Detour to Winchester House or go straight to Monterey?

Our family will be in San Francisco for 3 nights and then we are planning to drive to Monterey to spend 2 nights. Is it worth taking a 1 hour detour to go to San Jose to the Winchester Mystery House and then after the tour, head to Monterey or would we be better to skip the crazy house and go right to Monterey? We thought it might be fun to see but it%26#39;s not as if we are so into architecture that we can%26#39;t live without it. Just not sure how best to spend the time.

Thanks!

Detour to Winchester House or go straight to Monterey?

Mom: how can anybody possibly tell you if the Winchester Mystery House is ';worth'; it? That%26#39;s like asking if it is worth is to eat an avacado? What you need is to read up on the house, maybe google it, and make a decision. All you will get here are two opinions from people who do not you and who you do not know. I for one say see it! It is not to be missed. But then again, that%26#39;s just an opinion. Chuck...

Detour to Winchester House or go straight to Monterey?

Heehee - and I am one to say ';skip it';. Although I find the house and history of the family very interesting, I think the tours are overpriced and the docents aren%26#39;t particularly knowlegable.

My opinion is to skip it and spend the extra hour at Point Lobos State Reserve just south of Carmel or walking along the recreation trail on Pacific Grove%26#39;s gorgeous coastline.

Thanks for the info. With the wildfires burning out of control, Monterery, Point Lobos and Big Sur might all just be wishful thinking afterall. Winchester House is starting to look like a better option.

It%26#39;s true that Big Sur might not be an option, although the road from Monterey has re-opened for now. But Point Lobos, Monterey, Carmel, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach are all fine. The fire is 30 miles away. The air quality was not good this past weekend, but they are saying that it will improve this week. When are you coming?

I%26#39;d say skip Winchester and go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium! :)

... or to the Tech Museum of Innovation.

If you do go to the Mystery House take note that an absolutely amazing Thai restaurant is a few blocks away, Krung Thai. The old one is best, 2 blocks south on Winchester, other side of street. They have another about 6 blocks in the other direction. It became so popular they opened a second very close by.

I agree - don%26#39;t worry about access to Carmel and Monterey - it is fine to travel there. As others have said, it is Big Sur that is iffy. Point Lobos is just a couple miles south of Carmel and accessible. If air quality is the concern, San Jose%26#39;s air is pretty brown too, so you wont get much of a break by hanging around here.

Personally I%26#39;d rather spend the time at Point Lobos. But if you do go to the WMH, FYI just across the street is Santana Row, which is an upscale outdoor shopping mall, restaurants, boutique shops, etc. It%26#39;s supposed to resemble a European street shopping district. Worth checking out if you are into that kind of thing.

BTW my nephews (9-12 yrs old) went to the WMH a few months back and they loved it.