St. Helena

St. Helena, in the heart of the Napa Valley, has much to offer. Beautiful homes, stable real estate, fabulous restaurants, unique boutiques, art galleries, golf course, hotels and B&B's, wineries and vineyards are some of the town's attractions. Additionally, The Culinary Institute of America is housed in the old stone Christian Brothers Winery building, offering a gourmet restaurant as well as a wide variety of food and wine related courses and demonstrations.

Nestled in the Napa Valley, the city of St. Helena offers a charming Main Street, rural beauty, strong schools, and a small-town feel.

Buyers attracted to the city of 5,900 include young families, empty-nesters, and residents from other parts of the Bay Area looking for vacation and second homes. St. Helena enjoys sunny weather most of the year and boasts an array of gourmet restaurants including the Restaurant at Meadowood, which has earned three Michelin stars.

Other favorites include Cook St. Helena, Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen, Villa Corona, and French Blue. Gott’s Roadside diner on Main Street is known for its onion rings and milkshakes. In addition, St. Helena is home to the Culinary Institute of America cooking school’s California campus.

Also lining Main Street are a number of quaint shops, such as Pennyweight stationery, Steve’s Housewares and Bridal Registry, and Woodhouse Chocolate. Grocery stores include Safeway, Sunshine Foods Market, and Dean & DeLuca just outside of town.

The 12-acre Crane Park features tennis, volleyball, and bocce courts, as well as baseball fields, picnic areas, and horseshoe pits.

City residents attend the St. Helena Unified School District from kindergarten through 12th grade. In 2012 the district earned a combined Academic Performance Index score of 834.

St. Helena’s main neighborhoods are: the West Side, an area with older homes and cul-de-sacs that’s popular among young families; downtown, mostly home to shops and restaurants; the Signorelli subdivision on the city’s east side; and the Sylvaner subdivision on the west end of town.

In September 2013, the median price for a single-family home sold in St. Helena was $1,049,000, a year-over-year gain of 11 percent.

As someone who has maintained an office in St. Helena for over 10 years and has lived in Napa for over 20, I can say with confidence that St Helena is a great place to live. St Helena maintains a great balance between small town feel and posh Napa Valley Experience. In St Helena, you will find charming character homes down every street along with large vineyard estates at the periphery of the town; and dozens of world class restaurants and wineries within walking distance. The neighbors are very friendly and family oriented; and because the population is small, It is truly a town where everyone knows one another. The only thing preventing me from giving St Helena a 5 star rating is it's distance from Napa, which is an extra 20-30 minutes; especially during high season when traffic heading up valley can be oppressive.