Must-See Attractions in California

Known as the "Golden State", California has the largest population of any US state, over 33 million. It also contains some of the country's most popular tourist attractions. In fact, there are so many exciting places to see in California, it's hard to pick out just a handful.

Nevertheless, here is our top 10 sites to visit in the state:

1. Alcatraz (in san Francisco bay): Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay was once a maximum security prison that held notorious criminals such Al Capone. Today, it's a historic site managed by the National Park Service and you can catch a ferry ride to the island from Fisherman's Wharf.

2. Cable Car System (in San Francisco): The San Francisco Cable Car System is the last manually operated cable car system in the world, and rightly has become world famous. Visitors can ride the cable cars which are in regular use, or visit the museum which houses historic cable cars.

3. Disneyland Resort (in Anaheim): Contains the world-famous Disneyland theme park, Disney's California Adventure which is a theme park based on the history of California, several hotels, as well as the "Downtown Disney" site for shopping.

4. Fisherman's Wharf (in San Francisco): A popular neighborhood in San Francisco that contains many attractions, as well as some superb seafood restaurants.

5. Golden Gate Bridge (in San Francisco): When it was completed in 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge was the largest suspension bridge in the world. While it no longer retains that status, it is still an impressive and iconic symbol of the city.

6. La Brea Tar Pits (in Los Angeles): A famous location where asphalt seeps to the surface. In prehistoric times, many animals such as mammoths, ground sloths and saber-toothed cats got stuck in the tar and became fossilized, and hence the La Brea Tar Pits are today an important palaentological site.

7. Los Angeles County Museum of Art (in Los Angeles): The largest art museum in the western United States, with a collection of over 100,000 pieces.

8. Napa Valley: One of the most important grape-growing regions in the world, the Napa Valley is visited by 5 million tourists each year, making it the state's second most popular tourist attraction after Disneyland.

9. Universal Studios (in Los Angeles): This movie-themed theme park originally offered tours of soundstages and sets, but now includes rides and other attractions.

10. USS Midway (in San Francisco): An aircraft carrier which served with the US Navy from just after World War Two until 1992, and which today is a museum ship and open to the public.