Located in San Clemente at what is arguably the best point to overlook the city – including an octagonal room with windows providing gorgeous views of the neighborhood, ocean, and pier – Casa Romantica was built as a home by San Clemente’s founder Ole Hanson in 1927, and now bills itself as a “cultural center and gardens.” Though the site has weathered ups and downs, including 2023 landslides that lost half an acre of outdoor gardens, the home’s main salon and interior rooms reopened for public view in 2024, offering guests displays of antique keepsakes, temporary painting exhibitions in The Studio and The Gallery, and a one-room Museum discussing the site’s history before leading into a small gift shop. In addition to overlook spots outside, an inner courtyard, several small gardens, and an outdoor fountain are particularly appealing photo spots; several other areas are not typically accessible by the general public.
Tickets to Casa Romantica are generally $8, with free admission on the first Sunday of each month, and parking is free in a lot immediately outside the entrance. Expect to spend between 30 and 60 minutes at the site unless you attend for one of the cultural center’s events; 100 are held each year, including classes, classic film screenings, parties, book clubs, live performances, and food/wine gatherings.
