Facts at a Glance
Population: 1.1 million
Elevation: 13ft (4m)
Area: 330 sq miles (855 sq km)
State: California
Time Zone: Pacific Time (GMT/UTC minus 8 hours)
Telephone area code: 619
History
Although human occupation of the San Diego area goes a long way back, very few sites in the county are genuinely older than a century. The area's long period of Native American habitation left very few tangible remains, and despite an abundance of Spanish place names and Mission-style architecture, only half a dozen structures in the county actually date from the periods of Spanish and Mexican rule.
Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo's expedition made the first European contact with California in 1542, and during that visit his ships sat out a storm in the San Diego Bay. The next European to lay eyes on San Diego was Sebastián Vizcaíno, who entered the bay in 1602 on the feast day of San Diego de Alcalà and named the place accordingly. When the Spanish finally decided to occupy Alta California, Father Junípero Serra founded the first of the California missions on the hill now known as the Presidio. Other missions were later established in the San Diego area, including San Luis Rey Francia in 1798 and the asistencias (satellite missions) of San Antonio de Pala (1815) and Santa Ysabel (1818). After the breakup of the missions in 1833, San Diego remained a ramshackle village with only a few hundred residents.
The 1849 Gold Rush bypassed San Diego, as did the first rail link to Southern California. Eventually, several foresighted financiers recognized the city's potential as a port, and in 1867 San Francisco speculator and businessman Alonzo E Horton acquired 960 acres (385ha) of waterfront land and promoted it as 'New Town.' It was not the first such attempt, but this time the new subdivision really took off, especially after an 1872 fire devastated much of the original settlement.
The discovery of gold in the hills east of San Diego gave birth to a frenetic mining boom, but it was played out by 1874 - the town of Julian is one of the few surviving gold mining settlements. In the years following the gold bust, the population fell by half to 2000, and despite the efforts of the city's boosters, San Diego never did acquire an industrial base during the 19th century. The main economic activity was in real estate speculation, which went through several cycles of boom and bust.
After San Francisco hosted 1914 the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, San Diego - not to be ignored - held one of its own, the Panama-California Exposition, which ran for most of 1915 and 1916. In an effort to foster a distinctive image, the exposition buildings were consciously designed with a romantic Spanish-Mexican style. Developers, architects and the public took to this fashion with enthusiasm, and today the town's Mediterranean style, Mission architecture and Spanish street names derive more from this than from its actual heritage as a small and remote colonial outpost.
With the arrival in the 1920s and 1930s of the aviation and maritime industries, San Diego's economy finally got its jumpstart. Steady revenue from naval and military bases helped San Diego weather the Great Depression, along with WPA projects like San Diego State University and the race track at Del Mar. And in 1935, as the Depression waned, San Diego staged its second big event, the California-Pacific Exposition, which saw even more Hispanic architecture appear in Balboa Park.
Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the headquarters of the US Pacific Fleet was moved to San Diego. The boom in wartime activity transformed the city - vast tracts of instant housing appeared; public spaces were turned into training camps, storage depots and hospitals; and the population doubled in a few years. The city's wartime role and the associated publicity more than anything else put San Diego on the American map. Post-war, the naval and military presence provided an expanding core of activity, employing up to a quarter of the workforce.
The climate and the seafront location have been the other major factors in the city's growth. A revitalized downtown area and recreation facilities like Mission Bay have helped attract visitors, who now contribute a big slice of the county's income. Education and research are also major activities, while the San Diego Padres baseball team and the San Diego Chargers football team have both had brushes with championships in recent years.
San Diego has an all-but-perfect climate, so weather-wise any time is a good time to visit. If you want to indulge in watersports and bake yourself on the beach, it's best to come between May and October, when average daily highs range from 70 to 85°F (22 to 30°C). Even in the coolest months (December and January), daily high temperatures still hover pleasantly close to 68°F (20°C). Surfing is always good, but the best conditions are from September to November, with strong swells and offshore Santa Ana winds. Gray whales head south past Point Loma from mid-December to late February and return on their way north in March.
Orientation
San Diego is a coastal city in the southwestern corner of California, close to the border with Mexico. It's an easy place to find your way around. Downtown is a compact grid east of San Diego Bay. The main drag is Broadway, which runs east from the waterfront right through the middle of town. The massive Horton Plaza shopping mall, just south of Broadway, is the centerpiece of San Diego's urban redevelopment, while the renovated Gaslamp Quarter, a few blocks to the south, is the place to go for ambiance and R'n'R.
