Just off Old Town Front St, this one-room museum tells the history of the region through artifacts from the Native American Luiseño people through to the area's Spanish period and stagecoach times, plus there's a scale model of the Mission San Luis Rey de Francia, founded in 1798.
Temecula Valley Museum
San Diego
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
29.51 MILES
Famous for its swallows that fly back to town every year on March 19 (though sometimes they’re just a bit early), San Juan Capistrano is home to the …
24.63 MILES
It's easy to spend an hour in this heartfelt museum of surf artifacts, from a timeline of surfing history to surf-themed art and a radical collection of…
19.55 MILES
High on Palomar Mountain, at an elevation of 5500ft to avoid light pollution, the Palomar Observatory is simply spectacular – as large as Rome’s Pantheon, with…
0.12 MILES
Old Town Front St’s turn-of-the-last-century storefronts and wooden sidewalks make for an attractive stroll – pick up the Historic Old Town Temecula…
27 MILES
A fantasy environment built largely of those little colored plastic blocks from Denmark. Many rides and attractions are targeted to elementary schoolers:…
28.73 MILES
Take a walk on the 'wild' side at this 1800-acre open-range zoo, sibling of the San Diego Zoo, in the suburban San Pasqual Valley. Giraffes graze, lions…
27.39 MILES
The 50-acre flower fields of Carlsbad Ranch are ablaze in a sea of the carmine, saffron and snow-white blossoms of giant tecolote ranunculus. Take the…
26.18 MILES
Carlsbad’s long, sandy beaches are great for walking and searching for seashells. Good access is from Carlsbad Blvd, two blocks south of Carlsbad Village…
Nearby San Diego attractions
0.12 MILES
Old Town Front St’s turn-of-the-last-century storefronts and wooden sidewalks make for an attractive stroll – pick up the Historic Old Town Temecula…
5.15 MILES
A nice stop if you’ve got children in tow; the kids can look at Clydesdales at this 'Old West'-style tasting room, while mommy and daddy sip. They have…
7.03 MILES
This place makes almond champagne (infused with almond oil in the fermentation process) and a chocolate-infused port.
7.89 MILES
Twenty minutes' drive from Front St, this winery offers award-winning viognier and melange de rêves, plus sweeping views from its sort-of-Teutonic tower.
19.55 MILES
High on Palomar Mountain, at an elevation of 5500ft to avoid light pollution, the Palomar Observatory is simply spectacular – as large as Rome’s Pantheon, with…
6. Palomar Mountain State Park
19.84 MILES
To stretch your legs after visiting the ridgetop Palomar Observatory, nearby Palomar Mountain State Park has forested hikes along panoramic-view trails…
7. Mission San Luis Rey de Francia
20.67 MILES
About 4.5 miles inland from central Oceanside, this was the largest California mission and the most successful in recruiting Native American converts. At…
24.44 MILES
This museum underwent a recent revamp and it now stands at an impressive 16,000 sq ft in a modernist, white shell. There are about 10 rotating exhibits a…