Colourful and alive with attractions – experience San Diego
Planning a holiday today can be a major decision. Do you want a city break or a beach getaway? Late night evening entertainment or good food and great culture? Maybe history's your thing or perhaps you enjoy nothing more than getting out and about into the wilds for some adventure sports. If you like to do all of these things and more on a holiday, you should consider San Diego. Sitting on the west coast of America, this California city is a sunseeker's paradise as its dry and warm most of the year round and has a superb selection of things to do outdoors.
Truly a city for everyone, San Diego makes the most of its open space. Balboa Park near the city centre is dubbed America's largest urban culture park and encompasses enough things to see and do to fill an entire holiday, from award-wining theatres like The Old Globe to landscaped botanic gardens, roller coasters and even the San Diego United Nations Building. The world-famous San Diego Zoo and its sister-attraction, Wild Animal Park, are both within Balboa Park. Museums and art galleries litter the park too, such as the San Diego Museum of Art.
To experience all of the city's cultural highlights, grab a ticket for the Old Town Trolley Tours and sit back as a knowledgeable guide shows you dozens of points of interest. If culture isn't your thing or you just want to escape the city for a while, the palm-fringed white sands of Mission Beach are a must. For kids of all ages the thrilling Belmont Park is right on the beach front too; an all-action theme park that has graced Mission Beach since the 1920s.
Come night time, the city's pulse can be found in the Gaslamp Quarter. Once notified to be knocked down, the people of San Diego reclaimed this city district under the 1970s Redevelopment Plan and it is now an urban cultural quarter rich in music and entertainment. Not to be missed is the annual Mardi Gras, just one of the Gaslamp Quarter's many festivals.
Go back to the original San Diego with a visit to Old town San Diego State Park, where the remnants of the first European settlement in California have been preserved in amongst the whitewash buildings, Mariachi music and famous Bazaar del Mundo market.
Just south of the Pacific Beach area, Mission Bay Park is the largest man-made aquatic parkland in America, and popular for its pristine beaches, jet skiing and camping on Fiesta Island.
Superb world cuisine can be found in San Diego hotels and restaurants and, once tried, you'll find it hard to beat the sights and sounds of the city.
