If you're in San Diego, why travel anywhere else when you live right smack in a city that people flock to for vacation? If you think about it, you're only an hour away from almost anything (ocean, another country, the mountains, desert, etc.). San Diego has world-class cuisine, and the best weather all year long! We've also got some amazing attractions.
Here are a few of our favorites and things that we're known for:
Balboa Park
Balboa Park has about 15 museums not including the amazing gardens and cafes. Some well-known museums are the San Diego Natural History Museum, Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, San Diego Museum of Art, the San Diego Air and Space Museum, the San Diego History Center, a beautiful Botanical Building and more.
Gaslamp Quarter
San Diego also has an amazing dining and nightlife scene. Gaslamp Quarter covers approximately 16 city blocks full of bars, nightclubs, and restaurants. You will also find a few Victorian-era structures that date back to the 1800s. If you're hanging out on one of the rooftop restaurants and bars, you'll get a nice view of the Coronado Bridge, downtown skyline, and even the San Diego Bay.
La Jolla
San Diego has one of the best scenic coastlines in the world and La Jolla is usually one of the beaches featured on San Diego postcards. You'll find a few waterfront hotels and plenty of restaurants along the main strip. If you walk off to the shore, you'll find some seals hanging out near the cliffs around La Jolla Cove. It's also a popular destination for kayaking and snorkeling. Some notable attractions are the Birch Aquarium at Scripps, San Diego's Museum of Contemporary Art, and the public murals by renowned artists.
Little Italy
Little Italy is a neighborhood near Downtown San Diego that became home to many fishing immigrants in the early 20th century. You'll find a Farmers Market every weekend selling produce, fish, and flowers along with the many (amazing) restaurants. If you venture a block away from the main strip, you'll find the Firehouse Museum, Amici Park's 'Recipe Tables', and San Diego's oldest tavern, Waterfront Bar which dates back to 1888.
Wineries
San Diego County is huge! Due to the different topographies and microclimates, you'll find some of the best wineries located in almost every area in San Diego and Temecula. The best part? The wineries are usually family-owned and feature a wine tasting room that's open to the public. A lot of times, the person pouring your wine could also be the person to helped to make it!
The Animals
If you're an animal lover, San Diego is the place for you! We've got the San Diego Zoo, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, Chula Vista's Living Coast Discovery Center, La Jolla's Birch Aquarium at Scripps, and SeaWorld! Just to name a few, between the different attractions you'll find cheetahs, giraffes, pandas, dolphins, Shamu, penguins, fish, and we've left off A LOT of other creatures.
Julian
How would you like to experience life as a miner? Julian is only a short drive east and up the mountain from San Diego. Some of the buildings in the town date back to the early 1870's. While you're there, make sure to try some of the pies... They're GOOOOD.
Ocean Beach Municipal Pier
The longest concrete pier in the West Coast is located at Ocean Beach. How long exactly? About half a mile out from the shore! The OB Pier is a great place to catch a sunset and is where many fishermen go for a good catch.
Borrego Springs
Named after Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza in 1774, this is California's largest state park at over 600,000 acres. This collection of badlands, canyons, and desert is simply beautiful when the flowers are blooming.
Old Town
It's the town that started it all for San Diego. There, you'll be able to pan for gold, learn how to make bricks (adobe), take a tour of some historic buildings, a real haunted house (The Whaley House, considered the most haunted house in the United States according to The Travel Channel), and amazing food and shops.
We've got Craft Breweries, Lots!
You'll pretty much find a local brewery in every neighborhood in San Diego. We've got approximately 115 breweries (and counting). Just to name a few, Karl Strauss, Lost Abbey, Ballast Point, Rough Draft, Green Flash, and Stone Brewing are all local to San Diego.
Pacific Beach
Also known as "PB" is a popular destination for young 20 somethings and college students...you'll think it was a college town. What can you find in PB? Lots of bars, restaurants, a boardwalk and more.
USS Midway Museum and Liberty Station
San Diego is also home to many of our armed forces members. We're one of the few cities lucky enough to have an aircraft carrier museum with a collection of military planes, WW2, exhibits and more.
If you're near the San Diego Airport, you'll be next to Liberty Station. It was originally a Naval Training Center but is now a garden, picnic area, rose garden, art gallery, and shopping center. You'll find some breweries and top-notch restaurants in the what some have dubbed as San Diego's rival to Seattle's Pikes Place.
Our Mexican Food
Some would argue, but we're gonna say it... San Diego has THE BEST Mexican Food in the entire world, HANDS DOWN. You can't go wrong with most of the taco shops in San Diego. If you like french fries and beef, try a California Burrito. There are too many shops to list here... but that's a good thing. Because if you're hungry in San Diego, there's a good chance you're already near a taco shop that can take care of you!
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