyang, Lee planned to record the music of the Dong, Miao, Yao, and Shui people and release it on a series of CDs. But when he witnessed the penetration of commercial activities in the region and saw villagers leaving their homes to work in nearby factories and cities, he took on a considerably larger project. With his own money, he funded the Western China Cultural Ecology Research Workshop, which opened on the eastern outskirts of Dimen in 2005. Its goals include the documentation of ethnic music, crafts, and rituals, and the development of locally controlled economic projects that improve the quality of life without throwing the culture out of balance.

Resembling a rambling wooden tree house, the workshop’s complex was built using traditional Dong techniques, without a formal blueprint or a single nail. The village feng shui master sacrificed a chicken to ensure that construction proceeded smoothly. Gently rising staircases connect the center to the lodge, which accommodates up to 60 visiting scholars and researchers.

The research center aims to reverse a trend that has taken hold in rural China: Business interests lease entire century-old villages and turn them into ethnic-minority “theme parks.” They charge admission fees for daily shows of formerly sacred rituals. Villagers get paid nominal amounts to perform them and to host tourists in their “traditional-looking” homes. “They use heritage to develop a brand and incite tourism, to attract eyeballs and money,” says Lee. “People who go to those theme parks are curious about ‘exotic’ lifestyles, but they do not visit them with the intention to understand more about the culture.” Guesthouses and souvenir shops might thrive, but eventually, he says, “the soul of the town is gone, only the skeleton remains.”

“We’re trying to find opportunities for the Dong to improve their livelihood without completely altering their way of life,” Lee explains. “I want to show that a village can be rich in other ways—in community, in self-reliance, in lack of anxiety.”

For more images of Dimen, see here.

“Cannabis buyer’s clubs” began cropping up in San Francisco in the late 1990s, after Proposition 215, which passed in California in 1996, removed criminal penalties for people who grew or possessed cannabis for their own medical use. Since then, a hodgepodge of legislative enactments and judicial decisions has more or less legalized the medical use of marijuana; today Sparc is one of 24 licensed dispensaries in San Francisco. In November, residents will vote on Proposition 19, a statewide ballot initiative that could legalize marijuana for recreational use in California.

Sparc’s founder, Erich Pearson, has legally grown cannabis in Sonoma and San Francisco Counties for the past 12 years, selling it to medical dispensaries and supplying it for free to critically ill patients in hospices. (Marijuana has been shown to alleviate nausea, neuropathy, pain and insomnia, and to stimulate appetite.) Two years ago, wanting more direct contact with patients, he decided to open his own dispensary, and in the process created a new model for marijuana distribution.

Pearson enlisted Sand Studios, a local architecture firm, to design a space that would help “remove the stigma around cannabis and make people feel marijuana is normal.” After all, as he acknowledged, “if we’re asking the government and citizens to allow medical cannabis, we have to show them a model they can feel comfortable with.”

The designer Larissa Sand toured a handful of Bay Area dispensaries to gain a better understanding of the business. (“Nothing against marijuana, but fine wine is my drug of choice,” Sand said.) While she was impressed with the sense of community and professionalism among growers and retailers, she found most dispensaries lacking when it came to aesthetics. “There was nothing current,” she said. “I wanted to create something beautiful, to elevate the product and give it the proper milieu.”

To that end, Sparc is spare, modern and well lit. Vaguely bong-shaped lights made of borosilicate science glass drip from the ceiling. Steel shelving holds dozens of apothecary-style wood boxes, each containing a different strain or form of lab-tested cannabis. Along another wall, a similar rack displays baby plants for sale. The sales counter is made of local oak, with inset glass-topped drawers exhibiting buds, salves and edibles like snickerdoodle cookies and “cosmic caramels.” According to Sand, such attention to detail sends a message to regulators and members alike that “this isn’t just some backyard moonshine.”

Of all Sparc’s design moves, Pearson is proudest of the facility’s semitransparent facade — a cascading grid of steel and glass patterned loosely on marijuana’s DNA and peppered with clear aquamarine panes. It was inspired in part by the Twin Peaks Tavern, a still-extant gay bar in the Castro that is said to have been the first in America to have clear windows (rather than blacked out) when it opened in 1972. “A glass facade represents transparency, legitimacy and a sort of coming out of the closet,” Pearson said. “It lets people know we’re not afraid of anything, that there’s no shame in it. It’s therapy for a lot of people.”

Friday

4 p.m.
1) CREATIVE SOUVENIRS

With its relatively affordable rents and D.I.Y. ethos, Salt Lake City is a bastion of creativity. To survey the design scene, stop by Frosty Darling (177 East Broadway; 801-532-4790; frostydarling.com), a whimsical gift shop stocked with retro candy and handmade clothing, accessories, and housewares by the owner, Gentry Blackburn, and other Utah designers. Signed & Numbered (2100 East 2100 South; 801-596-2093; signed-numbered.com) specializes in limited-edition, hand-pulled art prints and concert posters, from $8 to $150. And at Salt Lake Citizen (210 East 400 South; 801-363-3619; facebook.com/SaltLakeCitizen), in the atrium of the Main Library building, you’ll find street-inspired clothing and accessories from 40 city designers, including embroidered wide-leg jeans and jewelry made of laser-cut acrylic.

7 p.m.
2) UTAH FARMS

Chain restaurants used to dominate Salt Lake City’s food scene, but today intimate spots are popping up, run by young chefs inspired by the bounty of local organic farmers and artisanal purveyors. Leading the pack is Pago (878 South 900 East; 801-532-0777; pagoslc.com), a bustling neighborhood joint housed in a squat 1910 brick building. The chef Mike Richey spotlights local organic products in dishes like bagna cauda wagyu bavette steak with heirloom fingerling potatoes and local arugula ($29) in a rustic candle-lit room that seats just 50. Another newcomer is Forage (370 East 900 South; 801-708-7834; foragerestaurant.com), which serves wildly creative dishes like vanilla-scented diver scallops paired with smoked beluga lentils. A three-course dinner is $45.

9 p.m.
3) OPEN CITY

Raise a glass to celebrate the repeal of liquor laws that required bars to operate as private clubs and collect membership fees. The Red Door (57 West 200 South; 801-363-6030; behindthereddoor.com) has dim lighting, a great martini list and kitschy revolution décor — yes, that’s a Che Guevara mural on the wall. Squatters Pub Brewery (147 West Broadway; 801-363-2739; squatters.com) serves high-gravity beers from the award-winning brewmaster Jenny Talley, like the 6 percent alcohol India Pale Ale. And Club Jam (751 North 300 West; 801-891-1162; jamslc.com) is a friendly gay bar with a house party feel and impromptu barbecues on the back patio.

Saturday

9 a.m.
4) BOTANICAL BLISS

The Red Butte Garden, nestled in the foothills above the University of Utah campus (300 Wakara Way; 801-585-0556; redbuttegarden.org), has a newly planted rose garden, 3.5 miles of walking trails and morning yoga in the fragrance garden. For a wake-up hike, ask the front desk for directions to the Living Room, a lookout point named for the flat orange rocks that resemble couches. Sit back and absorb the expansive views of the valley, mountains and the Great Salt Lake.

11 a.m.
5) NOT JUST TEMPLES

Chart your own architecture tour. The city’s Main Library (210 East 400 South; 801-524-8200; www.slcpl.lib.ut.us), a curving glass structure built in 2003 by the architect Moshe Safdie, has fireplaces on every floor and a rooftop garden with views of the city and the Wasatch Mountains. For older buildings, wander the Marmalade Historic District, home to many original pioneer homes from the 19th century, or go on a walking tour with the Utah Heritage Foundation (801-533-0858; utahheritagefoundation.com).