The waterfront attractions along the Embarcadero are just west of the downtown grid, while the vast expanse of Balboa Park is in the northeastern corner of the city. Coronado is west of the city, across San Diego Bay, and is accessible by a long bridge or by ferry. The city's main string of beaches begin 5 miles (8km) northwest of the city center and run north 6 miles (10km) to the upmarket town of La Jolla.
San Diego's airport is 3 miles (5km) northwest of the downtown area. The main train station, the Santa Fe depot, is on the western edge of the city center. The Greyhound terminal is smack in the middle of downtown. California's main north-south freeway, I-5, runs parallel to the coast and passes within a few blocks of the city center.
It's not all sunshine and surf in San Diego, as the Ocean Beach Kite Festival makes the most of the wind with kite making, decorating and flying competitions in March. American Indian Cultural Days held in Balboa Park in May includes Native American dancing, music and art exhibits. Things get a little more raunchy at the Pacific Beach Block Party held on Garnet Ave the same month.
The Ocean Beach Street Fair and Chili Cook-Off is a popular two-day street bash in June. It's accompanied that month by the three-week Del Mar Fair, a huge county fair held at the Del Mar Fairgrounds with headline musical acts and hundreds of carnival rides.
The Hillcrest City Fest street fair is held in one of San Diego's liveliest innercity areas in August. The Gaslamp Quarter gets in one the neighborhood party scene in September during the San Diego Street Scene festival. The Harbor Parade of Lights in December goes one better than a Christmas tree, with dozens of decorated illuminated boats floating in San Diego's harbor.
Gaslamp Quarter
In the city's early days, this colorful downtown neighborhood was home to San Diego's most profitable businesses - saloons, gambling joints, bordellos and opium dens. By the 1960s, it had declined to a skid row of flophouses and bars, whose seedy ambiance made it so unattractive to investors that many of its old buildings survived by default. When developers finally moved in, locals and the Gaslamp Quarter Council saved the area from demolition, and a 16 block area was designated a National Historic District.
Now, restaurants, bars and galleries occupy restored buildings dating back to the 1870s, and wrought iron street lamps in the style of 19th century gas lamps give the area its historic flavor. The most enjoyable time to visit is on a warm evening, when people throng the streets and crowd the sidewalk tables. Guided walking tours are offered by the local council.
Embarcadero
San Diego's original dockside, just west of downtown, is a remarkably clean and attractive area. It never developed as a major commercial port but retains plenty of nautical ambiance thanks to the old ships moored at the Maritime Museum, the kitschy re-created turn of the century seafront architecture of Seaport Village and the San Diego Convention Center, whose design is said to have been inspired by an ocean liner. There's a public fishing pier and an open-air amphitheater where free concerts are held during summer in the Embarcadero Marina Park.
Balboa Park
This huge park on the northeastern edge of downtown San Diego is a major civic asset, boasting extensive areas of greenery, museums, theaters, a zoo and an abundance of sports facilities, including tennis courts, a swimming pool and golf courses. Many of the park's buildings sport a Spanish Colonial theme, thanks largely to the 1915-16 Panama-California Exposition held here. The exposition's temporary stucco buildings consciously pursued a romantic Spanish-Mexican theme; they proved so popular that many were retained or rebuilt in more durable concrete after the show.
The park is home to the ornate San Diego Museum of Art, which houses a modest collection of European paintings, American landscapes and Asian artifacts. The small but impressive Timkin Museum of Art has a better collection of famous European art work and some smashing Russian icons. The Centro Cultural de la Raza exhibits potent Mexican and Native American art inside a converted water tank. A more traditional setting for viewing art work is the Spanish Village, a collection of small tiled cottages said to be 'an authentic reproduction of an ancient village in Spain.' The cottages are rented out as artists' studios, and you can watch potters, jewelers, painters and sculptors churn out pricey decorative kitsch.
The Casa be Balboa houses four museums, dedicated to San Diego's history, local sports stars, model railways and photographic arts. One of the park's most hyped venues is the Rueben H Fleet Space Theater & Science Center, a hands-on science museum with a huge-screen Omnimax theater. The Museum of Man specializes in Indian artifacts from the American Southwest and has an excellent collection of baskets and pottery from the San Diego area. If you feel the need to set a record for museum visits, there's also the well-presented San Diego Automotive Museum, the extensive displays in the Aerospace Museum and a Natural History Museum.
