Carmel is the only town in California that could have been designed by Beatrix Potter. Doll house-inspired cottages dot the streets and courtyards beckon, leading you around corners, past rock arches and into other more hidden courtyards. Every pathway and alley is an adventure: gardens flourish in the coastal fog and even small nooks and crannies overflow with begonias and impatiens. People strolling the streets of this Central Coast village are dressed better than in any other place in the state except perhaps for Beverly Hills. Shops sell hand-knit sweaters from Scotland, silk bow-ties, Italian gourmet items such as capers and hand-made pastas and fine paintings that range from seascapes to abstracts with splashes of color. Lodgings are mostly designed in Carmel Cottage style, and most inns and B&Bs have large rooms, fireplaces, high feather beds and breakfast brought to your room.

The Carriage House Inn is a AAA Four Diamond property with wood burning fireplaces, rooms with romantic high king-size beds and down comforters under soaring ceilings. An afternoon wine and cheese hour in the cozy lobby lets you meet other guests before you stroll off to dinner at the many restaurants within walking distance. The well-priced Dolphin Inn is great for families, since it has a large pool and big rooms. The Tudor- style Candle Light Inn is a homey lodging just a short walk from the white-sand Carmel beach, where your dog can run off- leash. Your pooch will also like the Wayside Inn, right in the center of town, which has big rooms and suites, some with kitchens, and offers a cookie jar full of dog biscuits in the lobby.

Indeed, Carmel is a dog-friendly place. Stop in at PHIDEAUX, where you can buy a wine bottle full of dog biscuits, a flag with a Scotty dog on it, or a dog bed with matching duvet. At the Coach leather outlet store large leather handbags cost $168 instead of the $198 charged at retail stores. You'll pass older ladies in good suits, European tourists who fill the air with French and Italian and lots of people window shopping, accompanied by their well-behaved dogs on expensive leashes.

Have lunch outdoors in one of the courtyard restaurants such as the General Store, serving roasted duck pizza and peppered salmon sandwiches.. Peek into the old forge room, hung with tools that created most of the hinges and locks you see on Carmel's houses. For an upscale evening meal try Grasings, serving a great lamb shanks dish and offering a long wine list of California wines. For breakfast head to the Tuck Box for hot oats and scones; it's located in the first storybook stone-and-shingle cottage built in Carmel, in 1927. Carmel was discovered by artists and writers in the early part of the 1900s, including Jack London, Sinclair Lewis and Ansel Adams, and the quirky charm they loved so well still sticks: there are no house numbers, no mail boxes, and no overtly commercial signs. No high-heels either are permitted either, if you believe an old ordinance. The doll-cottage home designs began as when a talented husband of a doll-maker created a fantasy cottage from which to sell his wife's creations. The style was wildly popular and its river-stone, low roof-line and wooden shutter touches still charm guests today.

Carmel is known for its galleries. If you like photography, don't miss the Weston Gallery, which has fine 19th and 20th century works by Ansel Adams and Man Ray. At the Martin La Borde Gallery you'll see whimsical flying wizards and 1½' ceramic dogs with attitude. At least once, walk down to Carmel Beach City Park at the end of the town's main Ocean Street, to watch the sun set.

One of Carmel's most famous literary lions was poet Robinson Jeffers, who built his home high on a rocky point with great views of the bay, using stones and boulders he hauled up from the beach in horse carts. Tours are Friday and Saturday, for $5.00, and advance reservations are necessary. Call (831) 624-1813 Monday to Thursday or 624-1840 on Friday and Saturday.

Mission San Carlos Borromeo del Rio Carmelo, established by Father Junipero Serra in 1770 as the second mission in California, is one of the most beautifully restored missions in the state, with its Moorish tower and star-shaped window . Located a mile south of Carmel off Highway 1, at 3080 Rio Road, it is the perfect Spanish-style mission with weathered adobe, gardens fragrant with herbs, and places to sit and meditate. Call (831) 624-3600.

Carmel Walks offers a two-hour walking tour of Carmel through hidden courtyards, gardens, alleys, fairytale cottages and history. Tours are offered Tuesday through Saturday, for $15, call (831) 642-2700 for reservations.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Carmel Business Association and Visitor Information Center, at (831) 624-2522.
Carriage House Inn
Dolphin Inn
Candle Light Inn
Wayside Inn