1 p.m.
6) DIVERSE PALATE

Although recent census figures put the city’s population at 75.3 percent white, there is a growing ethnic population of Latinos, Pacific Islanders (particularly Samoan and Tongan), and refugees from Tibet, Bosnia and Somalia. Taste their influence at places like Himalayan Kitchen (360 South State Street; 801-328-2077; himalayankitchen.com), a down-home dining room with turmeric-yellow walls and red tablecloth tables, where dishes include Nepali goat curry ($15.95) and Himalayan momos, steamed chicken dumplings served with sesame seed sauce ($10.95).

3 p.m.
7) GIMME SUGAR

The Sugarhouse district is known for its one-of-a-kind shops and pedestrian-friendly mini-neighborhoods that are near the intersections of 900 East and 900 South (which locals call “9th and 9th”), and 1500 East and 1500 South (“15th and 15th”). Highlights include the Tea Grotto (2030 South 900 East; 801-466-8255; teagrotto.com), a funky teahouse that specializes in fair-trade and loose-leaf teas, and the charming King’s English Bookshop (1511 South 1500 East; 801-484-9100; kingsenglish.com), a creaky old house filled with books and cozy reading nooks.

7 p.m.
8) ITALIAN HOUR

Salt Lake City has plenty of appealing Italian restaurants — Cucina Toscana and Lugäno are perpetual favorites — but the most romantic is arguably Fresco Italian Cafe (1513 South 1500 East; 801-486-1300; frescoitaliancafe.com), an intimate 14-table restaurant tucked off the main drag in a 1920s cottage. The menu is small but spot-on, with simple northern Italian dishes with a twist. The butternut squash ravioli, for example, is served with a splash of reduced apple cider and micro-planed hazelnuts ($18). There’s a roaring fire, candlelight and, in the summer, dining on the brick patio.

9 p.m.
9) LIVE FROM UTAH

As the only sizable city between Denver and Northern California, Salt Lake City gets many touring bands passing through. Hear established and up-and-coming acts at places like the Urban Lounge (241 South 500 East; 801-746-0557; theurbanloungeslc.com) and Kilby Court (741 South Kilby Court; 801-364-3538; kilbycourt.com). If you want to make your own sweet music, stop by Keys on Main (242 South Main Street; 801-363-3638; keysonmain.com), a piano bar where the audience sings along.

Sunday

10 a.m.
10) SECULAR MISSION

Mormons get around, and not just for missionary work. Latter-day Saint Humanitarian Center (1665 South Bennett Road; 801-240-5954; lds.org/placestovisit) is a humanitarian juggernaut that sends out handmade quilts, secondhand clothing and educational and medical supplies from their gigantic, factory-like complex to needy places around the world. If you’re curious to see how it all works, take a 45-minute tour of the sprawling warehouse, where workers and volunteers sort the more than 100,000 pieces of clothing that arrive at the center daily. If you’re inspired to help, you can stay after the tour and help prepare the humanitarian kits that regularly ship out to Haiti, Zimbabwe and other countries in crisis.

2 p.m.
11) OLYMPIC GHOSTS

Thrill-seekers head 28 miles east to Park City’s Utah Olympic Park (3419 Olympic Parkway, Park City; 435-658-4200; olyparks.com), which hosted 14 medal events during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. Even in the summer you can make like a medalist and fly down a slope at 70 miles per hour on a Comet bobsled, race along a slick steel alpine slide, or recreate a ski jump that is billed as the world’s steepest zipline. Burgeoning culture and culinary sophistication has its benefits, but for sheer thrill, nothing beats an adrenaline rush.

IF YOU GO

Most major domestic airlines fly into Salt Lake City, including Delta, which operates a hub here. A recent Web search found a nonstop flight from Kennedy Airport for about $407 for travel in June.

There’s a light rail system downtown, but you’ll still want a car.

The elegant Grand America Hotel (555 South Main Street; 800-621-4505; grandamerica.com) lives up to its name with a formal afternoon tea, green tea spa treatments and 775 palatial rooms with Italian marble bathrooms. Doubles from $179.

The Inn on the Hill (225 North State Street; 801-328-1466; inn-on-the-hill.com), housed in a 1909 English-style manor, retains its historic character with Tiffany stained-glass windows and reproduction antiques in the 12 guest rooms. Queen rooms start at $135, including breakfast.

Downtown, Hotel Monaco (15 West 200 South; 800-805-1801; monaco-saltlakecity.com) has 225 whimsical rooms, embellished with colorful fabrics, geometric headboards and striped wallpaper. Doubles start at $129.

The Olympics bore the brunt of the bad rap, but in truth, Beijing’s historic city center has been at risk for far longer. Mao Zedong, who began his reign as leader of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, declared, “Forests of factory chimneys should mushroom in Beijing.” In 1958, the municipal government developed a master plan to demolish the old city within ten years. Buoyed by China’s booming economy, real estate developers in the past two decades have been finishing the job Mao started.The government doesn’t have a consistent preservation policy, and historic buildings continue to disappear at an alarming rate. In the 1950s, there were a reported 3,600 hutongs, narrow alleys with joined courtyard houses on either side; in 2008, there were 1,000.

Concurrently, however, a nascent preservation movement has taken hold, stoked by individuals, journalists, and bloggers who document the city’s changes in photographs and forums and fight to save heritage buildings from the wrecking ball. One guiding force is Jun Wang, a Beijing-based journalist whose Mandarin-language blog, City-Eyes, and 2003 book, Beijing Record, helped raise awareness about the importance of preservation and urban planning in China. “The most important things are raising awareness and increasing community participation,” he says. “Many people in China think ‘city planning’ means ‘demolition.’”

There have been some victories. In 2002, the city designated 33 areas as “historical preservation areas,” limiting further development. In 2005, the Central Government of China approved a master plan that preserves the old city as a whole, but implementation of the policy has been inconsistent. Earlier this year, after persistent lobbying by Wang and the BCHPC, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage declared the house of the late urban planner Liang Sicheng—a central figure in Wang’s book—an “immovable cultural heritage,” reversing a demolition order.

But protection can be a tenuous thing in China, where the government’s right to eminent domain overrides all. Two years ago, setting a groundbreaking precedent, a courtyard house owner filed a lawsuit against the district government and won, resisting eviction. The house still stands, in a densely populated area surrounded by a gnarly knot of traffic. The government is weighing whether to widen the road; if it does, the house, protected or not, will be demolished.

DRAWINGS: 11 hours in the valley: 9 a.m.: Grab a cinnamon bun or a house-made English muffin at the Model Bakery (644 First Street, Building B, Napa; 707-259-1128; themodelbakery.com).; 10 a.m.: Ogle more than 1,000 artworks at di Rosa, one of the world’s top collections of Bay Area art (5200 Sonoma Highway, Napa; 707-226-5991; dirosaart.org). ; 1 p.m. : Linger over lunch at Tra Vigne, where the mozzarella al minuto is made to order (1050 Charter Oak Avenue, St. Helena; 707-963-4444; travignerestaurant.com).; 2:30 p.m.: Unwind with a hot stone massage at the 13,000-square-foot Mission-inspired Spa Villagio (6481 Washington Street, Yountville; 707-948-5050; villagio.com).; 4 p.m.: Nibble a macaron from Bouchon Bakery and wander Thomas Keller’s 2.5-acre garden (6528 Washington Street, Yountville; 707-944-2253; bouchonbakery.com).; 5 p.m.: Browse the furniture and gothic objets d’art at Ma(i)sonry, then sample a flight of wine in its garden (6711 Washington Street, Yountville; 707-944-0889; maisonry.com).; 8 p.m.: Dine at the new Farmstead, where everything from the olive oil to the grass-fed beef is local (738 Main Street, St. Helena; 707-963-4555; longmeadowranch.com).