San Diego Zoo
One of San Diego's biggest attractions, this superb zoo has a worldwide reputation, a colorful history and an enlightened zoo management program. It hosts more than 3000 animals in beautifully landscaped grounds in the northern part of Balboa Park, northeast of downtown San Diego, and also runs a free-range 1800 acre (720ha) Wild Animal Park, 32 miles (50km) north of the city in Escondido. The zoo and associated park breed endangered species in captivity for re-introduction into their natural habitats. Its successes include the Arabian oryx, Bali starling and Californian condor.
Highlights of the zoo include the Tiger River bioclimatic exhibit, which realistically re-creates an Asian rainforest environment, and Gorilla Tropics, which does the same with an African rainforest. Other gems are the Sun Bear Forest, where Asian bears frolic, and the African Rock Kopje, where klipspringers display their tremendous rock climbing abilities. Kids can touch small animals at the children's zoo, and you can peek at the zoo's latest arrivals in the nursery. This is a wonderful institution; anyone remotely interested in the natural world should set aside a full day to explore it.
Old Town
This area was the site of the first civilian Spanish settlement in California, known as the Pueblo de San Diego. A plaza was laid out here in the 1820s, and within 10 years it was surrounded by huts and whitewashed villas. It remained the center of San Diego until 1872, when the city's focus moved to the current downtown area. In 1968, Old Town became a State Historic Park, archaeological work was undertaken, the few surviving original buildings were restored and ruined structures were rebuilt.
The area is now a touristy pedestrian precinct, but the open plaza with its shady trees is a pleasant place for a stroll, as long as you don't take it too seriously as a historical site. You'll get a good idea of San Diego's metamorphosis by visiting the 1820s Casa de Carrillo, the oldest house in San Diego, located just north of Old Town: it's now the pro shop for the Presidio Hills Golf Course. Old Town is 2.5 miles (4km) northwest of downtown.
Hotel del Coronado
This much-loved San Diego institution, commonly known as Hotel Del, is in the oh-so respectable seaside suburb of Coronado, just across the bay from downtown San Diego. It's a quirky timber building with a facade replete with conical towers, cupolas, turrets, balconies and dormer windows. Its cavernous public spaces reflect the architects' experience designing railway depots, though the acres of polished wood give the interior a warm old-fashioned ambiance. Opened in 1888, the hotel was where Edward (then Prince of Wales) first met Mrs Simpson and where parts of the 1959 Marilyn Monroe movie Some Like It Hot were filmed. Guided tours are available.
Coronado is joined to the mainland by a spectacular 2 mile (3km) bridge and also by a long narrow sand spit that runs south to Imperial Beach. A ferry runs to Coronado from San Diego's Broadway Pier.
Sea World
Undoubtedly one of San Diego's best known and most popular attractions, Sea World opened in Mission Bay in 1964, and Shamu, its resident killer whale, has become an unofficial symbol of the city. Sea World is very commercial, very entertaining and slightly educational. There are plenty of whales, sharks, dolphins and penguins on display and, if you like your marine life choreographed, various special animal performances. Note that Sea World has steep entry prices and long queues for some shows and exhibits at peak times. The marine park is 5 miles (8km) northwest of downtown.
La Jolla
This status-conscious seaside suburb, 12 miles (20km) northwest of downtown San Diego, is known for the three 'R's - restaurants, rugs and real estate. Pronounced 'la hoya,' it's blessed with a consistent unadorned Mediterranean style of architecture, comprising arches, colonnades, red-tile roofs and pale stucco, and has a rugged, invigorating coastline, with pretty coves and excellent surf beaches.
Highlights of this swanky neighborhood include the Museum of Contemporary Art, the superb displays in the Stephen Birch Aquarium-Museum and the nearby Torrey Pines State Reserve, home to the last mainland stands of the Torrey pine and some superb viewpoints out over the ocean. For a worthwhile 360° view of the suburb, drive to the top of modest Soledad Mountain, east of La Jolla.
Encinitas
The gold lotus domes of the Self Realization Fellowship, founded by Yogi Paramahansa Yoganada in 1937, are conspicuous on the coastal bluff at Encinitas. Live-in retreats are available for those in need of spiritual renewal, but if you just need a quick refresher the meditation gardens are open to the public. The beach below the bluff is called Swami's, and it has one of the best big breaks for experienced surfers. Commercial flower farms occupy the range inland, and in spring they coat the hills in spectacular bands of brilliant color. Encinitas' Quail Botanical Gardens have a large collection of California native plants and flora from Central America and Australia.
