mission san juan capistrano

Once every year or two we do a day trip to San Juan Capistrano via Amtrak. It's a lot of fun for one day :) It is a must do for us to visit Mission SJC. It has 10 acres of gardens, fountains and structures. During the times we visited.. I found the entire area and property to be peaceful and relaxing, I enjoy checking out the flowers too. A great place to take photos as well. I look forward to this day trip each time I go!

Part of California history, the mission has free audio pointing our the various sights within the mission. It is very interesting and a must see if you are in San Juan Capistrano. Easily accessible from the I-5 freeway.

We visited this location as part of a conference group with a tour guide. The grounds are beautiful, and the tour was interesting, although he probably had to limit the information due to having only an hour to introduce the area to us. Admission to the site includes an optional free audio tour as well, and I suspect that listening to the entire audio tour would probably take at least a couple of hours. Having a short attention span, I stopped listening after the fifth stop, and I know that there were at least 50-60 stops.

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the Mission. I always enjoy learning about how these missions were self sustained communities. They grew and prepared all of their own food, fashioned their tools, clothes and needs; and celebrated life together as a unified community. The chapel is beautiful and the history behind the church ruins is sad. There is also the story about the returning swallows each year and how the entire town celebrates their arrival. I have visited a few Missions throughout California, but thoroughly enjoyed my experience here. I would definitely recommend a visit to anyone who will be in the area.

one of the missions on the trail. nicely maintained museum compound showing life during the time of the spanish explorers. beautiful gardens

We are visiting friends in Newport Beach, and this was a great short trip today, wit a little history thrown in. For example, I wasn't aware that the Mission had been involved in a war, which resulted in it being in private hands for a while! It took a proclamation from President Lincoln just a month before he died, to return ownership to the Catholic Church! The price of admission includes a "free" audio accompaniment, and a visit to the oldest Catholic Church still standing in California. Make the trip! You can see it all in 2 or 3 hours.

We visited the mission seventeen years ago. It was interesting then, but now the restorations and improvements make this a truly great destination. The Old Stone church was covered with scaffoldings before, but now is completely accessible. The audio stations are very well done, informative but not too detailed. $16 for seniors includes the audio tour. Great bargain.

We had asked our host-to-come in LA's B&B for a recommendation to see underway and this followed as answer.So were made this short detour and liked it very much....serene place and make ure you visit the chapel in it as well...we almost missed it. Thanks Bob for the suggestion!

if your thinking about coming to SJC or live here and havent visited you must go .Our mission is one of the best and I have seen most of them . Down town san juan is a great place to spend the day and spending 2-3 hour looking at the mission is a perfect center piece to the day. The gardens, fountains and exhibits will keep kids interested and the tours are very interesting. Dont be troubled if your not catholic the folks here dont push it at all. The gift shop has lots of cool stuff if you want a souvenir and outside there are plenty of places to eat and drink parking is easy thou not always free and be sure to stick around at sundown if a concert is being offered

Being there is like traveling in time. The buildings are well preserved and they keep their original style and beauty. It is like if time froze and you can take advantage of that and walk through the halls and see the rooms and take pictures of your trip in time. The mission has some kind of mystic presence when you arrive and all these questions trigger your mind and your imagination. It is a great stop for all ages and you can take your time and spend some hours there. If you like taking pictures, it is a great spot for it. Take sun block!

Spent several enjoyable hours at Mission San Juan Capistrano. This was the best conserved and documented CA mission I've been to. There's a $9 entry fee which gains you entrance to the conserved/restored old mission area and an audio tour. Several of the mission buildings are open for viewing and include both authentic and reproduction artifacts from the ordinal mission and Indian tribal life. The gardens include several fountains, examples of metates, examples of small gardens, olive trees and grape vines. The Serra chapel is still in use and wonderfully restored as is St Peregrines chapel. The ruins of the old stone church have been conserved and are an interesting. The examples of stone work, Adobe and wood work are extensive and beautiful. There is also a small gift shop on site. If you're in San juan Capistrano this is a must do. They also tell about the swallows and talk about ringing the bells for the swallows return each spring. It's all charming, historic and pastoral.

Wonderful way to bring history into the present. Have been many times but will always go back again. Beautiful area and downtown is fun too!!

This was my second visit to the mission. The audio tour is a good addition and allows a leisurely pace with time to read about every item on display that catches the eye. There are so many aspects to explore here that any visitor can find something to experience and think about. We thought and talked about the daily lives of the Indians and the soldiers; learned about the pirate raid and followed it up with an internet search about the French-Argentinian pirate; studied architectural elements and the stabilization techniques; conjectured about the cooking in the kitchen area...and so on for 3 hours.There is much at the mission to experience and learn in beautiful surroundings. We were there on a weekday afternoon when few others were present.

We went here, looming for something neat to see on the way back from the beach. Very impressive to see, and a bargain.

This mission may be one of the best examples of the history of Father Serra and the missions he created while helping settle California. The mission is well cared for and the audio tour is thorough and informative.