Going to Town

SHOP: Start at the Oxbow Public Market (610 and 644 First Street, Napa; 707-226-6529; oxbowpublicmarket.com), a covered marketplace chockablock with specialty food stalls, including an organic ice cream shop and an outpost of the Hog Island Oyster Company. From there, meander over to Cake Plate (1000 Main Street, Suite 100, Napa; 707-226-2300; cakeplateonline.com) for creative cupcakes as well as bright and graphic women’s clothing by the likes of Trina Turk, Orla Kiely and Leifsdottir.

EAT: For lunch, choose from beer-can chicken at Bounty Hunter Wine Bar & Smokin’ BBQ (975 First Street, Napa; 707-226-3976; bountyhunterwine.com) or authentic Indian food at Neela’s (975 Clinton Street, Napa; 707-226-9988; neelasindianrestaurant.com). Come dinner, there’s the grand seven-course tasting menu at La Toque (1314 McKinstry Street, Napa; 707-257-5157; latoque.com; $135) or the vegetable restaurant and yoga studio Ubuntu, which recently earned a Michelin star (1140 Main Street, Napa; 707-251-5656; ubuntunapa.com; entrees $11 to $17).

NEXT UP: Later this summer, three high-profile restaurants will open in the $72 million Napa Riverfront complex: a contemporary Japanese dining room and shop from the ”Iron Chef” Masaharu Morimoto; a Tyler Florence rotisserie and wine bar featuring locally raised meat; and Fish Story, a sustainable seafood restaurant with a raw bar and a boat dock.

Barrel  Fever

FOR ART

HESS ART MUSEUM: Serious culture-trippers should make a beeline for the Hess Art Museum at the Hess Collection Winery, which displays modern and contemporary art by the likes of Andy Goldsworthy, Anselm Kiefer and Robert Motherwell in a sleek three-story gallery. 4411 Redwood Road, Napa; (707) 255-1144; hesscollection.com.

HALL RUTHERFORD: Drawn from Craig and Kathryn Hall’s personal collection, the 30 or so artworks on display at Hall Rutherford include paintings and sculptures throughout the grounds and wine caves and a bronze grapevine dripping with Swarovski crystals. 56 Auberge Road, Rutherford; (707) 967-0700; hallwines.com; by appointment.

FOR SPECTACLE

CASTELLO DI AMOROSA: The Castello di Amorosa is a 121,000-square-foot replica of a 13th-century castle, complete with chapel, torture chamber and five stone towers that took the vintner Dario Sattui nearly 14 years to build using medieval materials and construction techniques. The operation is a bit like a theme park, but the impeccably designed building itself is well worth a gawk. 4045 North St. Helena Highway, Calistoga; (707) 967-6272; castellodiamorosa.com; tours by appointment

DARIOUSH: Darioush Khaledi designed his flashy namesake winery, Darioush, to evoke a palace in Persepolis, the ancient capital of his native Iran. It’s Persia by way of Vegas: picture a travertine-clad villa, an indoor three-story waterfall and 16 uplit granite columns topped with double bullheads. 4240 Silverado Trail, Napa; (707) 257-2345; darioush.com.

FOR CREATIVE PAIRINGS

SIP SHOPPE: At Swanson Vineyards’ stylish new Sip Shoppe, secreted away in a faux circus tent down a rural road, playful pairings reign: think pinot grigio served with domestic caviar and a potato chip, and dark chocolate paired with a dessert wine served in a miniature crystal goblet. 1271 Manley Lane, Rutherford; (707) 967-3500; swansonvineyards.com.

ROBERT SINKSEY VINEYARDS: At Robert Sinskey Vineyards, ”flight attendants” help visitors pair the estate’s food-friendly reds and whites with roasted almonds, gougères and olives picked and cured on site. The $50 farm-to-table tour lets guests pick fruits and vegetables from the orchard and organic garden, sniff kaffir lime and bay leaves, and figure out which herbs go best with which wines. 6320 Silverado Trail, Napa; (707) 944-9090; robertsinskey.com.

FOR ECO-CRED

CADE WINERY: Cade Winery is striving to a Gold-LEED-certified, solar-powered winery and tasting room. The modern concrete-and-wood structure is built mostly of recycled and reclaimed materials; the 14,500-square foot wine caves are naturally ventilated; and the tasting room is insulated with denim remnants. 360 Howell Mountain Road South, Angwin; (707) 965-2746; cadewinery.com; by appointment.

QUINTESSA: At the 280-acre Quintessa winery — one of the most scenic properties in Napa — the owner and vineyard master, Valeria Huneeus, grows grapes in a sustainable, biodynamic way, farming in tune with the phases of the moon and cosmological cycles, and applying homeopathic compost teas to the vines. 1601 Silverado Trail, Rutherford; (707) 967-1601; quintessa.com; by appointment.

Doubling Up

MUD BATH: HIGH: Mosey up to the mud bar at Spa Solage for a customized blend of minerals, clay and essential oils ($98). 755 Silverado Trail, Calistoga; (707) 226-0820; solagecalistoga.com.

LOW: Lower yourself into a concrete trough for an old-fashioned, no-frills volcanic mud bath at Indian Springs ($85). 1712 Lincoln Avenue, Calistoga; (707) 942-4913; indianspringscalistoga.com.

NIBBLES: HIGH: Book a one-hour guided cheese, charcuterie and wine tasting ($50) at the new Kenzo Estate, owned by a Japanese businessman who made his fortune in the video game industry. 3200 Monticello Road, Napa; (707) 259-5408; kenzoestate.com.

LOW: Pick up some local ash-aged goat cheese and Frá Mani Toscano Salami at Sunshine Foods, and have a picnic by the boccie courts at Crane Park. 1115 Main Street, St. Helena; (707) 963-7070; sunshinefoodsmarket.com.

TOUR: HIGH: Go up in a hot-air balloon with Napa Valley Balloons for a bird’s-eye view of the valley, followed by a Champagne brunch ($240 per person). 1 California Drive, Yountville; (707) 944-0228; napavalleyballoons.com.

LOW: Rent a carbon fiber road bike from the St. Helena Cyclery and cruise the Silverado Trail ($65 for a 24-hour rental). 1156 Main Street, St. Helena; (707) 963-7736; sthelenacyclery.com.

COOKING CLASS: HIGH: high Sharpen your knife skills and cooking techniques in the five-day Basic Training Boot Camp at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone ($2,095). 2555 Main Street, St. Helena; (800) 888-7850; ciachef.edu/california.

LOW: Enroll in a whole hog butchering or salumi-making class at the new Fatted Calf charcuterie shop ($135). 644-C First Street, Napa; (707) 256-3684; fattedcalf.com.

BURGER: HIGH: Splurge on the almond-wood-grilled American Kobe beef burger topped with Gruyère and wine-stewed onions at Martini House in St. Helena ($17). 1245 Spring Street; (707) 963-2233; martinihouse.com.

LOW: Claim a picnic table at Gott’s Roadside and chow down on a classic burger topped with pickles and American cheese ($8). 933 Main Street, St. Helena; (707) 963-3486; gottsroadside.com.

Trail Mix

In an effort to protect the valley from overdevelopment, the Land Trust of Napa County has permanently preserved more than 52,000 acres of agricultural and natural land since 1976. You can take one of the organized hikes led by trust members and, once you’ve done that, trek solo through protected areas that are otherwise off-limits. (707) 261-6316; napalandtrust.org.

