Enchanting coastal town Carmel-by-the-Sea, or sometimes shortened to Carmel, is an enchanting California coastal city on the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey County, California. Carmel-by-the-Sea is located on the Pacific coast 15 miles north of the world-famous Big Sur, north of Los Angeles 330 miles (6 hours) and 120 miles (2 hours) south of San Francisco. …