Irvine

An orange tethered balloon rises above the former El Toro military airfield, which is now being transformed into the Orange County Great Park. A trip to Irvine reveals one of the largest planned cities in the U.S., with a university, parks, bike paths, and a diverse food scene shaped by Asian cuisines, just minutes from Southern California's beaches.

A Ranch Becomes a City

For more than a hundred years, the area belonged to the Irvine Ranch, a vast agricultural property with sheep, cattle, beans, and oranges. In the 1960s, the Irvine Company hired architect William Pereira to plan a new city around the University of California campus. Irvine has been its own city since 1971, with carefully organized residential neighborhoods known as villages, greenbelts, and business centers. Today it ranks among the safest large cities in the U.S. and has a large population with Asian roots.

Things to See in Irvine

The Orange County Great Park offers sports facilities, a carousel, art exhibits, and the Great Park Balloon, which lets you float above the plain. The Irvine Spectrum Center, a large shopping and entertainment complex with a Ferris wheel, is popular with families. Art lovers can visit the Irvine Museum Collection at UCI, which features California Impressionist painting. Nature is close by: the hiking trails in the hills of Quail Hill and Bommer Canyon wind through coastal scrub, and the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary is a favorite destination for birdwatchers. To the north lie the residential areas of Lower Peters Canyon, near the reservoir of the same name with its loop trail.

Eating in Irvine

Irvine is one of the best places in Southern California for Asian food. In shopping centers like Diamond Jamboree or around Culver Drive, you'll find Taiwanese bakeries, hot pot restaurants, Korean barbecue, Japanese ramen bars, and Chinese teahouses lined up side by side. Persian and Indian restaurants round out the offerings. The nightlife is fairly quiet; if you're looking for bars, head to the neighboring cities of Costa Mesa or Newport Beach.

University, Business, and Daily Life

The University of California, Irvine is one of the major universities in Southern California; its circular campus around Aldrich Park was designed by William Pereira, and some of its buildings have served as backdrops for science fiction films. Many technology, video game, and medical device companies are headquartered in Irvine, including Blizzard Entertainment. The neighborhoods are quiet, with well-kept sidewalks and playgrounds, and shopping centers with movie theaters and restaurants are everywhere. Visiting Irvine, you experience a city that works very differently from the historically evolved Los Angeles, and you come to understand how American planned cities of the postwar era were meant to function.

Getting Around Irvine and the Best Time to Visit

John Wayne Airport borders Irvine directly. Metrolink trains and the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner between Los Angeles and San Diego stop at Irvine Station. A dense network of bike paths connects the neighborhoods, but a car is handy for excursions. The best times to visit are spring and fall; the weather is mild year-round. Laguna Beach with its coves, Newport Beach with its harbor, and Disneyland in Anaheim are each reachable in 15 to 30 minutes.