Jolly Ranches

1. Auberge du Soleil

Look Provence in California, with hillside stucco cottages shaded by olive trees.
Best for Hollywood types, honeymooners.
Don’t miss The three-acre sculpture garden.
Caveat Not family-friendly.
180 Rutherford Hill Road, Rutherford; (707) 963-1211; aubergedusoleil.com; doubles from $575.

2. Bardessono

Look Weathered steel, polished concrete, reclaimed wood, clean lines.
Best for Eco-minded sybarites (it’s California’s first LEED-platinum-certified hotel).
Don’t miss An in-room spa treatment (every bathroom has a fold-out massage bed).
Caveat The minimalist interiors can be sterile.
6526 Yount Street, Yountville; (707) 204-6000; bardessono.com; doubles from $350.

3. Calistoga Ranch

Look Cedar bungalows nestled in the woods, with decks and outdoor showers.
Best for Deep-pocketed nature lovers.
Don’t miss Hiking the resort’s 157 redwood-filled acres.
Caveat Bedroom and living room are seperated by an open-air deck — a drag when it’s cold or rainy.
580 Lommel Road, Calistoga; (707) 254-2800; calistogaranch.com; doubles from $550.

4. The Carneros Inn

Look Haute agricultural architecture by way of tin-roofed cottages with porches.
Best for People seeking evidence of Napa’s rural past.
Don’t miss The guests-only spa, which uses local ingredients like goat butter.
Caveat Off the beaten path — 25 minutes to St. Helena.
4048 Sonoma Highway, Napa; (707) 299-4900; thecarnerosinn.com; doubles from $450.

5. Meadowood Napa Valley

Look New England country club — a golf course, tennis courts and gable-roofed cottages — on 250 acres.
Best for Preppy families.
Don’t miss Croquet on the lawn and dinner in the Michelin-starred restaurant.
Caveat It’s spread out enough that you’ll be hitching golf-cart rides from the bell staff.
900 Meadowood Lane, St. Helena; (707) 963-3646; meadowood.com; doubles from $525.

6. Milliken Creek Inn and Spa

Look Wooden shingled summer house by the river.
Best for Romantic getaways (candlelight at turn-down, breakfast in bed).
Don’t miss Wine-and-cheese hour hosted by local winemakers.
Caveat There’s no restaurant, pool or gym.
1815 Silverado Trail, Napa; (707) 255-1197; millikencreekinn.com; doubles from $350.

7. Hotel Luca

Look Fantasy version of an Italian courtyard house.
Best for Italophiles and foodies (it’s a short walk to Yountville’s restaurant row).
Don’t miss The house-cured salumi at the hotel restaurant.
Caveat Noisy courtyard dining is in earshot of guest rooms.
6774 Washington Street, Yountville; (707) 944-8080; hotellucanapa.com; doubles from $295.

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Claim to fame Thomas Keller’s casual joint was supposed to be temporary, but it’s still here four years later, thanks to wild acclaim. Set menus change daily.
Vibe Unpretentious: waiters in jeans, family-style dishes.
Signature dish Perfect fried chicken, served every other Monday.
6476 Washington Street, Yountville; (707) 944-2487; adhocrestaurant.com; four-course meal $49.

Bottega:

Claim to fame Italian fare by Michael Chiarello, a Food Network personality and St. Helena resident.
Vibe Buzzing: Chiarello makes the rounds, greeting locals and industry insiders by name.
Signature dish ”Green eggs & ham” (braised asparagus with pecorino budino pudding, egg and prosciutto bits).
6525 Washington Street, Yountville; (707) 945-1050; botteganapavalley.com; entrees $15 to $37.

Bouchon:

Claim to fame Keller’s original brasserie, with a Michelin star and outposts in Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
Vibe Festive: closely packed tables and a patio overlooking Yountville’s main drag. Popular with local chefs.
Signature dish Roasted leg of lamb with seasonal accompaniments.
6534 Washington Street; Yountville; (707) 944-8037; bouchonbistro.com; entrees $17 to $34.

Etoile at Domaine Chandon:

Claim to fame At 26, the chef Perry Hoffman is one of the youngest recipients of a Michelin star in the United States.
Vibe Insidery: Napa veterans imbibing in the lounge, visitors lingering over a four-course feast.
Signature dish Dungeness crab with shaved fennel and madeira gelée.
1 California Drive, Yountville; (888) 242-6366; chandon.com; entrees $26 to $38.

French Laundry:

Claim to fame Keller’s three-Michelin-star temple is almost impossible to book — you have to call precisely two months to the calendar day.
Vibe Reverent: an awed hush accompanies the meal of a lifetime.
Signature dish ”Oysters and pearls” — a sabayon of pearl tapioca with oysters and white caviar.
6640 Washington Street, Yountville; (707) 944-2380; frenchlaundry.com; nine-course meal $250.

Redd:

Claim to fame The first solo venture from Richard Reddington, who worked at Restaurant Daniel, Auberge du Soleil and top restaurants in France.
Vibe Hopping: power brokers, C.E.O.’s and Hollywood producers.
Signature dish Glazed pork belly with apple purée, burdock and soy caramel.
6480 Washington Street, Yountville; (707) 944-2222; reddnapavalley.com; entrees $26 to $30.

Shopping Block

Martin Showroom Erin Martin’s eclectic shop is filled with furniture and objects like tar sculptures by the Los Angeles artist Mattia Biagi and a chandelier made of rope. 1350 Main Street; (707) 967-8787; martinshowroom.com.

Woodhouse Chocolate Tracy Wood Anderson handcrafts chocolates and truffles in flavors like Thai ginger and pecan-caramel. 1367 Main Street; (707) 963-8413; woodhousechocolate.com.

The Marketplace at Greystone The Culinary Institute of America’s store (above) stocks a jaw-dropping array of cookware, books and hard-to-find ingredients. 2555 Main Street; (888) 424-2433.

Napa Valley Olive Oil Manufacturing Company This unassuming barn is famous for its extra-virgin olive oil, bottled on the premises every morning. 835 Charter Oak Avenue; (707) 963-4173.

Flats Jan Niemi’s ballet flats are handmade in Tuscany and come in colors from black to tangerine. 1219-B Main Street; (707) 967-0480.

Jan de Luz French antiques share space with milled soaps and exquisite linens at this boutique, which can monogram anything while you wait. 1219 Main Street; (707) 963-1550; jandeluz.com.

Side Note

SLEEP Opening in June, h2hotel will have 36 rooms, a solar-heated pool, a restaurant, and a bar helmed by the mixologist Scott Beattie (219 Healdsburg Avenue; 707-922-5251; h2hotel.com; doubles from $195). The minimalist Duchamp Hotel (421 Foss Street; 707-431-1300; duchamphotel.com; doubles from $350) has six cottages with Donald Judd-inspired wooden beds.

EAT Cyrus (29 North Street; 707-433-3311; cyrusrestaurant.com; tasting menu $102 to $130) is the French Laundry of Sonoma, with inventive cooking by Douglas Keane. For something low-key, check out Barndiva (231 Center Street; 707-431-0100; barndiva.com; entrees $20 to $32), where Ryan Fancher uses exclusively local ingredients.

SIP The new Prohibition Speakeasy Wine Club (340 Healdsburg Avenue; 707-473-9463; speakeasywineclub.com) — hidden behind a phone booth in the back of a wine shop — specializes in Sonoma vintages. The Medlock Ames Tasting Room and Alexander Valley Bar (6487 Alexander Valley Road; 707-431-8845; medlockames.com) also runs a farm stand.

