Sacramento's Midtown: Micro Neighborhood, Macro Energy

Midtown Sacramento, a two-square-mile district east of downtown, is the cultural hub of this California city, home to a diverse array of businesses that share real estate with an eclectic mix of housing.

Its shady streets encompass proud Victorians dating to the 1800s, postwar apartment buildings with mid-century modern flair, and stylish bungalows and apartment blocks built to spec for today's market. To see the original, head to Sutter's Fort (27th and K streets), where Swiss immigrant John Sutter established his outpost in the 1830s and jump-started the Sacramento you see today.

Midtown has forged its unique identity over the past few decades, gaining recognition as its own entity rather than as an appendage of downtown. Today, it's one of the most desirable places in the city to live, work and play, especially for millennials. Midtown restaurants draw rave reviews in national publications; sidewalk tables and bicycles are everywhere; stylish boutiques cater to the fashion-forward; galleries showcase the best in regional art; and nightclubs throb into the wee hours. Midtown is the part of the city that never sleeps—the place where everyone wants to be.

It's also a neighborhood of sub-neighborhoods. Lavender Heights, for example, is the name given to an area around 20th and K streets where many LGBT-owned businesses are located. The Sutter district is named for its proximity to historic Sutter's Fort and the massive Sutter Health complex, while the Handle—centered around a busy block bounded by Capitol Avenue, 18th, 19th and L streets—was so named because of the way it appears on a map in relationship to Capitol Park (think handle on a pan).

Compact and walkable, Sacramento's vibrant Midtown makes for a great day of exploration.

Courtesy of Visit Sacramento. Learn more at visitsacramento.com and exploremidtown.org.