What to Do in San Diego

January 1, 2013 - 12:06am

For our ACLU colleagues, following is a small sampling of San Diego offerings. We hope you enjoy your time here!

Must-Sees

Balboa Park. San Diego's equivalent of Central Park, full of historical, Spanish-Renaissance buildings built for the Panama-California Exposition in 1915. It's home to 15 major museums, The Old Globe Theatre, and the San Diego Zoo.

The Beaches. Chances are, wherever you're from, you aren't hanging out near a big body of water in January. But you can here. Just head west.

Hotel del Coronado. Built in 1888, this is the iconic setting for Some Like It Hot. You'll feel like a true (wealthy) Southern Californian if you splurge on some appetizers and cocktails on the patio. To do it right, rent bikes and take a ferry from the Embarcadero in downtown, and bike along Coronado's lovely, well-kept streets. Coronado's beaches are family-friendly.

Tidepools at Cabrillo National Monument. Besides breathtaking views of the city from the lighthouse at the tip of Point Loma, if you head down the cliffs on the Pacific Ocean side, you can commune with nature in the most San Diego of ways. Plan to hit the tidepools at low tide and you can see anemones, octopi, sea stars, sea slugs (a.k.a. deadman's fingers) and beautiful sandstone cliffs and crashing waves.

Tijuana? It's so close, and really does give you a glimpse of our border justice issues within seconds of crossing over. The State Department still issues traveler alerts for Tijuana, so be advised. Sticking to Avenida Revolucion and doing a little shopping and taco drinking/tequila shooting is probably what we'd recommend, even for our most adventurous visitors. There's a great Arts and Crafts Market just off the Avenida - head down Calle Segunda to Avenida Negrete. If time or tension makes you nervous, you get a tiny bit of the feeling of Mexico in San Diego's Old Town State Park, created for the city's bicentennial in 1969.

Attractions

Casinos

Bars / Clubs

Golfing

Harbor Cruise

Museums - Balboa Park

Museums / History (outside of Balboa Park)

California Missions [Map of all California missions]
- San Diego de Alcalá |10818 San Diego Mission Road | San Diego, CA 92108 |
619-283-7319
- San Luis Rey de Francía | 4050 Mission Avenue | Oceanside, CA 92057 | 760-757-3651

Chicano Park | National Avenue at Dewey Street (under the Coronado Bridge) | San Diego, CA 92113 | 619-563-4661
Site of some of the best art in San Diego. The 50+ murals were painted primarily in the 70s and 80s, narrating the history of the neighborhood, Barrio Logan, which was bifurcated (and thus nearly destroyed) by the construction of Interstate 5 in the 1960s.

Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego

- Downtown | 1100 Kettner Boulevard | San Diego, CA 92101 | 858-454-3541
- La Jolla | 700 prospect street | La Jolla, CA 92037 | 858-454-3541

Museum of Making Music (Carlsbad) | 5790 Armada Drive | Carlsbad, CA 92008 | 760-438-5996 or toll-free 877-551-9976

The New Children's Museum (Gaslamp) | 200 West Island Avenue | San Diego, CA 92101 | 619-233-8792

USS Midway Museum | 910 N. Harbor Drive | San Diego, CA 92101 | 619-544-9600

Music

Nature

Anza Borrego State Park.  California's largest state park, with five hundred miles of dirt roads, 12 wilderness areas and many miles of hiking trails. You've come this far– take a little time to experience the wonders of the California Desert. [Map and directions in link.]

Black's Beach (clothing optional!) | 2800 Torrey Pines Scenic Drive | La Jolla, CA 92037 (see surf report)

Border Field State Park  | Southwesternmost corner of the U.S.! | 619-575-3613 |  Hwy. 5 south; exit Dairy Mart Road (exit #2). Head Southwest on Dairy Mart Road. Dairy Mart Road will curve right onto Monument Road. Turn right (West) on Monument Road until you reach the park entrance.

La Jolla Children's Pool  | 850 Coast Blvd. | La Jolla, CA 92037 (tide pools and seal watching!)

La Jolla Cove | 1100 Coast Blvd. | La Jolla, CA 92037 (snorkeling)

La Jolla Shores | 8260 Camino del Oro | La Jolla, CA 92037 (see surf report)

Living Coast Discovery Center | 1000 Gunpowder Point Drive | Chula Vista, ca 91910 | 619-409-5900

Queen Califia's Magical Circle | Kit Carson Park | 3333 Bear Valley Parkway |
Escondido, CA 92025 | 760-839-4691 (Sculpture garden by Niki de Saint Phalle)

San Diego Beaches

Surf Report:

Black's Beach (see above): This is the spot for expert surfers, considered by many to be the finest beach break in the United States. It gets best at lower tides and features heavy barrels. (Use access trails from La Jolla Farms Road or the Torrey Pines gliderport.)
La Jolla Shores (see above): Consistent surf in the winter with lots of room to spread your wings. Good spot for beginners.
Oceanside: Boasts a beach break that picks up as much swell as anywhere; head here when it's small everywhere else.
Tourmaline Surf Park: Long soft waves at the north end of Pacific Beach. Good spot for beginners.
Windandsea (see below) and Big Rock in La Jolla: This is where surfing was born (we humbly like to think). It sports crowded reef peaks with long walls and nice bowls.

San Diego Botanical Gardens | 230 Quail Gardens Drive | Encinitas, CA 92024 | 760- 436-3036

Sunset Cliffs Natural Park | Sunset Cliffs Blvd. between Pt. Loma Blvd. and Ladera Street | San Diego, CA 92107

Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve | 12600 North Torrey Pines Road, San Diego CA 92037 | 858-755-2063

Windansea Beach | 6800 Neptune Place | La Jolla, CA 92037
This is where surfing was born (we humbly like to think). It sports crowded reef peaks with long walls and nice bowls.

Neighborhoods

Gaslamp Quarter
Revitalized Old San Diego, with more than 120 restaurants, nightclubs, live music venues, art galleries, and boutiques. Petco Park is here too.

Hillcrest
San Diego's gay-friendliest neighborhood is home to scores of restaurants, bars, clubs, and hip stores.

Little Italy
This is where our hip, sophisticated folk hang. There are lots of great Italian restaurants and shops, beautiful home design stores, and lots of funky art galleries.

Normal Heights
Besides loving its name, we love its affordable pubs, restaurants, coffee houses, antique shops, book shops, and burgeoning arts community.

North Park
Are you a hipster? Then we've got a home-away-from-home for you! Forbes named North Park one of America's Hippest Hipster Neighborhoods.

Pacific Beach
If you want to experience the stereotypical San Diego upbringing, go to PB's beaches and boardwalk (rent blades or bikes!) by day and stay and eat and party and any of the dozens of restaurants, bars, and clubs late into the night.

South Park
Our up-and-coming (actually, now arrived!) neighborhood; just a few small blocks filled with cafes, bookstores, pubs, and boutiques.

Restaurants

Asian Persuasian @asianfoodtruck
Devilicious @Deviliciousfood
Green Truck @greentruck_sd (vegan, vegetarian options)
Mangia Mangia Mobile @mangiatruck
MiHo Gastrotruck @mihogastrotruck
San Diego Street Eats @SDStreetEats

Shopping

Theatre