SHOP Lime Stone (315 Healdsburg Avenue; 707-433-3080; limestonehealdsburg.com), owned by the chef Charlie Palmer and his wife, Lisa, stocks culinary gifts. Studio Barndiva (237 Center Street; 707-431-7404; studiobarndiva.com) features textiles from women’s collectives in Ethiopia and Tibet. And Arboretum (above left; 332 Healdsburg Avenue; 707-433-7033; arboretumapparel.com) has organic cotton jeans and handbags made of vintage car fabrics.

Kyoto, the former imperial capital of Japan, is a vibrant mash-up, an ancient city electrified by the breathtakingly new. Cruise the futuristic food halls of a department store, gaping at the perfect fruit and glistening sea creatures, before zipping up to the traditional floor, with its kimonos and tea ceremony implements. See 2,000 ancient temples and shrines, then dine at a sleekly modern restaurant. Glimpse a geisha gliding down a cobblestone lane, bracketed by wooden machiya houses, and feel yourself catapulted to the 18th century — until you see her duck into a very 21st-century taxi, with a passenger door that opens and shuts automatically.

Friday

5 p.m.
1) HERITAGE HUNT

Two and a half years ago, the city enacted a landmark law aimed at protecting the city’s heritage districts, which have been defiled in recent decades by concrete block towers and other forces of modernization. Fleeting fantasies of old Kyoto can be found in Gion, the entertainment district, where, around dusk, geisha and maiko (geisha-in-training) can often be spotted flitting down Hanami-koji like exquisite rare birds to meet clients. As the sky dims, wander along Shirakawa Minami-dori, an atmospheric street surrounded by preserved wooden structures. But don’t wander too far or you’ll hit a gantlet of concrete and aluminum high-rises shrouded in neon signs and tangled electrical wires.

7 p.m.
2) MODERN KAISEKI

Kaiseki is Kyoto’s haute cuisine, an elaborate multicourse meal that originated about 500 years ago as an accompaniment to tea ceremonies. Today, sampling the cuisine can be a rarefied and pricey experience; meals at Michelin-starred kaiseki restaurants like Kikunoi (kikunoi.jp/english) run upward of $160 a person. But for an unbuttoned — and surprisingly affordable — take on kaiseki, try Giro Giro Hitoshina (420-7 Nanba-cho, Nishi Kiya-machi-dori, Higashigawa, Matsubarashita, Shimogyo-ku; 81-75-343-7070), a stylish restaurant carved out of an old wooden town house, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Takase-gawa canal. Edakuni Eiichi, the chef, turns out innovative dishes like daikon rolls stuffed with foie gras and sweet potatoes. The set 10-course meal, which changes monthly, is 3,680 yen (about $40 at 91 yen to the dollar).

9 p.m.
3) AFTER HOURS

For a taste of Kyoto’s youth culture, head to one of the city’s funky live houses, or music clubs. One good bet is Taku Taku (Tominokoji-dori, Bukkoji-sagaru, Shimogyo-ku; 81-75-351-1321), a former sake storehouse that hosts big blues and rock acts like Taj Mahal and Los Lobos, and up-and-coming Japanese rock and pop bands. It’s been around since 1974, and the place oozes history, its walls plastered with concert posters. Afterward, if you’ve made some new friends, head to Super Jankara Karaoke Room (296 Naraya-cho, Kawaramachi, Takoyakushi-agaru, Nakagyo-ku; 81-75-212-5858), where premium rooms start at 450 yen a person every half-hour on weekends.

Saturday

10 a.m.
4) INNER PEACE

Though it’s mobbed by tourists during cherry blossom season (late March to early April), Maruyama Park in Gion is a tranquil spot the rest of the year. Start at the vivid white-and-orange Yasaka Shrine, where locals pray to the god of prosperity and health, and then wend your way through the park past ponds, gardens and a gigantic weeping cherry. Be sure to detour through the surreal hillside cemetery, its terraced maze of gravestones resembling a miniature city. The views are spectacular.

Noon
5) MAKE LIKE A MONK

Shojin Ryori, the vegetarian cuisine developed centuries ago by Zen Buddhist monks, consists of vegetables, beans and an array of bean curd variations, including creamy sesame tofu and chewy tofu skins. One of the best places to sample it is

Tenryu-ji Shigetsu (Syojin-ryouri Sigetu, Saga, Ukyo-ku; 81-75-881-1235), on the grounds of a 14th-century temple in Arashiyama. Diners sit or kneel in a long wooden hall and eat in silence, the better to appreciate the subtle flavors on the red lacquer tray (from 3,000 yen for a set lunch).

1:30 p.m.
6) DROP SOME YEN

Shoppers will find plenty of temptations along Sanjo-dori between Muromachi-dori and Teramachi-dori, a narrow stretch lined with stylish shops and buzzing with pedestrians and bicyclists. Also worth a wander is Teramachi-dori between Oike-dori and Marutamachi-dori, where you can find vintage textiles and kimonos made from elm, hemp and linden fibers at Gallery Kei (671-1 Kuon-in-mae-cho, Ebisugawa-agaru, Teramachi-dori, Nakagyo-ku; 81-75-212-7114; gallerykei.jp).

4 p.m.
7) TIME OUT KYOTO

For a recharge, stop by Somushi Kochaya (Karasuma Sanjo-nishi-iru; 81-75-253-1456; somushi.com), a Korean tearoom that serves medicinal teas spiked with ingredients like ginger and persimmon leaves (from 650 yen). Or seek out the new OKU Gallery and Cafe (570-119 Gionmachi Minamigawa, Higashiyama-ku; 81-75-531-4776; oku-style.com), a minimalist white space with a long, low window overlooking a miniature Japanese garden. Until 7 p.m., it serves tea and creative treats (like a jelly roll cake flavored with mugwort for 1,400 yen) on elegant black and white ceramic tableware by the local designer Shojiro Endo.

6 p.m.
8) NOODLE DINNER

Slurp handmade udon and soba — the ultimate Japanese comfort food — at Honke Owariya, established in 1465 and said to be the oldest noodle shop in Kyoto. There are three locations citywide, but the original 545-year-old restaurant is the most charming, with both traditional tatami-matted dining areas (remove your shoes and sit on the floor) and Western-style tables and chairs set within the creaky rooms of a former confectionery shop (322 Kurumaya-cho, Nijo, Nakagyo-ku; 81-75-231-3446; www.honke-owariya.co.jp). Try its signature Hourai Soba set, topped with shiitakes, shrimp tempura, Japanese leeks and grated daikon (2,100 yen). Bonus: a descriptive English-language menu, a rarity in Kyoto. The original closes at 7 p.m., but two other locations stay open later.

9 p.m.
9) NATIVE NIGHT LIFE

Pontocho-dori, a narrow alley packed with bars, restaurants and giant glowing paper lanterns, is great for photo ops. But for a more local scene, head north to Nijo-dori, a quiet street of private homes and small businesses. Highlights include Cafe Bibliotic Hello! (Nijo-dori, Yanaginobanba Higashi iru, Nakagyo-ku; 81-75-231-8625; cafe-hello.jp), a cozy cafe, gallery and bar with a fireplace and floor-to-ceiling bookcases. End the evening at Chez Quasimodo (Takakura Dori, Nijo-agaru, Nakagyo-ku; 81-75-231-2488), an intimate bar with a low, barrel ceiling where the mustachioed owner, Yoshio Sawaguchi, pours rare Scotch, stokes the fire and plays French chanson and jazz on vinyl.

