San Diego California Balboa Park La Jolla Cove and Coronado

Why visit San Diego

San Diego works because it combines a real city with a beach town attitude. The climate is the obvious draw: summers are warm rather than scorching, winters are mild, and rain is rare outside the cooler months.

History runs deeper than many visitors expect. In 1542 Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo sailed into San Diego Bay, and in 1769 Spanish missionaries and soldiers founded the first mission and presidio in what is now California.

The city is also deeply tied to the sea and the Navy. Aircraft carriers dock across the bay at Naval Air Station North Island, the USS Midway anchors the waterfront, and the harbor is busy with sailboats, ferries and cruise ships.

Balboa Park, downtown and the bay

The heart of the city holds its most famous cultural sights. Most are within a short ride of each other, so you can link them easily over a day or two.

Balboa Park

Balboa Park covers about 1,200 acres just northeast of downtown and is home to more than a dozen museums, gardens and performance spaces. The main promenade, El Prado, is lined with ornate buildings created for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, including the California Tower and Casa del Prado.

San Diego Zoo

Inside Balboa Park, the San Diego Zoo is one of the most celebrated zoos in the world, known for its conservation work and its lush, canyon-filled layout. Expect steep paths between habitat areas; the Skyfari aerial tram and the guided bus tour help save your legs.

USS Midway Museum and the Embarcadero

The USS Midway, the longest-serving US aircraft carrier of the twentieth century, is now a museum ship on Navy Pier. You can climb into the cockpits of restored aircraft on the flight deck, explore crew quarters and the engine room, and listen to stories from the volunteer docents, many of whom served in the Navy.

Gaslamp Quarter and Little Italy

The Gaslamp Quarter, a sixteen-block historic district of Victorian-era buildings, is downtown's dining and nightlife hub and sits next to Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres.

Old Town, Coronado and Point Loma

These three areas trace the city's story, from its Spanish and Mexican roots to its role as a Navy town, and they also hold some of its most beautiful views.

Old Town San Diego State Historic Park

Old Town marks the area where San Diego's first permanent settlement grew in the early nineteenth century. The state historic park preserves and reconstructs adobe homes, a schoolhouse, a newspaper office and shops around a grassy plaza, and many buildings are free to enter.

Coronado

Coronado sits across the bay, connected by the curving San Diego–Coronado Bridge and by ferries from downtown. Its wide, sparkling Coronado Beach regularly appears on lists of the best beaches in the country, and the grand Victorian Hotel del Coronado, which opened in 1888, is worth a look even if you are not staying there.

Cabrillo National Monument

At the tip of the Point Loma peninsula, Cabrillo National Monument commemorates the 1542 landing of Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo. The views from the top take in the entire bay, downtown, Coronado and, on clear days, the mountains of Mexico.

La Jolla and the northern coast

Some of the most striking scenery in Southern California lies a short drive north of downtown, where cliffs, coves and canyons meet the Pacific.

La Jolla Cove and the coastline

La Jolla Cove is a small, sheltered beach framed by sandstone cliffs and part of a protected marine area. Sea lions and harbor seals lounge on the rocks nearby, especially around Point La Jolla and the Children's Pool, and pelicans and cormorants crowd the bluffs.

Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve

A few miles north, Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve protects the rare Torrey pine and a stretch of dramatic, eroded bluffs above the ocean. Short trails such as the Guy Fleming Trail and the Razor Point Trail lead to sweeping viewpoints, and the Beach Trail drops down to Torrey Pines State Beach.

Sunset Cliffs and the beach neighborhoods

On the ocean side of Point Loma, Sunset Cliffs Natural Park is a long stretch of sculpted cliffs, arches and coves, and as its name suggests it is the city's favorite place to watch the sun go down. Stay well back from the edges, which are unstable.

Food and local flavors

San Diego's signature dish is the fish taco: battered or grilled fish in a corn tortilla with shredded cabbage, a creamy white sauce and a squeeze of lime. You will find versions everywhere from beach shacks to sit-down restaurants, along with shrimp tacos and Baja-style ceviche.

Mexican food is the backbone of the local scene.

Craft beer is a point of local pride. San Diego County has well over a hundred breweries, with clusters in North Park, Miramar and Little Italy, and tasting rooms scattered across the beach towns.

Where to stay

Downtown, especially the Gaslamp Quarter and Little Italy, is the most practical base for first-time visitors. You are close to the trolley, the waterfront, Balboa Park and the best restaurants, and you can manage without a car for much of your stay. Little Italy is a bit calmer at night than the Gaslamp, which can be loud on weekends.

Coronado suits travelers who want a quiet beach setting with easy ferry access to downtown. La Jolla is ideal for couples and anyone focused on the coast, though it is pricier and farther from the central sights.

Best time to visit

San Diego is a year-round destination, but each season has its character.

Late spring and early summer bring a coastal marine layer that locals call May Gray and June Gloom, when mornings near the beach can stay overcast well into the day. It usually burns off by afternoon inland.

Getting there and getting around

San Diego International Airport is about three miles from downtown, one of the most convenient big-city airports in the country.

The San Diego Trolley is handy for downtown, Old Town, Mission Valley and the border at San Ysidro, and the Blue Line now extends north to UC San Diego and University City, which puts you within a short ride of La Jolla.

A suggested itinerary

First day

Start at Balboa Park with a walk along El Prado and a museum or two, then spend the afternoon at the San Diego Zoo.

Second day

Tour the USS Midway in the morning and walk the Embarcadero past the Maritime Museum.

Third day

Drive to Torrey Pines for a morning hike, then continue to La Jolla Cove for the sea lions, snorkeling or a kayak tour.

Fourth day

With more time, explore Old Town and Presidio Park, then head out to Cabrillo National Monument for the lighthouse and, if the tide is low, the tide pools.

Practical tips

• Pack layers: coastal mornings and evenings are cool even in summer, especially during May Gray and June Gloom.
• Use reef-safe sunscreen and reapply often; the sun is strong even on overcast days.
• Keep your distance from sea lions and seals in La Jolla and never try to touch or feed them.
• Book zoo tickets and harbor cruises online in summer and on holiday weekends to avoid lines.
• Stay back from cliff edges at Sunset Cliffs, Torrey Pines and La Jolla; the sandstone collapses without warning.
• Check tide charts before visiting tide pools at Cabrillo or La Jolla; the best viewing is during low tides in fall and winter.

Find local businesses in San Diego on WiserMap

Looking for a taco shop near the beach, a surf school, a bike rental in Coronado or a mechanic before a coastal road trip?

Explore local businesses