Encinitas is approximately 22 miles (35km) north of San Diego, just off I-5. It's accessible from San Diego by local bus, Greyhound and commuter train.
Mission San Luis Rey Francia
This was the largest California mission and the most successful in recruiting Indian converts. Founded in 1798, it was known as the 'king of the missions,' since at one time some 3000 neophytes lived and worked here. After the Mexican government secularized the missions, San Luis fell into ruin. It has been beautifully rebuilt, but the adobe walls of the church, dating from 1811, are the only original parts remaining. The church contains displays on work and life in the mission and some unique religious artifacts.
The mission just northeast of Oceanside, a coastal town approximately 30 miles (50km) north of San Diego, just off I-5. Oceanside is accessible from San Diego by local bus, Greyhound and commuter train.
Cuyamaca Rancho State Park
Delightful for the variety of its landscapes, Cuyamaca Rancho is a lush, cool contrast to the dry coastal areas nearby. Though less spectacular than other California parks, its 33 sq miles (85 sq km) embrace meadows with spring wildflowers and forests of oak, willow, sycamore and pine. Wild animals include deer, raccoon and bobcat, plus plenty of bird life. A popular 3.5 mile (5.5 km) hike climbs the 6500ft (1950m) Cuyamaca Peak, which provides panoramic views. There are several campgrounds in the park, and most of the well-defined hiking trails are open to mountain bikes and horses.
Highway 79 runs through the center of the park, which can be approached from the south via Descanso on I-8, or from the north via the old goldmining town of Julian. Unless you want to rely on infrequent buses heading inland from San Diego, you'll need a car to reach the park, which is roughly 50 miles (80km) east of San Diego.
Tijuana, Mexico
As a Mexican city, Tijuana is neither typical nor attractive, but as border towns go, it's almost an archetype, with gaudy souvenir shops, noisy bars and sleazy backstreets. Visiting Tijuana is a real eye-opener, largely because of the shocking contrast between the two sides of the border. You'll immediately notice the potholes in the sidewalk, the poverty of the street peddlers and the chaotic atmosphere, especially compared with orderly, affluent San Diego. Though more respectable than it once was, Tijuana has never really overcome the 'sin city' image it acquired during Prohibition in the US. In time-honored tradition, it still attracts young Americans, who can legally get drunk at the ripe ol' age of 18 instead of waiting to reach 21 at home.
Tijuana is located a stone's throw from San Diego's southern suburbs, and the two cities are so interdependent they can almost be viewed as a single urban area. Approximately 70% of Tijuana's economy is based on 'frontier transactions' like tourism and another chunk comes from factories assembling products for the US market. Meanwhile, San Diego depends on Tijuana for a cheap labor supply and promotes the city as if it were a tourist attraction of its own. That said, Tijuana is a significant city in its own right, with a rapidly growing population, unofficially estimated at 1.4 million, two universities and plenty of offices, factories and housing developments. It is, much to the surprise of many daytrippers, one of the wealthiest cities in Mexico.
Attractions include Avenida Revolución, Tijuana's tourist heart. It's a raucous strip of seedy bars and dance clubs, tacky souvenir shops, cheap restaurants and street photographers with zebra-striped burros. Less stressful and ultimately more rewarding is the Museo de Las Identidades Mexicanas, which hosts excellent exhibits on Mexican culture. Fast moving jai alai matches, a hybrid between tennis and handball, are held at the Frontón on Avenida Revolución, while bullfights take place on Sundays from April to October at the famous Plaza Monumental near the beach.
You can get to Tijuana by driving 15 miles (24km) south from San Diego on I-5, though this is not recommended for daytrippers since the traffic is frenetic, parking is a pain and there may be a long wait to cross back into the US. It's better to drive to San Ysidro, leave your car in a day parking lot and walk across the border. An alternative is to take San Diego's southern trolley to the San Ysidro border and walk into Tijuana. You can also catch one of the frequent buses that link the two cities. The San Ysidro border is open 24 hours. There's no need to change money for a short visit since US dollars are accepted and preferred.
Surfing is theSan Diego sport, and it occasionally seems that every Tom, Dick and Moondoggie is queuing up behind you to pick up the next wave. The best breaks, going from south to north, are at Imperial Beach, Coronado, Point Loma, Ocean Beach, Pacific Beach, Bird Rock, Windansea, La Jolla Cove and La Jolla Shores. Point Loma's reef breaks are the least accessible and therefore the least crowded. Autumn generally offers the best opportunity to find strong swells and offshore Santa Ana winds.