Sunday

10 a.m.
10) CULTURE SHOCK

For a whiplash tour of Japanese culture, start at the Onishi Seiwemon Museum (Kamanza-cho, Shinmachi Nishi-iru, Sanjo-tori, Nakagyo-ku; 81-75-221-2881; www.seiwemon-museum.com), run by the 16th-generation tea kettle artist Seiwemon Onishi, where you can inspect tea ceremony implements and one-of-a-kind cast-iron kettles. Then blast into the present at the International Manga Museum (Karasuma-Oike, Nakagyo-ku; 81-75-254-7414; www.kyotomm.jp), which opened in 2006 in a converted elementary school, with exhibitions, drawing demonstrations and a library dedicated to Japanese and international comic books.

Noon
11) KYOTO’S KITCHEN

The flavors of Kyoto burst in Technicolor at Nishiki-koji Market (Nishiki-koji-dori, Nakagyo-ku; 81-75-211-3882), a seven-block arcade chockablock with tiny stalls of produce, seafood and specialty foods like deep-fried eel bones. Aritsugu (Nishiki-Koji Dori, Gokomachi Nishi-iru, Nakagyo-ku; 81-75-221-1091) is a 450-year-old family business that once produced swords for the Imperial Household and now specializes in hand-wrought steel chef’s knives, which can be engraved with your name, in English or Japanese, on the spot. They’re pricey — around 20,000 yen — but they make a sharp souvenir.

IF YOU GO

Kyoto is a 75-minute train ride from Osaka’s Kansai International Airport, or a 2.5-hour Shinkansen bullet train ride from Tokyo to Osaka (english.jr-central.co.jp). In early June, a one-stop flight to Osaka from Kennedy Airport (via Tokyo) starts at about $1,200 on American Airlines or Japan Airlines.

Kyoto is well served by buses, taxis, trains and subways, and easily navigable by bike.

If you’ve wanted to sleep in a capsule hotel, try the new and surprisingly stylish Nine Hours (588 Teianmaeno-cho Shijo Teramachi, Shimogyo-ku; 81-75-353-9005; www.9hours.jp). Each 3.5-foot-high black-and-white pod costs 4,900 yen a night, or $53.75 at 91 Japanese yen to the dollar.

The four-year-old Hyatt Regency Kyoto (644-2 Sanjusangendo-mawari, Higashiyama-ku; 81-75-541-1234; kyoto.regency.hyatt.com) remains among the city’s most luxurious, with 189 rooms decorated with oak furniture and silk-upholstered headboards. Standard doubles start at 22,000 yen.

Founded in 2004, Iori Machiya Rentals (144-6 Sujiya-cho, Tominokoji-dori, Takatsuji-agaru, Shimogyo-ku; 81-75-352-0211; kyoto-machiya.com) restores old wooden houses and rents them out, with rates from 26,000 yen.

Read excerpted article here

On a recent Thursday night in San Francisco’s Mission District, dozens of people congregated in the Southern Exposure gallery for a “wrapping party.” The event is like “going to an art opening, but you’re given something to do,” says Jonn Herschend, one of the evening’s hosts and a co-founder of the as-yet-unwrapped object in question: the latest issue of The Thing, an experimental periodical “in the form of an object” that goes out to subscribers worldwide.

As far as unpaid manual labor goes, this was pretty fun. There was beer. There was cake. All to celebrate The Thing’s second birthday. And there were piles of cardboard boxes, into which partygoers packed dark-rimmed eyeglasses designed by Jonathan Lethem, author of Motherless Brooklyn, among other books. Lethem’s glasses, which are Issue 7 of The Thing, had a cryptic message imprinted on the shiny plastic arms: “Will you know a chaldron when you see one? With these glasses you will know a true one.”

Confused? That’s OK. The Thing, created in 2007 by Herschend and fellow Bay Area artist Will Rogan, is meant to be puzzling. Herschend met Rogan in 2004 and they bonded over their shared love of objects and text. (Rogan was a librarian for five years, and Herschend taught English in a high school). They began fantasizing about starting a quarterly publication — which they envisioned as a series of “useful” objects, each incorporating words and designed by a different contributor. Southern Exposure executive director Courtney Fink helped them jump-start the project with a $1,000 grant and gallery space for their launch party. Issue 1 was a rolling window shade silk-screened with handwriting by the filmmaker and artist Miranda July.

Jonathan Lethem was their dream contributor. “We’ve always been enamored of his work,” says Rogan. “He uses words in a very physical way.” So when he agreed to create the current issue, the team was thrilled. With the help of designers Matt Singer, formerly of Jack Spade, and Selima Salaun, of Selima Optique, Lethem masterminded the glasses, their dashing blue case, and an enclosed “Care & Maintenance” document offering such enlightening factoids as: “A chaldron is like an opera pouring from a flea’s mouth.” (By the way, a “chaldron” is an imaginary object and the subject of Lethem’s latest novel, Chronic City.)

“This is my favorite issue,” enthused Rogan grinning as he watched the attendees busily boxing up the 900 spectacles. “But then again, every new issue is my favorite.”

thethingquarterly.com; $200 annually, for four issues. Lethem’s eyeglasses, called the Chaldron Optical System, are available online and in stores.

Six Ways to Convince Your Friends To Provide Free Labor

The Thing tested tips for getting help when you really need it.

1 Make your event sound fun, even if it’s as mundane as moving.

2 The promise of food and drink is a necessity; pizza and beer are always powerful motivators.

3 Play music. Rogan and Herschend usually set up a record player, and ask guests to bring their favorite records.

4 Don’t micromanage the event; giving attendees a chance to figure out the best way to accomplish the goal makes it more fun for everyone.

5 Be sure to return the favor whenever and wherever possible!

6 Documentation. Tell friends that they are going to be part of an online journal you’re keeping, whether documenting your process of moving, addressing wedding invites, or cooking for a party of 10. Be sure to actually document the event, and share it with attendees afterward.

Nine Things That Inspire Rogan and Herschend

1 The now-defunct Aspen: a multimedia magazine in a box, published between 1965 and 1971, with guest editors and designers that included Andy Warhol.

2 The bookseller Steven Leiber, who sells artist objects and ephemera from the 60′s and 70′s. stevenleiberbasement.com.

3 Objects that people use throughout their lifetime (or at least 10 years).

4 McSweeney’s The Believer magazine and Wholphin, a DVD magazine put out by McSweeney’s.

5 The Curiosity Shoppe, a quirky and beautifully curated San Francisco store. curiosityshoppeonline.com.

6 Printed Matter, Inc., a shop in New York that sells artist projects and publications. printedmatter.org.

7 Records as objects.

8 Artists who use text such as Glasgow artist David Shrigley (also for his humor).

9 Books as objects.

Friday

4 p.m.
1) DRESS THE PART

If you forgot to pack your Western wear, make a beeline for Heritage Boot (117 West Eighth Street; 512-326-8577; www.heritageboot.com), where Jerome Ryan and his team of “boot elves” fashion fanciful boots out of exotic leathers like shark and caiman alligator, using vintage 1930s to ’60s patterns. With colorful stitching, hand-tooling and puffy, butterfly-shaped inlays, they’re instant collectors’ items — and priced accordingly, from $295 to $1,800. Next, stop by the new location of Cream Vintage (1714-A South Congress Avenue; 512-462-3000; www.creamvintage.com) for vintage Western shirts and weathered concert tees, customized to your dimensions by an on-site tailor.

