The Napa Valley is a dreamland, nestled about an hour outside San Francisco and home to some of the best wine in the world (in my humble opinion). Last year, I spent two nights exploring Napa with my cousins for my birthday and I wanted to run down some of the best parts of our trip.

Winery Standout: Artesa Vineyard and Winery was my personal favourite, the staff was friendly and it was architecturally amazing, built almost into the ground with water features, and a great view. The wine is also fabulous, the staff offered us a free glass of Prosecco for my birthday and provided a fun and informative tasting. Highly recommend this spot for a winery that checks all the boxes.

More Wineries that get my stamp: Bread & Butter for their Chardonnay, and Caymus Vineyards for any reds, also get a shoutout from me!

Experience Standout: We hit the Oxbow Public Market on Sunday morning and picked up a couple snacks, including breakfast bagels from Loveski Deli and it was awesome. We ordered the white fish bagel, heirloom tomato and classic cream cheese and they were OUTSTANDING. It has been over a year since I ate the whitefish bagel, and I still think about it regularly. Oxbow Market has tons of different vendors and makes for a fun dinner or lunch experience, also with many bars so you can also do a micro-wine tasting during your visit. This is a must-try when visiting Napa Valley.

Dinner Standout: Bouchon Bistro is a French restaurant with incredible ambience, the tiled floors, dim-lighting and red velvet booths make you feel like you are transported to a classic French bistro. The service is impeccable and the martinis were well-shaken. Plus, we sat at the bar after-dinner for a quick pick me up, and the bartender offered us a complimentary dessert and covered our drink bill. The food however, is the star of the show. We ordered the beef tartare, lobster, Laitue salad, mussels and frites and the salmon. All were phenomenal, fresh and well-balanced. The beef tartare and lobster were our standouts (we wished we would have shared more starters instead of ordering mains). If you come, come with a group and be hungry! Great spot for steak and seafood lovers. Fun fact: Bouchon is apart of Thomas Keller Group and the sister restaurant of the infamous “French Laundry”, making it an iconic and Michelin recommended spot that everyone will love.

Nightlife Standout: Nightlife and Napa don’t sound all that complimentary, but turns out Napa throws down. We had a fun Saturday night out and the highlight spot was Downtown Joes. A more dive-bar feel amongst a chic Napa Valley, it was a fun way to mix up the weekend. They had well-priced drinks, a DJ and a good crowd. I would definitely recommend to anyone who wanted a little nightlife in the mix.