The best spots to pick up on the So-Cal beach scene are the 3 mile (5km) stretch from the southern tip of Mission Beach to the northern end of Pacific Beach. Ocean Beach is also a convivial spot, while La Jolla Cove is a lovely sheltered beach with excellent snorkeling offshore.
Some of the city's best diving can be found in the environmentally protected San Diego-La Jolla Underwater Park, in La Jolla Bay. There's rich marine life, kelp forests and a 100ft (30m) deep underwater canyon. Local dive operators can also arrange trips to the islands off the coast of Baja California. Keen-eyed whale watchers might be lucky enough to spot gray whales off Point Loma between mid-December and March. Whale watching cruises operate during the migration season; some will 'guarantee' a sighting.
Boating and canoeing are popular on Mission Bay. Experienced sailors can charter yachts to sail in the harbor and the open sea. Charter operators are concentrated at Shelter Island, a few miles southwest of the airport. The most popular public fishing piers are Imperial Beach Municipal Pier, Embarcadero Fishing Pier, Shelter Island Fishing Pier, Ocean Beach Pier and Crystal Pier. The best time of year to toss in a line is between April and October. Fishing charters are available from Shelter Island Marina. Offshore catches include barracuda, bass, yellowtail and, in summer, albacore.
Glider riders hang at Torrey Pines Glider Port in La Jolla. Even if you're not into defying gravity, this is a great place to watch hang gliders and paragliders launch themselves into the sea breezes that rise over the cliffs. Expensive tandem flights are available if you can't resist joining in.
There are some direct international flights to San Diego's Lindbergh Field airport, but it's not a major gateway. If you're flying in from abroad, you will most likely come via Los Angeles. A connecting flight to San Diego takes about 35 minutes, but it's only about two hours to drive down and it's just as cheap to rent a car in LA as it is in San Diego.
The Greyhound bus station in the heart of downtown has luggage lockers and phones and is generally user friendly. Buses run north to Los Angeles (2-1/2 hours), south to the Mexican border (half an hour) and east to Phoenix, Tucson and El Paso.
The colonnaded Santa Fe train depot - one of the Spanish Colonial-style structures built at the time of the 1915 exposition - is the locus of Amtrak's only services to and from the city, all of which run along the coast. The San Diegan goes to LA (3 hours) several times daily, with some LA trains continuing to Santa Barbara.
San Diego's Lindbergh Field airport is 3 miles (5km) northwest of the downtown area. Municipal buses, shuttle buses and taxis make the short trip downtown an easy one. The major car rental agencies have desks at the airport. If you plan on driving to Mexico, make sure your rental agreement allows this.
The city bus system covers most of the metropolitan area and is the most convenient way of getting around if you're not staying out late at night. Two trolley lines run from the terminal near the railway station at the western edge of the downtown grid. One heads south to the Mexican border at San Ysidro, the other heads east through the downtown area to El Cajon.
A commuter rail service operates from the Santa Fe depot along the coast north of the city in the morning and evening rush hours. A ferry shuttles between Coronado and the Broadway Pier, on the extreme western edge of the downtown area. There are great cycle routes in Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, Mission Bay and Coronado. MTS buses on some routes have a bike rack, and bikes can be transported without extra charge.
- Stranger Than Fiction: Vignettes of San Diego History is collection of essays detailing the lives of key players from San Diego's history.
- William Carroll's many titles, such as Happenings in San Diego County, Historic Rambles in San Diego County and Free in San Diego County (Exploring San Diego), pretty much tell it like it is. And as for Street Walking in San Diego County, it's not what you're thinking....
- Jerry Schad's Afoot and Afield in San Diego County is a fine guide to tramping through the wild lands of San Diego County, though if pedaling's your preference, the author's Cycling San Diego is just as wild a ride.
- Daniel Greenstadt's San Diego Mountain Bike Guide takes up the stick for the fat-tire crowd.
- For excursions into the nearby deserts, the Sierra Club's Adventuring in the California Desert by Lynne Foster is hard to beat for breadth of coverage and solid information.
- Local crime novelist Joseph Wambaugh's works tend to present the less-than-sunny side of San Diego. Look for Finnegan's Week, Fugitive Nights and Floaters.
- Likewise, the detective novels of Abigail Padgett are rife with local references. See The Dollmaker's Daughters and Strawgirl.
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