San Diego

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Many of the Spanish Colonial Revival buildings along El Prado date from the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, San Diego, California

The San Diego Zoo occupies about a hundred acres inside Balboa Park, California

USS Midway served the US Navy from 1945 to 1992 and is now a museum ship on Navy Pier, San Diego, California

Old Town San Diego State Historic Park preserves buildings from the Mexican and early American periods, California

About San Diego

San Diego stretches along California's southern coast near the Mexican border, from the bluffs of La Jolla to a large sheltered bay. Spanish missionaries founded the first California mission here in 1769, and the city later grew into a major Navy town. A mild, sunny climate and a long string of beaches give it a famously easygoing character.

Balboa Park holds Spanish Revival buildings, gardens and a cluster of museums, along with the San Diego Zoo. On the Embarcadero, the aircraft carrier USS Midway now serves as a museum. Downtown, the Gaslamp Quarter fills with restaurants and bars, and Little Italy hosts a popular farmers market. Old Town San Diego State Historic Park recalls the Mexican and early American eras. Across the bay, Coronado pairs a grand Victorian hotel with a wide beach, while Cabrillo National Monument on Point Loma looks back over the harbor. Farther north, sea lions lounge near La Jolla Cove, and Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve protects rare pines on sandstone bluffs. Sunset Cliffs, Ocean Beach and Pacific Beach show the laid-back surf side of the city.

San Diego suits families, beachgoers and anyone wanting a relaxed city break. The weather is pleasant year-round, though late spring and early summer often bring gray coastal mornings. A car helps for reaching the beach neighborhoods, and day trips lead to Julian, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and Tijuana.

Best seasonSeptember and October are warm and sunny, often clearer than the gray coastal mornings of early summer.

Ideal stayFour days covers Balboa Park, the bay, Coronado and the northern beaches.

ArrivingSan Diego International Airport sits close to downtown, and Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner connects from Los Angeles.

WiserMap travel guideSan Diego California Balboa Park La Jolla Cove and CoronadoPlan a San Diego trip: Balboa Park, La Jolla Cove, Coronado, the USS Midway, Old Town and Cabrillo, plus fish tacos, where to stay and the best seasons.Read the guide

12 Reasons to Visit San Diego

Parks 2

Balboa Park

Created for the 1915-16 Panama-California Exposition, this 1,200-acre park holds Spanish Colonial Revival buildings along El Prado...

Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve

On coastal bluffs between La Jolla and Del Mar, this reserve protects the Torrey pine, the rarest pine native to the United States...

Wildlife 1

San Diego Zoo

Tucked into the canyons and mesas of Balboa Park, the San Diego Zoo houses thousands of animals in habitats designed to evoke thei...

Museums 1

USS Midway Museum and the Embarcadero

Moored on the downtown waterfront, the USS Midway served from 1945 to 1992, the longest-serving American aircraft carrier of the 2...

Neighborhoods 1

Gaslamp Quarter and Little Italy

Downtown's two liveliest districts sit a short walk apart. The Gaslamp Quarter preserves Victorian commercial buildings along Fift...

History 3

Old Town San Diego State Historic Park

Below Presidio Hill, this state historic park marks where Mexican and early American San Diego took shape. Restored and reconstruc...

Mission San Diego de Alcala

California's first mission was founded by Father Junípero Serra in 1769 on Presidio Hill and moved to this site in Mission Valley...

Cabrillo National Monument

At the tip of the Point Loma peninsula, this park honors Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, who in 1542 led the first European expedition to...

Beaches 3

Hotel del Coronado and Coronado Beach

Opened in 1888, the Hotel del Coronado is a sprawling Victorian resort of white wooden walls and red turreted roofs that has hoste...

La Jolla Cove and the coastline

This small sheltered cove in La Jolla lies within a protected marine reserve, so its clear water draws snorkelers looking for brig...

Mission Beach and Belmont Park

Mission Beach is a narrow strip of sand between the Pacific and Mission Bay, lined by a busy boardwalk where cyclists, skaters and...

Viewpoints 1

Sunset Cliffs and the beach neighborhoods

Along the western edge of Point Loma, Sunset Cliffs Natural Park follows eroded sandstone bluffs, arches and sea caves above the P...

5.0(3)

3909 Convoy St, San Diego

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