6:30 p.m.
2) MEAT MECCA

Barbecue is a local sport and there are a lot of competing choices. For a classic pit experience — meaning you can smell the smoke and sauce as soon as you pull into the state-fair-size parking lot — drive 25 miles southwest to the Salt Lick (18300 Farm to Market Road 1826, Driftwood; 512-858-4959; www.saltlickbbq.com), settle into a communal picnic table and order the $18.95 all-you-can-eat platter, piled high with brisket, ribs and sausage. If you prefer to stay in downtown Austin, check out the newcomer Lambert’s Downtown Barbecue (401 West Second Street; 512-494-1500; www.lambertsaustin.com). Carved out of a brick-walled general store that dates from 1873, it is raising the bar (and provoking outrage among purists) with its newfangled “fancy barbecue” — think brown-sugar-and-coffee-rubbed brisket ($14) and maple-and-coriander-encrusted pork ribs ($16).

8 p.m.
3) CULTURAL ANCHOR

Just off the south shore of Lady Bird Lake is the world-class Long Center for the Performing Arts (701 West Riverside Drive; 512-457-5100; www.thelongcenter.org), opened in early 2008 after an epic $80 million fund-raising effort. It has one of the largest, most acoustically perfect stages in Texas, home to the Austin Symphony, Austin Lyric Opera and Ballet Austin. There’s also a smaller black box theater spotlighting local musicians, improv troupes and theater companies. Even if you don’t attend a performance, it’s worth stopping by for a glimpse of the glittering skyline views from the building’s front terrace.

Saturday

10 a.m.
4) BIKE STRONG

Explore the city at a leisurely pace by renting a bicycle from Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop (400 Nueces Street; 512-473-0222; www.mellowjohnnys.com), opened by Lance Armstrong, a native son, in May 2008. In addition to selling and renting bikes (from $20 for four hours), the shop stocks accessories like wicker baskets, Chrome messenger bags and colorful racing jerseys. An adjacent cafe serves protein smoothies and organic coffee. If you ask, staff members will chart an appealing route along Austin’s 20 miles of urban hike-and-bike trails.

1 p.m.
5) LUNCH ON THE GO

Some of Austin’s best grub can be found in parking lots and vacant lots, dished out of Airstreams and food trucks by both amateur and professional chefs. You’ll find them all on www.austinfoodcarts.com, but here’s your shortlist: tarragon mushroom crepes with goat cheese ($6.75) at Flip Happy Crepes (400 Jessie Street; 512-552-9034; www.fliphappycrepes.com); slow-roasted green chili pork tacos ($3.25 each) at Torchy’s Tacos (1311 South First Street; 512-366-0537; www.torchystacos.com); and the hot, crunchy chicken-and-avocado “cone” with coleslaw and mango aioli ($5.95) at Mighty Cone (1600 South Congress Avenue; 512-383-9609; www.mightycone.com).

3 p.m.
6) VINYL TO DUCKS

South Congress is an appealing neighborhood for window-shopping, or shopping-shopping. Pick up rare and collectible vinyl, from 99 cents to $1,000, at Friends of Sound (1704 South Congress Avenue; 512-447-1000; www.friendsofsound.com), down an alley off the main drag. Quirky souvenirs, like a duck decoy ($28) or antique beaver top hat ($95), abound at Uncommon Objects (1512 South Congress Avenue; 512-442-4000; www.uncommonobjects.com), a sprawling emporium with a flea market aesthetic.

7:30 p.m.
7) BATS!

Early spring through late fall, the Congress Avenue Bridge hosts a Halloween-worthy spectacle: at dusk, more than a million Mexican free-tailed bats pour out from under the bridge and head east to scavenge for insects. The best spot for viewing the exodus is from the park at the southeastern end of the bridge, so you can see their flitting forms backlit by the glowing sky. To hear an estimate of the bats’ flight time on a particular evening, dial the bat hot line, operated by The Austin American-Statesman newspaper and Bat Conservation International (512-416-5700, extension 3636).

8:30 p.m.
8) FRENCH CONNECTION

There’s something almost Felliniesque about driving down a dark road lined with industrial warehouses, and stumbling onto Justine’s (4710 East Fifth Street; 512-385-2900; www.justines1937.com), a new, pitch-perfect French bistro. Outside, a family plays pétanque on the driveway; inside, groups of friends and couples sit on Thonet chairs at candlelit cast-iron-and-marble cafe tables, as a turntable, manned by the owner, Pierre Pelegrin, plays old jazz and reggae tunes. With atmosphere this good, the meal — Parisian comfort food, and delicious — is just a bonus. Order the duck confit ($15) or the steak frites with pepper sauce ($18).

10 p.m.
9) PERFORMANCE ANXIETY

The sheer quantity and variety of music in Austin on any given night can be daunting. Step one: consult Billsmap.com, which lists every gig in the city, highlights recommendations and includes links to previous performances on YouTube. Two spots that reliably deliver a good time are the Broken Spoke, an old-time honky-tonk dance hall (3201 South Lamar Boulevard; 512-442-6189; www.brokenspokeaustintx.com), and the retro red-walled Continental Club (1315 South Congress Avenue; 512-441-2444; www.continentalclub.com), which dates from 1957 and has roots, blues, rockabilly and country music.

Sunday

10 a.m.
10) TAKE A DIP

Wake up with a bracing swim in the natural, spring-fed Barton Springs Pool (2101 Barton Springs Road; 512-476-9044; www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/bartonsprings.htm), a three-acre dammed pool that maintains a steady 68-degree temperature year-round. There’s sunbathing (sometimes topless) on the grassy slopes, a springy diving board and century-old pecan trees lining its banks. Then, park yourself on the patio at the new Perla’s Seafood & Oyster Bar (1400 South Congress Avenue; 512-291-7300; www.perlasaustin.com) for a decadent lobster omelet ($16) and an oyster shooter spiked with rum and honeydew ($7).

2 p.m.
11) EXPLORE OUTSKIRTS

Hill Country beckons to the west and south of Austin, with rolling limestone hills, wildflower-filled meadows and dozens of wineries. Get a closer look by driving 30 minutes to Bastrop State Park (3005 Highway 21 East, Bastrop; 512-321-2101; www.tpwd.state.tx.us/bastrop), for a hike along the 8.5-mile Lost Pines Trail, which takes you past a creek and a toad pond, and through rock outcroppings, mini-gorges and wooded ravines filled with oaks and loblolly pines. Channel your inner cowboy, especially if you’re breaking in new boots.

THE BASICS

American, Continental and JetBlue fly into Austin from many major cities; a flight from Kennedy Airport in New York in early December on JetBlue runs about $300. Public transportation is lacking — though a light rail is planned — so you’ll need a car or bike to explore the city.

An appealing home base is the lively and pedestrian-friendly South Congress neighborhood. Hotel Saint Cecilia (112 Academy Drive; 512-852-2400; www.hotelsaintcecilia.com), which opened last winter, has nine modern studios and bungalows, and five rooms in a converted Victorian house, starting at $275.

More affordable are the 40 rooms at the Hotel San José (1316 South Congress Avenue; 512-852-2350; www.sanjosehotel.com), which are airy and simply adorned with Indian bedspreads and framed vintage concert posters. Doubles with shared bath from $95; doubles with private baths from $160.

Nearby is the year-old Kimber Modern Hotel (110 The Circle; 512-912-1046; www.kimbermodern.com), where six minimalist rooms, from $250, open onto a hammock-strung patio shaded by a giant Texas live oak tree.

But the crowd at Ma(i)sonry, a new shop on Washington Street, was sampling something different. Armed with glasses of pinot noir and zinfandel, the preppy weekenders from San Francisco and beyond tiptoed from room to room, admiring oil paintings of golden-hued riparian landscapes by Wade Hoefer and graphic silhouettes of California poppies rendered in acrylic on canvas by Chiara Mondavi, a scion of the legendary winemaking family.

