San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau 2215 India Street San Diego, CA 92101 (619) 232-3101 (619) 696-9371 (fax) Population 1110549 Time Zone Pacific Latitude/Longitude 32.99° /-117.07° Today's Forecast HIGH: 66 LOW: 57

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Attractions

San Diego is all about sailing the seven seas, so start your tour along the waterfront where two attractions present very different aspects of naval life. For a look at the romance of the 19th century, visit the Star of India at the Maritime Museum of San Diego. The windjammer is celebrated as the oldest square-rigger still afloat. Then, for contrast, head for the San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum and walk the deck of the USS Midway. Exhibits cover areas from the second deck up into the tower, where you'll get an idea of what it's like to launch a plane in tossing seas.

One of the city's most famous attractions, the San Diego Zoo is located in the vast expanses of Balboa Park. Among the world's top-tier zoos, it has thousands of animals, beautifully housed and displayed in bioclimatic habitats such as Polar Bear Plunge, Gorilla Tropics, and Tiger River. Balboa Park also boasts a concentration of major museums: the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, the San Diego Aerospace Museum, the San Diego Automotive Museum, the San Diego Model Railroad Museum, the San Diego Museum of Man, and the San Diego Natural History Museum, as well as the Mingei International Museum, Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego Hall of Champions Sports Museum, San Diego Museum of Art, Timken Museum of Art, and the Veterans Museum and Memorial Center are all located here. And that is not all this amazing cultural complex has to offer. You can also catch a musical performance at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion, watch top-notch Shakespearean and contemporary drama at the Old Globe Theatre, enjoy musical comedy under the stars at Starlight Musical Theatre, and see Latin American dance programs at Centro Cultural de la Raza.

Another vast expanse of recreational lands is found at Mission Bay Park, lying between bay and ocean just north of downtown. Here you can enjoy hiking, biking and endless aquatic sports or simply take in the fresh air as you delight in more than 20 miles of white-sand beaches. Along the ocean, there are classic seaside amusement rides at Belmont Park, and miles and miles of sand and surf stretching from Mission Beach north to Pacific Beach and beyond. The park is also the home of the ever-popular SeaWorld San Diego, where heart-pounding rides and heart-warming animal performers thrill old and young alike.

For a taste of San Diego's earliest history, visit Old Town San Diego which dates back to 1769. Preserved as a state park, it includes many Spanish period buildings, crafts shops, restaurants and a Mexican bazaar. Nearby, the Serra Museum has exhibits detailing the development of California through the Native American, Spanish and Mexican periods. Also visit the Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala, the first in a chain of 21 missions founded by Franciscan friars in the late 18th century that would eventually extend as far as San Francisco and beyond.

For a night at the opera, the Civic Theatre is the place to go. For a day (or night) of sports, the city's big league choices include the Padres of Major League Baseball at Petco Park and the Chargers of the National Football League who play at Qualcomm Stadium.

Enjoy the wide choice of shopping and dining in the Gaslamp Quarter National Historic District, at nearby Horton Plaza, and at Seaport Village, a waterfront shopping and dining complex that re-creates the atmosphere of California in the 1800s. Take a harbor cruise for a view of the skyline, naval installations, and ships. Tour boats depart from the foot of Broadway at Harbor Drive.

On the far side of San Diego Bay, Cabrillo National Monument preserves the spot where Spanish explorers first touched this part of the New World. A few minutes drive north of San Diego will bring you to the awe-inspiring precincts of La Jolla and La Jolla Cove. The home of delightful tidepools, smart art galleries, high-toned restaurants and fabulous sunsets, this is also where you'll find the Birch Aquarium at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Sometimes called San Diego North, the town of Escondido is the home of the San Diego Wild Animal Park, where endangered and rare animals roam freely on a several-thousand-acre preserve.

San Diego Area Highlights

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