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It was a moment of perfect travel luck that led us into Florence Avenue, Sebastopol, quite possibly the most unique street in the US.
In Sonoma County California, Sebastopol is a hidden gem of a town with a vibrant community a 15-minute drive from Santa Rosa.
While driving the Sonoma cheese trail, we took a wrong turn down a residential street called Florence Avenue and unexpectedly discovered the delightful Sebastopol art street.
Giant colourful junk metal sculptures stood on every front lawn. The artworks depicted various scenes and characters, like figures that had leapt out of a zany comic book.
Not what you’d usually expect in a suburban location.
These are the artworks of Sebastopol metal artist Patrick Amiot and his wife, Brigitte Laurent. He sculpts them out of recycled junk materials, and she paints them with bold, bright colours, giving the scrap objects new life.
Below you will find several photos of what to expect as you stroll down Florence Ave Sebastopol. In addition, there are tips on how to get there, the best time to visit, where to stay and more details about the artists, Sebastopol and Sonoma County.
Contents
- Tips on Visiting Florence Avenue Sebastopol
- Artists Patrick Amiot and Brigitte Laurent
- Some Quirky Characters You May Meet Along Florence Ave Sebastopol
- Sebastopol and Sonoma County
- Where to Stay to See the Sebastopol Metal Sculptures
- Are the Sebastopol Sculptures Worth Visiting?
- More California Posts
Tips on Visiting Florence Avenue Sebastopol
Florence Ave is just off Highway 116 and near the centre of Sebastopol. It is about a 1 hour 15-minute drive north of San Francisco.
The Sebastopol art street is a free popular art trail, so you will often find people strolling along it or cars slowly crawling down the road.
Florence Avenue runs along three blocks, with most people taking around an hour to view all the Sebastopol sculptures on display.
Please remember that it is a residential street, so view the Sebastopol metal sculptures from the pavement.
Park respectfully in nearby streets. Safeway is a good parking choice and only a short walk away. Try visiting during the week when it’s quieter.
Artists Patrick Amiot and Brigitte Laurent
For decades, Patrick Amiot and Brigitte Laurent have collaborated on their eclectic Sebastopol metal sculptures. Self-styled as “urban folk artists”, the couple arrived in Sebastopol with their family in 1997, where they live on Florence Avenue to this day.
It is easy to tell which house belongs to them—there are multiple sculptures in their front garden, with a car decorated with painted daisies.
The artists began displaying their work in their front yard to foster a sense of community and interaction.
Their neighbours loved the metal sculptures and invited them to use their front yards on Florence Avenue as effectively an open-air gallery.
Sebastopol has embraced their work so much that you will find their quirky characters scattered throughout the town, with the highest concentration along Florence Ave.
See the Patrick Amiot website to find out more about the inspiration behind their practice.
Some Quirky Characters You May Meet Along Florence Ave Sebastopol
Depending on which works have sold, the Sebastopol sculptures displayed on the front lawns of Florence Avenue change occasionally.
Below are some of the metal sculptures installed when we visited the famous Sebastopol art street.
Patrick Amiot’s junk art seems to have a running theme with old cars and trucks, which we love.
In fact, there are many kinds of transport.
If you love Florence Avenue, we also recommend visiting the incredible Borrego Springs metal sculptures in the desert of Southern California.
Sebastopol and Sonoma County
Sebastopol was a hippie hub in the 1960s, and the community declared it a “Nuclear Free Zone”. They installed a sign proudly stating so which you can still see downtown.
Historically, apple orchards filled the surrounding area, but now the landscape is dominated by grapevines.
Sonoma County is a quieter wine country than Napa, with various boutique wineries and artisan cheesemakers. You are guaranteed to spend a glorious day exploring all that the county has to offer, with Sebastopol as its dynamic creative heart.
Read our guide to the best things to do in Sonoma County including wineries, hikes, and delicious food.
This Sonoma County Wine Tasting Tour run by Sonoma Wine Rides looks like a great introduction to various small-production wineries in the region. They will even pick you up and return you to your vacation rental or hotel.
See sonomacounty.com for lots of great information to help you plan a trip to the area.
Where to Stay to See the Sebastopol Metal Sculptures
In Sonoma County, we stayed in a gorgeous Airbnb house outside Sebastopol. The tranquil setting surrounded by a large garden of apple trees was perfect.
Another great option is Fairfield Inn and Suites, which is just a five-minute drive from Florence Avenue and has a pool and hot tub.
Our guide to what to do in Sonoma has more recommendations of historic B&Bs and fancy winery resorts in the county.
Are the Sebastopol Sculptures Worth Visiting?
