San Diego - Home to the Dragon's Lair

I originally wrote this page for an event I and a team of dedicated volunteers put on back in 2005. This was our tourism page for the event web site, we wished to promote our city and show how wonderful the place is. I still love my city and think it is a great destination for a little vacation. So with that in mind, I have adapted the page and put it on my own site. I don't necessarily endorse any of these places nor will I say I have patronized all of them, they are presented here for your own use and I make no warranty as to the suitability of any of them or whether you will enjoy them.

San Diego is a major tourist destination with a huge number of things to do and see. With environments as diverse as the beach, mountains, and desert all within a relatively short drive, San Diego is famous for its outdoor activities. Lying on the border with Mexico, it is a gateway to another nation and way of life. It is a place steeped in history; as the first Spanish settlement in what is now the state of California, there are many historic places to visit. A scenic drive to the north of just a couple of hours will have you in Los Angeles and all that major city has to offer.

Balboa Park, the World Famous San Diego Zoo, Sea World, and the San Diego Wild Animal Park all offer interesting and fun things to do. The downtown area offers the historic Gaslamp District that was the economic and cultural heart of San Diego's "New Town" in the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries. The Gaslamp District has risen from decades of neglect and decay to serve as a center and showpiece for the revitalization of the Downtown area. At the Embarcadero lies the San Diego Maritime Museum where you can take tours of several historic vessels including the oldest operating iron-hulled sailing vessel in the world. The museum also offers the opportunity to sail for an afternoon on an authentic early 1800s style sailing vessel.

No matter what you like to do, there is a wide diversity of things to choose from here in the seventh largest city in the United States. Its eclectic mix of history and modernity and the diversity of cultures who have settled here since the Spanish founded the first European outpost on the southern bank of the San Diego river has resulted in a unique and lovely place to visit. We invite you to stay for a while and see why we call this place America's Finest City.

San Diego County

Balboa Park - Set aside by the city leaders in 1868 as a public park, Balboa Park comprises 1200 acres of museums, gardens, and exhibits. Most of the current buildings were constructed for the 1915-16 Panama-California Exposition commemorating the opening of the Panama Canal. It is a wonderful place to spend a day wandering from one museum to the next and there are plenty of scenic places within the park to have a picnic. The following list shows the diversity of attractions and activities hosted by the park:
San Diego Zoo - Covering more than 300 acres, this is one of the largest and best zoos in the world where you can see giant pandas, polar bears, tigers, bonobos, koalas and much, much more.

Photo by Martin Fredrickson,
© 2001, all rights reserved

San Diego Wild Animal Park - An extension of the San Diego Zoo, the Wild Animal Park provides a very different experience where you can see animals living in large groups in shared enclosures.
Gaslamp District - Offering shopping, dining, cocktails and more in heart of San Diego's historic downtown.
Old Town San Diego - Established by Jesuit missionaries, this is where European settlement of California began. Old Town offers historic landmarks mixed with shopping and dining.

Photo by Martin Fredrickson,
© 2004, all rights reserved

San Diego Maritime Museum - Home of the Star of India, the oldest operating iron-hulled sailing ship in the world. The museum is also home to the Californian, a replica of an 1847 revenue cutter that holds the title of official tall-ship of the State of California.
Torrey Pines State Reserve - A beautiful natural park that is one of only two places in the world where the rare Torrey Pine grows. This park lies atop a bluff overlooking the ocean and Black's Beach below. The reserve is a peaceful and scenic place to spend a day hiking.
Mission San Diego de Alcala - The oldest Roman Catholic church in California. Founded in 1769, this church still hosts an active parish with regular services.
Point Loma Tide Pools - Located on the property of the Cabrillo National Monument and near the Coast Guard Light House Station, the tide pools provide a unique look at the shoreline ecology of Southern California.

Photo by Pat Turpen,
© 2004, all rights reserved

Sea World - The home of Shamu, this theme park exhibits marine life of all sorts.
Golf Courses- Yup, we said golf. We have a large number of great courses scattered all around the area. Several of the courses are world class and regularly host professional golf tournaments.
Cabrillo National Monument - This park commemorates the landing of Juan Cabrillo at San Diego Bay in 1524. It also holds the 1854 lighthouse, a nature trail and tide pools.
Legoland - A theme park dedicated to that classic toy... Lego.
Coronado - Home to the Hotel Del Coronado, the largest wooden Victorian style building in the world. Coronado is a great little seaside town across the bay from downtown San Diego.
Julian - A sleepy little gold mining town in the mountains east of San Diego. Now famous for its apples and apple pie, it is a fun little place to get away and shop in the numerous stores.
Cuyamaca Rancho State Park - Near the town of Julian, the area encompassed by the state park was once the summer refuge of the local native peoples. Crisscrossed by numerous hiking trails, the park is a great place to spend a day away from the city.
San Diego Railroad Museum - Explore the history of the "Impossible Railroad" and take a ride on a train through the wild back country of San Diego County.