Housed in a restored 1904 manor house with exposed log rafters and thick stone walls, Ma(i)sonry (6711 Washington Street, Yountville; 707-944-0889; www.maisonry.com) represents the new, multifaceted face of Napa: wine, with a side of art.

Art is popping up all across the vineyard-rich valley, from agricultural barns that used to house hay and livestock feed to private, museum-worthy collections secreted in the rolling hills studded with faux Tuscan villas, orderly rows of grapevines and, in the winter, yellow stripes of mustard flowers.

“Hundreds of artists live here, there are galleries in every town and there’s an extraordinary range of art available, if you know where to look,” said Michelle Williams, executive director of the Arts Council Napa Valley, a nonprofit that promotes the arts. “You could go to an art opening or event every weekend, if you wanted.”The valley’s artistic roots go back to 1970, when Margrit Mondavi, the matriarch of the Robert Mondavi Winery (841 Latour Court, Napa; 707-226-1395; www.robertmondaviwinery.com), opened a 5,000-square-foot gallery at the Spanish Mission-style estate, with adobe walls, exposed beam ceilings and huge windows that frame the surrounding vineyards and purple oaks. It was the region’s first such wine-and-art combo.

“I saw empty wall space, and I thought: some art must go there,” Ms. Mondavi said. “We wanted to introduce our wine together with beautiful things, to capture the joie de vivre of winemaking.” Ms. Mondavi, 84, still curates the gallery, which focuses on abstract and figurative paintings and sculpture. Exhibitions change every two months, and often showcase work by established artists like Wayne Thiebaud and Earl Thollander.

Mondavi may have paved the way, but Ira Wolk, a local gallery owner who died this past summer, helped the art scene blossom. In 1990, he opened the I. Wolk Gallery in downtown St. Helena (1354 Main Street; 707-963-8800; www.iwolkgallery.com), the region’s first fine-art gallery not affiliated with a winery. The gallery, with its eclectic lineup of high-caliber artwork, quickly attracted a rarefied clientele, from French aristocrats to Oprah Winfrey to the Queen of Jordan.

More recently, Mr. Wolk opened two satellite galleries, including a 33-acre sculpture park at Auberge du Soleil (180 Rutherford Hill Road, Rutherford; 707-963-1211; www.aubergedusoleil.com), a resort that is a favorite of celebrities and splurging honeymooners.

Officially, the open-air gallery at Auberge is open only to resort guests, but for visitors who can’t swing the $550-and-up room rate, they can take their chances by dining at its Michelin-starred restaurant and sweet-talking the maître d’ into unlocking the gate to the undulating sculpture garden, laced with olive groves and meandering gravel paths. It’s worth the extra legwork.

“I was going for the ‘aha’ moment,” Mr. Wolk said earlier this year. He placed 90 sculptures throughout the lush grounds, most of them tantalizingly sited barely within view of one another, so moving from one piece to the next is a process of discovery and delight. Certainly that’s the effect when a visitor stumbles on a full-scale aluminum moose peering through tall grasses (a piece by Ken Kalman), or the bright yellow and red steel hoops that appear to roll down a grassy slope (by Jack Chandler).

Fortunately the region’s most dynamic collection requires no wrangling to view. A sleek three-story temple to modern and contemporary art, the Hess Art Museum at the Hess Collection Winery (4411 Redwood Road, Napa; 707-255-1144; www.hesscollection.com) is free and open to the public.

The owner, Donald Hess, a Swiss entrepreneur and wine producer, opened the 11,000-square-foot museum in 1989, partly to promote artists he had been collecting, including heavyweights like Robert Motherwell, Francis Bacon and Anselm Kiefer. He also wanted to draw customers to his winery, which is situated well off Napa’s beaten track, along a winding road lined with pine and redwood trees.

Visitors today can sip the estate’s highly regarded cabernet sauvignon in a farmhouse-style tasting room before touring the galleries, which display about 120 blue-chip works, including photorealistic paintings by the Swiss artist Franz Gertsch and an installation of melted and cracked rocks by the British artist Andy Goldsworthy. Strategically placed windows offer glimpses of the working winery: from the gallery staircase, an overhead view of giant fermentation tanks, and, in the West Gallery, a cutout overlooking a rapid conveyor belt where bottles are cleaned, filled, corked and labeled, at a rate of 100 a minute.

But while there are many places to watch wine being made (at Napa’s hundreds of wineries, for starters), seeing art in the making is a rarer treat. For that swing by Clos Pegase (1060 Dunaweal Lane, Calistoga; 707-942-4981; www.clospegase.com), where Jim Stallings paints amid oak fermentation tanks, or drop by Gordon Huether’s refurbished Hay Barn Gallery (1821 Monticello Road, Napa; 707-255-5954; www.gordonhuether.com), a huge metal-clad barn where glass is fused, pressed and laminated into abstract art.

On a crystalline summer afternoon, a dozen studio assistants were airbrushing enamel paint and sprinkling glass dust onto glass panels, soon to be assembled into a gigantic wall installation for a Houston airport. “It’s like going to the Jelly Belly factory, except with art,” Mr. Huether said, as he led visitors on an impromptu tour, past a glowing kiln.

Art in Napa also extends to photography, including a gem of a collection at Mumm Napa (8445 Silverado Trail, Napa; 707-967-7700; www.mummnapa.com), a sparkling-wine producer. There, inside a barnlike building, is a red-walled gallery where you can sip bubbly while viewing more than 30 rare, original Ansel Adams prints, on loan from Matthew Adams, the photographer’s grandson. An adjacent gallery spotlights contemporary photography.

Another iteration of Napa’s art scene has only come to the fore in recent years. With its luxurious estates and concentration of wealth, Napa and neighboring Sonoma Valley are home to many notable private art collections, some of which are now open to the public, though usually by appointment.

One of the most ambitious belongs to Steven Oliver, a construction company magnate who turned a former sheep ranch in Geyserville, in Sonoma County, into an art complex that he calls Oliver Ranch (call 510-412-9090, extension 210, for tour appointments and directions). Mr. Oliver commissioned artists like Bill Fontana and Bruce Nauman to create 18 installations specifically for the 100-acre estate. Mr. Nauman’s project, for example, is a quarter-mile-long concrete staircase that traverses grassy meadows and leads to the stone house where Mr. Oliver lives part-time.

“I tell them: you just dream, we’ll figure out how to do it,” said Mr. Oliver, who has a fleet of bulldozers and cranes at his disposal. To install a 245-ton Richard Serra sculpture, he transported a crane from Arizona because California didn’t have one large enough to handle the job. He also reinforced three bridges en route.The ranch is open to the public just on weekends from April 15 to June 1, and from Sept. 15 to Nov. 1 and only by appointment. Mr. Oliver personally leads the two-and-a-half-hour tours.

But perhaps the most eye-popping collection is di Rosa (5200 Sonoma Highway, Napa; 707-226-5991; www.dirosaart.org), which claims to hold the largest collection of contemporary art by Northern California artists. Scattered on the 217-acre property are more than 2,000 pieces — of varying quality, but never banal — owned by the nonagenarian collector, Rene di Rosa, a self-described “artoholic” and one of the first to plant grapes in the Carneros region, in the 1960s.

The artworks are crammed in two white-walled galleries by a meadow and a lake, and in a 125-year-old former winery where literally every surface, floor-to-ceiling, is spangled with colorful prints, paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, and video art.

The exuberant di Rosa may be “the opposite of the white cube,” said Kathryn Reasoner, the museum’s executive director. “But everyone leaves smiling.” That kind of buzz can’t be bottled, even in Napa.