Yes absolutely! It’s difficult to imagine how anyone could resist Patrick Amiot and Brigitte Laurent’s playful work. The residential setting of Florence Avenue Sebastopol makes it a unique sculpture trail for all the family.
It is also inspiring to find a small town that has embraced its own residential Sebastopol sculpture artist and creativity into its community.
Exploring the sculptures along Florence Avenue and other artworks in Sebastopol is an excellent complement to the wine and cheese trails in Sonoma County.
More California Posts
Explore more of the state with our other California guides:
Northern California
- 17 Best Things to Do in Sonoma California
- The Best 3 Day Yosemite Itinerary for Summer
- Mono Lake in California: Visit the Stunning Tufa Towers Near Yosemite
- Visiting Bodie California Ghost Town: Everything You Need to Know
Southern California
- 14 Best Hikes in Joshua Tree National Park
- Disneyland and California Adventure in One Day: An Itinerary for Adults
- What to Do in Encinitas, San Diego
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My wife and I visited Florence Avenue yesterday. :-)
I would like to commission a piece with the artistPatrick Amiot. Can you give me his contact information?
Thank you,
Allan Grissette
You can find his contact details on his website: http://patrickamiot.com/contact
Sebastopol wasn’t founded in the 1960’s…it was formed in the 1850’s. Even had its own post office then. It was actually incorporated as a town in 1902.
Thanks for picking that up. I’ve updated the post now.
Like you,my wife and I had the good fortune to make a wrong turn and find ourselves on Florence Street. It’s so cool that so many neighbors have embraced this artistry and are displaying it in their yards.
It is a wonderful place to stumble across isn’t it? Glad you enjoyed the experience too, Jeff.
I’m so happy to have come across your blog. I love this street in Sebastopol. The sculptures are wonderfully whimsical. We discovered it by accident when we moved back to the North Bay in 2013. Thanks for documenting.
Thanks Candice! It’s a wonderful place to discover by accident isn’t it?
My daughter lived a couple of blocks away and we always loved taking walks down this so very happy zany little street ! when she moved away back to Southern California we always try to take a trip back to visit . can’t wait …we are planing one for the near future !
I also “stumbled” on this street years ago and come here whenever I’m in town. Florence St. always makes me very happy. I live in Houston TX.
This past Sunday was at family reunion in the area and took a wrong turn looking for a gas station and “stumbled” on this street. First we saw one sculpture, then another and another. It was a great way to end our trip. Still smiling about it!
Hi, this was a great article! I used to live about two minutes from Florence and always went trick or treating there. My family also has a nickname for the skeleton on the motorcycle- Skelly.
Can you Imagine living there? I go to Sebastopol frequently (my house is about a twenty-minute drive away) and always try to do down this street when in Downtown Sebastopol. Screamin’ Mimi’s Ice Cream Parlor (World’s BEST ice cream. Try it next time you’re in the area and prove me wrong) and Florence Avenue are the two places I try to hit every time. Really depends on the driver, though, since I do not drive myself. Quite frankly, it is the crafter’s capitol of Sonoma County and should be the crafter’s capitol of the country, if not the World. As a crafter myself, I would LOVE to live there, but my mobility issues would make that impossible.
We did think when we were there that it looked like a cool town to explore some more, and it’d be great to get a housesit there for a while. We’ll definitely try the ice cream parlour next time -thanks!
So fun! We love the bikini surfer and the guy on the green tractor especially. Thanks for sharing. We’ll have to seek out this spot next time we’re out there. Very cool that the shark-mobile really runs!
Gosh darn it, I wish I knew about this place when we visited San Francisco a couple of months ago… Fantastic find! Those zany creations seem straight out of a Czech animation short (albeit much less disturbing). Love the pop culture references (Wicked Witch from Wizard of Oz, the rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, Three Little Pigs, Babe Ruth…). It warms the heart to know there are places like that around…
We did get so lucky stumbling across it. Hope you make it there one day.
Hey Erin
What a great example of “Well-worn sights do not a good trip make”…a subject I intend to write a post on soon! I applaud people who can just travel wherever the mood blows them, and allow a new and interesting experience to blow their day off course, because you never know what you’ll find. Nice one!
Thanks Ruth. High expectations and crowds can often make the big attractions disappointing so we love it when we come across places like this that blow us away.
I really enjoyed reading this post! Such clever and humorous work, I loved them all. I especially chuckled at the fellow hanging onto the back of the fire engine and the men sitting in the Adirondack chairs roasting marshmallows, very cleaver!
They are brilliant aren’t they? We had so much fun wandering around.
How funny, even though we didn’t get a chance to meet up in Sonoma you ended up in Tom’s old stomping grounds anyway. He used to live on Florence ave – serendipitous indeed!
That’s so funny! And what a cool street to have lived on!