Cannery Row

Welcome to Monterey [1]’s own version of Tourist Hell. Cannery Row (Cannery Row, www.canneryrow.com [2]), sitting right on the water, did once look and feel as John Steinbeck described it in his famed novel of the same name. In days gone by, it was easy for fishing boats to dock and offload their catches straight into the huge warehouse-like cannery buildings. Low-wage workers processed the fish and put it into cans, ready to ship across the country and around the world.

Today, what was once a workingman’s wharf is now a conclave of high-end apartments, boutique hotels, big seafood restaurants, and cheesy souvenir stores. It’s anchored at one end by the aquarium [3] and runs for several blocks, which include a beach, then leads into the wharf area.

All that’s left of the historic Cannery Row are some of the exteriors of the buildings. Inside, history has given way to a wax museum, a Thomas Kincaide gallery, and kitsch by the yard. Kids have fun running from shop to shop, but adults may grow tired of the chain stores and tacky souvenir stalls after a while.