Travels through California wouldn't be complete without a stop in the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley wine country and the charming European village of Solvang. Located in California's unspoiled Central Coast region just 35 minutes north of Santa Barbara, Solvang was founded by Danish immigrants just after the turn of the century. Today this small, old world community is one of California's most popular tourist attractions, attracting 3 million visitors annually from around the world with its unique and charming atmosphere.

The area's exceptional natural beauty, live theater, fine dining, delightful accommodations, horse ranches and over 60 award-winning wineries, along with the town's 350 unique retail shops, keep the visitor, as well as locals, coming back time and time again.

The Santa Ynez Valley's largest and most prestigious antique shop is the Solvang Antique Center, which is clebrating its 35th aniversary with an exciting change of ownership. Dwight and Arlene Steffensen (shown above) have purchased the Antique Center from its founders Ron and Julie Palladino. The Steffensens have ambitious plans to build on the legacy of this much loved business, while continuing to provide the high level of product quality and customer service that has delighted customers from all over the world. They bring a life-long love for antiques and a zest for challenges to their new roles as retailers.

For more information about the Steffensen's click here.

Located right in the heart of the shopping village, the Solvang Antique Center features 65 carefully-selected, quality antique dealers in the historic Old Mill Shops building. The award-winning building provides a unique shopping environment, with natural lighting from arch top windows and skylights and museum-style display cases, with thousands of decorative and specialty items mixed throughout the furniture galleries.

The Solvang Antique Center has rapidly gained the reputation among collectors and antique dealers as one of the finest multiple-dealer galleries in the country. As a result of their quality merchandising techniques, service-oriented staff, state-of-the-art computerized inventory control system, locator services and worldwide delivery, the Solvang Antique Center has had participating dealers from as far away as England, France, China and Russia, and delivers to loyal, repeat customers around the globe.

There's something at the Solvang Antique Center for everyone from the casual browser to the serious collector — from silver, porcelain, cut glass, jewelry, prints, paintings, sculpture and collector items to fine furniture, antiquities, automatic pianos and museum-quality investment items.

Featured within the Solvang Antique Center is one of the largest selections of quality restored clocks and music boxes in the country, with more than 350 quality restored antique clocks of all types, fine pocket watches and vintage wristwatches, cylinder and disc music boxes, musical clocks and fine automata, and automatic grand pianos. Special items currently on display include a collection of rare oil paintings with clockwork mechanisms and music boxes hidden inside, intriguing French mystery clocks, and over fifty quality tall case clocks.

The Solvang Antique Center is located at 486 First Street in Solvang, CA 93463, opposite Solvang Park, and is open seven days a week from 10:00 until 6:00.

For information about attractions, events and lodgings in Solvang and the Santa Ynez Valley, click here.