Chula Vista

About Chula Vista

Chula Vista, Spanish for beautiful view, lies on the shore of San Diego Bay between downtown San Diego and the Mexican border, with the hills of Otay rising behind it. The land was part of the old Rancho de la Nacion, and the town was laid out in the late 1880s with orchards on every lot. Lemons thrived here, and in the early 1900s Chula Vista was known as a lemon capital of the world. It was incorporated in 1911.

During World War II an aircraft parts plant brought jobs and new neighborhoods, and the city kept growing east toward the hills, becoming the second-largest city in San Diego County. Its historic heart is Third Avenue Village, with local shops and restaurants and the yearly Lemon Festival celebrating the city's roots.

Chula Vista's bayfront has parks, a marina and the Living Coast Discovery Center, set in a wildlife refuge on Sweetwater Marsh. Inland, Olympic hopefuls train at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center beside Otay Lake, families head to the Aquatica water park, and big names play the outdoor amphitheater on summer nights.