A century ago, the town of Tiburon was a busy rail terminus and shipping port. Such times are hard to picture in what is now a small and likeable town providing expensive rustic housing for San Francisco commuters and a refuge for intrepid tourists who find Sausalito overcrowded. Tiburon’s appeal centres on the cafes and restaurants grouped along the bay side – and on the shops of Ark Row, their contents, from the wacky to the tacky, filling the insides of 19thC houseboats.

Detour – Ferry trip to Angel Island

The 740-acre Angel Island was occupied by the Spanish in 1775 and, during U.S. administration, saw use as a Civil War military base, as an immigrants’ processing centre, and as an internment camp for Japanese-Americans during the Second War. Now a state park with several of its ageing structures viewable on ranger-guided tours Angel Island is ringed by paved foot trails and cycle paths and makes a great day trip.

Ferries to Angel Island leave Tiburon daily in summer, weekends only during the rest of the year. For details; (http://angelislandferry.com).