San Diego

San Diego was named by the Spanish, who sailed into the bay as early as 1542. The first settlement, though, was much later - many of the buildings in the historic old town date to the early 19th century. The city has developed into a bustling commercial centre, with a downtown packed with tall modern skyscrapers.

Highlights for the tourist include:
USS Midway Museum
Walk south for just five minutes on North Harbor Drive from the cruise port in the direction of the impressive carrier ship, named the USS Midway, berthed at the Navy pier. Tour the USS Midway Museum to find out about San Diego's long navy heritage.
Embarcadero Marine Park
Just south of the USS Midway Museum sits Embarcadero Marina park. Walk the path along the water's edge for wonderful views over San Diego bay.
Maritime Museum of San Diego
Tour the fantastic Maritime Museum, an excellent collection of old ships, like the Star of India, Californian and Berkeley.
Coronado Beach
Catch a 30-minute ferry to Coronado island. A 5 minute cab ride across the barrier island will take you to Coronado beach, a glorious stretch of sand on the Pacific coast. Visit iconic Hotel del Coronado, one of the few last examples of the Victorian beach hotel.
Balboa Park
The development of Balboa Park began in 1917, when a whole group of Spanish era buildings were planned and constructed for the Panama-California show. Today the park is the biggest city cultural park in the United States. 15 museums and galleries are situated in the 1200 acre park. The best known is the zoo, but further notworthy museums include the San Diego Natural History Museum and the San Diego Museum of Art. Balboa Park also showcases wonderful grounds, including the Inez Rose Parker Memorial Rose Garden and the Japanese Friendship Garden.
San Diego Zoo
San Diego Zoo, situated in Balboa Park, is internationally renowned for its size and large selection of animals. There are more than seven hundred different species, who live in a creatively landscaped space. Favorites are the Tiger River, Gorilla Tropics and Polar Bear Plunge. Children will love the animal infant nursery and petting zoo.
Gaslamp Quarter
San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter is probably the city's most colorful neighborhood. Development of the area started in 1867. The Quarter is home to a concentration of designer shops, galleries, restaurants, sidewalk cafes, bars, nightclubs and jazz clubs offering a evocative Victorian atmosphere mingled with a thoroughly modern liveliness. The quarter is also a center for big city parties, from food and music festivals to Mardi Gras.
Spanish Missions
San Diego has more than twenty missions, set up over 200 hundred years ago. The main objective of the missions was to covert the American Indians to religion. The first ever, named the Mother of the Missions, is named Mission San Diego de Alcala founded in the eighteenth century by Padre Junipero Serra. Just a few years after completion the mission was torched in a riot, but it was quickly remade.