Photo by Martin Fredrickson,
© 2004, all rights reserved

Seal Tours - A unique amphibious vehicle tour of the San Diego Bay and surrounding areas.
The Firehouse Museum - The building that now hosts this museum was originally San Diego's Fire Station #6. Located in the Little Italy area, it hosts historical fire fighting equipment and displays chronicling fire fighting in San Diego.
Little Italy - This section of the Middletown is the historic center of Italian settlement in San Diego. It offers several great restaurants and a number of shops.
Computer Museum of America - For the geeks, located downtown on C Street.
La Jolla Cove - A scenic beach inhabited by sea lions. An excellent spot to go scuba diving or snorkeling when the surf is low.
Downtown La Jolla - San Diego's equivalent to Beverly Hills, for those with richer tastes & deeper pockets - art galleries, boutiques and five-star dining.
Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego - With two locations, one in Downtown San Diego and the other overlooking the ocean in La Jolla.
Sport Fishing - Everything from local half-day excursions to lengthy long-haul fishing trips off the coast of Mexico.
Torrey Pines International Glider Port - Try your hand at hangliding or paragliding or just watch an incredible sunset from high above the Pacific Ocean. For those feeling a bit more adventurous, Black's Beach, San Diego's unofficial nude beach, lies below the cliffs of the glider port.
Black's Beach - San Diego's unofficial nude beach. Access is difficult so be prepared to either hike in from the beaches to the north or south, (the safest option) or to climb down the cliffs from the Torrey Pines Glider Port, (NOT recommended).
San Diego Harbor Excursion - Take a cruise around San Diego Bay and see the many faces of the harbor.

Photo by Pat Turpen,
© 2004, all rights reserved

The San Diego Padres at Petco Park - See the National League West Padres play Major League Baseball in their brand new Downtown ballpark.
U.S. Olympic Training Center - One of several such centers around the nation, this center supports training in the sports of archery, canoe/kayak, cycling, field hockey, rowing, soccer, softball, tennis, and track & field.
Hot Air Balloon Flights - Take an evening flight and drink Champagne as you watch the sunset over the Pacific Ocean.
Seaport Village - Shop and dine in this nautical themed area near the San Diego Convention Center.

Photo by Martin Fredrickson,
© 2004, all rights reserved

San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum - The USS Midway served the United States Navy for 47 years. It now rests alongside Navy Pier in San Diego Bay and has been converted to a museum dedicated to the history of the Navy's carrier ships and the veterans who have served on them.
California Surf Museum - Everything you ever wanted to know about surfing
Quail Botanical Gardens - A horticultural preserve dedicated to conservation of rare and endangered plants from around the world.
Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum - Located on Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, this museum displays significant aircraft used by the United States Marine Corps from World War 2 to the present day.

Farther Afield

Southern California is blessed with a diversity of activities. Los Angeles lies a couple of hours by car to the North of San Diego and offers the excitement of Hollywood, and numerous other things to do and see. Inland lies Temecula and Perris Valley with wineries and sky diving, there are scenic drives, amusement parks, museums and more.

Disneyland - As evidenced by the annual Bats Day event, Goths and Disney can mix to make for a fun day.
Knott's Berry Farm - Once upon a time they really did grow berries here, now it is a great amusement park with some cool rides.
Universal Studios - A mix of theme park and behind the scenes movie magic.
Hollywood - Home to a large part of the movie industry in the U.S.
Disney's California Adventure - Disney's newest offering celebrates the State of California.
Temecula Valley Wine Tours - Temecula lies north of San Diego in an inland valley. The valley produces a number of fine wines with 19 vineyards operating in the area.
The Getty Center - The Getty houses an incredible collection of art and photography.
Griffith Park - Home to the Los Angeles Zoo, the Griffith Observatory and a number of other attractions.
RMS Queen Mary - This retired historic ocean liner now serves as a floating hotel and museum in Long Beach Harbor. Also on display is a Soviet Foxtrot class diesel-electric submarine.
Los Angeles Fashion District - Everything from finished clothing and accessories to bolts of cloth and everything you need to make your own fashions.
Six Flags Magic Mountain - Southern California's best collection of roller coasters.
Pacific Coast Highway - Rent a car and take a scenic drive along the California shoreline.
Santa Catalina Island - Visit the enchanting town of Avalon on this mostly unspoiled island off the coast of Southern California.
Sky Diving- Head north to Perris Valley to jump out of a perfectly good airplane.

Mexico

Another nation and a different culture lie just a few miles to the south of Downtown San Diego. With some simple, common sense precautions, Mexico can be a fun and friendly place to visit, shop, dine, party and sight see. Be sure to try some Puerto Nuevo style spiny lobster, some street tacos or some wonderful ceviche along with all that Mexican beer and tequila.

Mexican Flag

Tijuana - A major city of Mexico that literally touches the border of the United States. Tijuana caters to all sorts of tourists with myriad shops, restaurants and bars.
Rosarito Beach - A more relaxed resort town about 20 miles south of the border. It offers a multitude of activities from shopping to golf to horseback riding to surfing.
Puerto Nuevo - A small village south of Tijuana that has made a big business of Pacific spiny lobsters. $14 US will get you a complete lobster dinner with a unique Mexican flair.
Ensenada - A fishing port about 75 miles south of the border. Famous for its sport fishing and for being the place where the Margarita was invented. A little further south is La Bufadora.
Tecate - This sleepy Mexican country town is best known for its brewery which produces Tecate Beer. About an hour drive from Downtown San Diego, Tecate gives a glimpse into Mexico that the more raucous towns south of San Diego do not afford.

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Page Last modified: April 09 2008 09:04:34.