San Diego tourism is thriving and for good reason - the city is an incredibly fun place to visit and to live. From La Jolla to Coronado Island, it is blessed both naturally and with incredible architecture and attractions.
It truly is a beautiful city in every way - the coast, the mountains, the scenery, and the weather are all perfect. It just has a great, relaxed, fun vibe to it that makes it a great place to visit and play.
San Diego from Coronado Island
I've lived in all three of California's largest cities, and San Diego is definitely unique. Whereas L. A. is flashy and San Francisco is classy, San Diego is just beautiful and fun, with more of a Spanish Colonial vibe than either of the other cities yet also with a vibrant, new urban core.
San Diego really is the ideal place for a vacation any time of the year. Like no place else, San Diego almost always seems to have perfect weather. And if it's warm inland, it's wonderful at the coast. Or if the coast has a bit of fog, head inland just a mile or two, and you're back to a perfect, sunny day.
The best things to see
Let's start with the obvious San Diego tourism hot spots - the Zoo and Sea World, because as famous as they are, they do not disappoint.
The Sea World orcas show
The San Diego Zoo is simply wonderful and s definite no-miss for anyone visiting. Located in truly lovely Balboa Park, the zoo has over 4,000 animals on 100 acres, with everything from giant pandas to polar bears.
Sea World is in many ways the aquatic equivalent to the zoo, with an incredible array of sea life and an even better variety of shows.
But while the zoo is run by a non-profit group, Sea World is more commercial and includes some theme park style rides and attractions along with its marine exhibits. All of this makes for a thoroughly enjoyable experience for visitors, especially families with kids.
Another option that is on par with the Zoo and Sea World is the San Diego Wild Animal Park. This truly incredible place is located in the foothills about 40 minutes north of downtown San Diego and gives visitors the utterly unique chance to see animals roaming freely in wide open habitats.
Other San Diego tourist spots
There are more wonderful San Diego tourism hot spots that you might nit even think of right off the bat. One of the best, Legoland, is located in Carlsbad, about 40 miles North along the coast.
Legoland San Diego's version of the Grand Canal of Venice
Legoland has recreated an astonishing array of the world's famous cities and buildings, from Venice, Italy to San Francisco, all of which are redone in incredible detail and brilliant color.
When you add in an assortment of unique rides and its location on the stunning Mediterranean-like coast of Northern San Diego County, Legoland is well worth the visit and a definite no-miss if you have kids.
Another great place to visit is Seaport Village in downtown San Diego. A recreation of an old-time fishing village, it has dozens of shops and restaurants and a great, old carousel. But the best thing about Seaport Village is the incredible waterfront location, right on the bay across from Coronado Island, which makes for some wonderfully scenic dining.
The best San Diego attractions you haven't heard of
In addition to the many great attractions you've heard of, there are just as many you likely haven't heard of, some new, and some old.
U.S.S. Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum
The U.S.S. Midway Aircraft Carrier museum is a great new attraction by the Bay in downtown. The recently decommissioned U.S.S. Midway is the centerpiece of the museum, and you get to explore it all. It's really an incredible museum.
Another great
place to visit is the San Diego Maritime Museum, located next to the Midway on the downtown waterfront. With the schooners the Star of India, the HMS Surprise
from the movie Master and Commander, a Soviet B-39 submarine, and numerous other ships, the museum is both fascinating and a good deal of fun.
If you plan ahead and have enough time, you can even set sail on the museum's own working tall ship the Californian. It's a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.
It's all about the museums
In addition to containing the zoo, Balboa park is home to
15 major museums and so much more (including the famous Old Globe Theater).
The museums in the park include Museum of San Diego History, Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, San Diego Air & Space Museum, San Diego Museum of Art, and the Museum of Man.
It would take a week to see all the museums in the park, but I would recommend at least a full day to get a decent sampling as they are all in close proximity to each other.
And there's so much more
There is almost an endless
amount of things to see and do in San Diego. Point Loma is located at the end of a rugged peninsula across the bay from downtown and Coronado island. The views of the city and ocean there are breathtaking, and the tide pooling is great too.
Coronado Island, just a bridge away from downtown, is a quaint island town with a great old hotel. La Jolla is once of the most beautiful spots anywhere. And Del Mar is another beautiful little oceanfront town.
You could spend weeks in San Diego and not see it all. But then there's always next time, and once you visit San Diego, odds are you'll want to return again and again.
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