For the 15 years that I’ve been visiting Napa the valley, Napa the town has meant little more to me than a spattering of exits to speed by on the way north. But in the past nine months, a marketplace modeled after San Francisco’s Ferry Building and a hot new restaurant have opened within blocks of each other, making downtown Napa a day trip even I had to admit was unmissable. First stop, a vegetarian lunch at Ubuntu that won over this carnivore with some of the most sophisticated dishes I’ve eaten in a long time. Next, a wander around the food and antiques stalls and farmers’ market stands at Oxbow Public Market that left me content to spend the rest of my Napa day right here, strawberry Je Ne Sais Quoi cone (with a splash of balsamic vinegar) from Three Twins Ice Cream in hand.

Downtown Napa-Oxbow Public Market: 610 1st St., Napa, 707-226-6529, oxbowpublicmarket.com; Ubuntu: 1140 Main St., Napa, 707-251-5656, ubuntunapa.com