La Jolla
Built in the 1930s behind a wave-cutting seawall, La Jolla’s Children’s Pool was created as a family beach but has since been invaded by herds of seals…
Must-see attractions in San Diego
La Jolla
This state-of-the-art aquarium is a wonderous underwater world home to 5000 fish. Visitors can watch sharks dart, kelp forests sway, and even meet a…
San Diego
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…
San Diego
Next to the new Waterfront Park, this collection of 11 historic sailing ships, steam boats and submarines is easy to spot: just look for the 100ft-high…
San Diego
This interactive children’s museum offers interactive art meant for kids. Installations are designed by artists, so tykes can learn principles of movement…
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park
San Diego
On the site of San Diego's first European settlement, Old Town consists of a cluster of restored or rebuilt historic 19th-century buildings filled with…
San Diego
A couple blocks east of Petco Park, the city's recent landmark is a beauty. Crowned by a steel-and-mesh dome, the futuristic, nine-story library features…
La Jolla
Waves have carved a series of caves into the sandstone cliffs east of La Jolla Cove. The one below the Cave Store, a shop selling vintage curios, is 200…
San Diego
This justifiably famous zoo is one of SoCal’s biggest attractions, showing more than 3000 animals representing more than 650 species in a beautifully…
San Diego
The hulking aircraft carrier USS Midway was one of the navy’s flagships from 1945 to 1991, last playing a combat role in the First Gulf War. On the flight…
San Diego
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…
Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve
La Jolla
This reserve preserves the last mainland stands of the Torrey pine (Pinus torreyana), a species adapted to sparse rainfall and sandy, stony soils. Steep…
San Diego
South of Plaza de Panama looms the tiered benches, curved colonnade and ornate pavilion housing a 5017-pipe organ, said to be the world’s largest of its…
San Diego
Just beyond the ‘Hotel Del', this beach is consistently ranked in America’s top 10. Four-and-a-half miles south of Coronado Village is the white-sand…
San Diego
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…
Gaslamp Museum & William Heath Davis House
San Diego
This house, a prefab affair brought from Maine in 1850, contains a small museum with 19th-century furnishings, plus historic newspaper clippings in the…
San Diego
A fantasy environment built largely of those little colored plastic blocks from Denmark. Many rides and attractions are targeted to elementary schoolers:…
San Diego
One of the world's most iconic hotels, ‘The Del’ is an all-timber whitewashed architectural fantasy complete with conical towers, cupolas, turrets,…
Mission & Pacific Beaches Boardwalk
San Diego
Central San Diego's best beach scene is concentrated in a narrow strip of land between the ocean and Mission Bay. There's great people-watching along the…
San Diego
Atop a steep hill at the tip of the peninsula, this is San Diego’s finest locale for history, views and nature walks. It’s also the best place in town to…
San Diego
Just east of Mission and Pacific Beaches is this 7-sq-mile playground, with 27 miles of shoreline and 90 acres of parks on islands, coves and peninsulas…
San Diego
Balboa Park is a 1200-acre space with 17 museums and cultural institutions, including key attractions San Diego History Center, San Diego Air & Space…
Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá
San Diego
Padre Junípero Serra founded the first of California's 21 missions in 1769 on Presidio Hill near present-day Old Town but, five years later, it was moved…
San Diego
In an upcycled Santa Fe Depot baggage building, this well-respected museum presents changing exhibits drawn from a collection spanning the arc of artistic…
San Diego
Balboa Park includes a number of gardens, reflecting different horticultural styles and environments, including Alcazar Garden, a formal, Spanish-style…
San Diego
Just north of the pier, near the end of Newport Ave, is the beach scene’s epicenter, with volleyball courts and sunset barbecues. Further north on Dog…
San Diego
Pride of place in SDMA's permanent collection goes to its Spanish old masters (El Greco, Goya) and a respectable selection of works by other international…
San Diego
Housed in the iconic 1915 California Building, this anthropological museum is packed with exhibits hopscotching from ancient Egypt to local Kumeyaay…
San Diego Natural History Museum
San Diego
The 'Nat' houses 7.5 million specimens, including rocks, minerals, fossils and taxidermied animals, as well as an impressive dinosaur skeleton and an eye…
San Diego
A top pick in Balboa Park, this hands-on science museum features interactive displays, including a room geared to the milk-tooth set. Look out for…
San Diego
This old-style family amusement park has been a Mission Beach fixture since 1925. The star attraction is the Giant Dipper, a classic wooden roller coaster…
San Diego
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…
San Diego
The Botanical Building looks lovely from El Prado, where you can see it reflected in the large lily pond that was used for hydrotherapy in WWII when the…
San Diego
A quick stroll southeast of the Gaslamp is the home of the San Diego Padres baseball team. The stadium has beautiful brick construction and skyscraper…
San Diego
The San Diego Historical Society operates this center, with permanent and temporary exhibitions on city history. Previous exhibitions have included the…
San Diego
No hotel in the region can compare to the Hotel del Coronado for history, but US Grant, built in 1910, comes close. It’s on the National Register of…
San Diego
This museum stands atop Presidio Hill, the site of California's first settlement and its first mission, known as Mission San Diego de Alcalá, founded here…
San Diego
Don’t skip the Timken, home to a small but impressive collection of American and European paintings, including works by Rembrandt, Rubens, El Greco,…
San Diego
An ode to flight, the circular museum houses an extensive display of historical aircraft and spacecraft (originals, replicas and models), including a hot…
San Diego
Tracing the history of photography, the museum offers special exhibits from crowd-pleasing animal themes to landscapes by Ansel Adams and avant-garde cell…
