Rich in history, arts and culture, festivals and special events, the Metro Region will delight and surprise you. 

Riverside and San Bernardino are the oldest and largest cities in the Inland Empire, and it’s here in the Inland Empire’s Metro Region that you’ll find most of the IE’s fine restaurants and big entertainment venues, orchestra, dance and theater companies, museums and galleries.

The Metro Region is the heart of the Inland Empire. That’s why the California Welcome Center for the Inland Empire is strategically located in San Bernardino. Visitors traveling along the I-10 and I-215 Interstates will find a unique and entertaining welcome center with special features such as: Route 66 theme, historic displays, travel brochures, Internet café, RV parking and more. 

The Metro Region is rich in history. Riverside alone is home to 106 historical landmarks, including the world-famous Mission Inn Hotel & Spa, a National Landmark reminiscent of the California missions. Check out the giant mural at Van Buren Blvd. and Magnolia Ave. that depicts as-large-as-life the community circa 1948. To learn about the citrus industry, which at one time made Riverside one of the wealthiest cities in America, visit the California Citrus State Historic Park. 

In San Bernardino, a must see is the newly opened San Bernardino History and Railroad Museum in the meticulously restored, 90-year-old Santa Fe Depot, one of the West’s most notable train depots—a magnificent two-story Mission-style structure with four Moorish dome towers.   

Besides cosmopolitan cities, the Metro Region has several communities that have successfully managed progress while preserving the past, and well worth exploring. Tree-lined State St. in Redlands has charming turn-of-the-century buildings, including the 1897 French château-style Kimberly Crest House, a National Historic Landmark home.

The Redlands Bowl has the nation's largest continuously running free outdoor summer concert series. The Redlands Symphony Orchestra has its home at the University of Redlands, which also sponsors nearly 200 cultural events a year.

Loma Linda has its share of graceful vintage homes in tree-shaded neighborhoods where many residents bike or walk to work. Loma Linda, a center of health and wellness research, is home to the world-renowned Loma Linda University Medical Center. 

You can capture that timeless “small town” feel in downtown Corona, once known as “The Lemon Capital of the World.” Neighboring Norco strives to retain the look and feel of the Old West. If you love horses and cowboys, you’ll fit right in. 

Art galleries, performing arts, theater, ballet, and orchestras satisfy any craving for the arts. While you’re visiting, chances are you’ll come across some special event or festival. 

The Riverside County Philharmonic, a 72-member professional orchestra, draws loyal audiences from all over the Southland to Riverside Municipal Auditorium. San Bernardino is one of the few cities with its own symphony. A vibrant theatre and arts community centers around the historic California Theatre of the Performing Arts and the lovely Sturges Theater. 

San Bernardino hosts an annual festival of classic cars on historic Route 66. The Stater Bros. Route 66 Rendezvous draws over 1,000 custom and classic vehicles and a half-million visitors.

Riverside has its own crowd-pleaser: the Festival of Lights during the holiday season. Along historic Mission Inn Avenue, there are horse-drawn carriages, live entertainment, outdoor ice-skating, and holiday decorations with more than three million lights on the Historic Mission Inn Hotel.

Take a spin on any of over 3,000 thrilling slot machines at  San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino. Enjoy Vegas-style poker or blackjack tables, a smoke-free poker room, with convenient tableside food and beverage service, and High-stakes bingo in their fabulous 2500 seat, state-of-the-art Bingo Hall. Like to play Big? Enjoy the elegant and spacious High Limit room. San Manuel also offers many other ways for you to have a great entertainment experience. Engage your tatebuds, from casual dining at The Sportwatch Grill to variety and quality of the Serrano Buffet. The state-of-the-art Yuhaviatam showroom proudly brings the biggest names in entertainment to the stage. Artists like Rod Stewart, Cedric The Entertainer, INXS, Kenny Rogers, and so many more can be found right here, all in one place. They also offer free nightly entertainment in the Tukut Lounge.

If golf is your passion, the Metro Region has some of the IE’s finest courses. Oak Quarry Golf Club in Riverside is rated #1 Best Course in Inland Southern California by the Press-Enterprise newspaper.  

The San Manuel Amphitheater (formerly the Hyundai Pavilion) is a 65,000-seat amphitheater in the hills of Glen Helen Regional Park near San Bernardino. It is the largest amphitheater in North America.

Shoppers can browse antique stores, boutiques, and farmer’s markets in the “old town” areas, or try the major shopping malls: Riverside’s Galleria, San Bernardino’s Inland Center, or the newly renovated Moreno Valley Mall. 

Metro Region museums are not stuffy but exciting places for people of all age groups to experience:

• SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MUSEUM, Redlands, is the largest museum in inland Southern California and houses three floors of exhibits and collections in cultural and natural history. Look for the new Hall of Geological Wonders.
• FENDER MUSEUM OF MUSIC & THE ARTS, Corona, offers concerts, kids and adults music programs and some of the coolest displays in music history.
• MARCH FIELD AIR MUSEUM, next to the March Air Reserve Base in Moreno Valley, has over 70 historic aircraft and displays rare aviation artifacts.
• Metropolitan Museum, Riverside, is a center for learning and a community museum that celebrates cultural and natural history.
• RIVERSIDE ART MUSEUM, in the historic Mission Inn District, is the largest visual arts museum serving the Inland Empire and features prominent IE artists.
• ROBERT V. FULLERTON ART MUSEUM, on the Cal State University San Bernardino campus, displays one of the finest collections of ancient Egyptian antiquities west of the Mississippi, as well as contemporary art.
• UCR/California Museum, Riverside, has the world’s largest collection of original stereoscopic prints and negatives. You could spend an entire day here.

Visit the Inland Empire’s Metro Region and you too will be saying,“I never dreamed there was so much here!”