35 Captivating California Quotes for Your Next Instagram Post

California is a dream destination offering everything: rich culture, majestic mountains, stunning beaches, delightful wines, vibrant cities, breathtaking national parks, and the expansive Pacific Ocean. The creative energy in Los Angeles and San Francisco has inspired some of the greatest authors, musicians, and journalists to capture the splendor of California in their work. Experiencing how these talents express the joie de vivre unique to California expands your appreciation for the state. Here are 25 of our favorite California quotes, perfect for a memorable and poetic Instagram caption.

Top California Quotes

"Dean's California — vibrant, raw, essential, a haven for lonely, exiled, and eccentric lovers who gather like birds, and a place where everyone somehow resembles broken, handsome, decadent film stars." — Jack Kerouac

"In the golden land, the future always seems bright, as no one remembers the past." — Joan Didion

"In my dreams, I’m with you in Rockland, where you emerge from a sea journey, tears in your eyes, walking along the highway across America to the door of my cottage in the Western night." — Allen Ginsberg

"This is the true essence of California and the secret to its allure; this wild, untamed, ancient landscape that continually reminds the traveler of their human existence and the nature of their stay on this planet." — Christopher Isherwood

"In California, gold represented what God did in the rest of the country: everything, everywhere." — Claire Vaye Watkins

"The two girls grew up by the ocean's edge, knowing it was paradise, even better than Eden, which was merely a garden." ― Eve Babitz

"California: always bordering on the Pacific and occasionally on the absurd. So why do I stay? Because the sun sets just a block from my home." — George Carlin

"California is forever in my thoughts." — David Hockney

Top Song Lyrics About California

"I decided to start anew, heading to California with a heavy heart. I heard there's a girl there with love in her eyes and flowers in her hair." — Led Zeppelin

"California dreaming on a winter's day." — The Mamas & The Papas

"My heart longs for you, California." — Joni Mitchell

"You can explore the globe, but nothing compares to the golden coast." — Katy Perry

"I wish to dream my worries away, resting on a bed of California stars." — Wilco

"She stood there, radiant like the sun along that California coastline." — Bob Seger

"California, I'm on my way home." — Joni Mitchell

"California knows how to celebrate." — 2Pac

"Your shadow feels heavy, cruising down the 101. California, here we come, back to where it all began." — Phantom Planet

"Will you take me back to California? I've been traveling for far too long." — Carole King

"I just learned her ghost has left, the Queen of California is stepping down." — John Mayer

"Heading back to Cali, purely for the sunshine." — The Notorious B.I.G.

Top Quotes About San Francisco

"If you’re off to San Francisco, don’t forget to wear some flowers in your hair." — Scott McKenzie

"Now there's a lively town for grown-ups." — Frank Sinatra

"San Francisco is the only city I can think of that endures everything you folks do to it and still remains stunning." — Frank Lloyd Wright

"Anyone who can't enjoy San Francisco is essentially dead to me. You arrive as a sarcastic New Yorker, thinking it's all about political correctness, crunchy granola, and vegetarianism, only to be surprised time and again. It's a hearty drinking town, a meat-loving town, dirty yet delightful." — Anthony Bourdain

"I'm completely smitten with San Francisco. It’s like London and Paris piled on top of each other." — Twiggy

"San Francisco is pure poetry. Even the hills have a rhythm." — Pat Montandon

Top Quotes About Los Angeles

"Yet here I am, right beside you. The sky shines a brighter blue in Malibu." — Miley Cyrus

"In Los Angeles, everyone shines like a star." — Denzel Washington

"I adore Los Angeles; it reinvents itself every couple of days." — Billy Connolly

"When I arrived in Los Angeles, it was the first time I ever truly felt I belonged somewhere." — Jennifer Love Hewitt

"Los Angeles conveys a sense of the future more intensely than any other city I know." — Henry Miller

"You possess that unique sadness, that tragic allure that only comes from time spent in Los Angeles, making me want to hold you close." — Dawes

"Los Angeles is like a beauty salon at the edge of the universe." — Emily Mortimer

"At times, it feels like my only companion is the city I call home, the city of angels." — Red Hot Chili Peppers

"If you tip the world on its side, everything loose will end up in Los Angeles." — Frank Lloyd Wright