California's third major metropolitan area after Greater Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay area, San Diego is located around a uniquely-shaped harbour on the Pacific coastline, and its southern suburbs push right smack-dab up against the Mexican border city of Tijuana.
It's the huge natural harbour that was the making of San Diego, providing a sheltered anchorage for the earliest European ships to sail this coast (Spanish) and later for a major naval base and naval air station. This map illustrates the peculiar, almost paperclip shape of San Diego Bay, and shows the locations of a number of smaller airports around the metropolitan area. The main San Diego International Airport is the one closest to downtown, just a couple of miles northwest of the city centre. When I was flying in late at night last week, the office towers of downtown were brilliantly lit up, apparently just beyond our port wingtip, and their top floors were farther above the ground than our plane was. Now, that's close!
Coronado Island, in the bay, is linked to the city by a high bridge and physically connected to the mainland by the long coastal sandbar stretching all the way south to Imperial Beach. Half of Coronado Island is occupied by the Naval Air Station. The other half is home to a residential area and the famed Hotel del Coronado, an iconic old wooden resort hotel which has featured in many TV shows and movies. I didn't actually get to Coronado on this trip, but here's a picture of the hotel I took back in 2005.
If you're thinking you'd like to stay here, I can't blame you -- but like most iconic and world-famous old resort hotels, it costs a sizable fortune each night. Better win the lottery first.
The big # 1 tourist attraction of San Diego is the Sea World theme park, just north of the airport. I went there once, back in the 1980s, and have not been back since. Theme parks just aren't my thing any more -- not that they ever really were. So where did I go during my visit to this fascinating city?
I'm always attracted to places that are pleasant to walk in, so my first stop was up in Balboa Park, on a rise of land just north of downtown. A broad boulevard in the centre of the Park, El Prado, and its surrounding showplace buildings, were constructed in two phases: in 1915 for the Panama-California Exposition, and in 1935 for the California Pacific International Exposition. They've been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1977.
Actually, not much remains of the originals. They were constructed out of temporary materials, never meant for long-term use. By now, some of the old buildings have been replaced with more modern structures, while others have been re-built as permanent duplicates on the same site.
Most of the El Prado promenade is now pedestrian-only, and the buildings house many of San Diego's leading museums. Here are a few samples:
These structures, with their fantasy-wedding-cake--Spanish decoration, set a style trend for public architecture whose influence can easily be seen in other fair and exposition grounds, such as Exhibition Place in Toronto.
Adjacent to the Prado is the Japanese Friendship Garden, a multi-year project which has now spread to a sizable garden on the plateau, and an even larger and more extensive garden in one of the valleys which carve through the Park. Even in winter, with not many plants bedded out, it's a serene and lovely place to walk.
Balboa Park is also home to the San Diego Zoo, and the whole park is a popular place with San Diegans and tourists alike. Even on a weekday, the parking lots are pretty much filled up before noon, so this is one place where it pays to be early!
By the way, the Park is just north of the inbound flight path to the airport. Try not to be disturbed by the airliners looking like they are going to practise their roof landings.
La Jolla is another place for morning visiting. This coastal town, carved out of a steep hillside above the water, is another popular walking/shopping destination in San Diego, and another place where the early bird gets the good parking spots.
La Jolla (pronounced "La Hoya", for those not up in their Spanish) is famous for its rugged cliffs, caves, and tide pools. This makes for an unusually scenic waterfront promenade.
If you're wondering why there's so much litter on such a sheltered beach, look a little closer.
La Jolla has a sizable permanent population of seals and sea lions. The ones on the beach are mostly resting quietly. This lot, frolicking in the water and on the rocks, were much more active -- and a whole lot more vocal.
With its beautiful waterfront park and such spectacular views, you'd expect La Jolla to have a good collection of waterfront restaurants. But no. Just homes and condos. You have to start up the hill towards the main shopping street before you find any eateries. This was the view from outside the first café up that hill.
The third key place I went was the Cabrillo National Monument, at the southern tip of Point Loma. This park is actually located inside the Point Loma Naval Base, so you have to pass through or by the military presence and the Fort Rosecrans military cemetery as you visit. But it's worth it. The Monument is named after the first European navigator to land on the Pacific Coast in 1542. Here's the actual memorial to Cabrillo, with a live tourist and his silly grin taking up part of the foreground.
From the hilltop memorial, on a clear day, you can easily see southeastwards towards Tijuana and the mountains beyond -- Mexico.
A zoom lens brings the Hotel del Coronado and the city beyond it much closer.
The opposite Pacific Ocean shore of Point Loma has some spectacular rock formations and tidepools.
Not surprising for a military base, the Pelican Air Force can frequently be seen practising their formation flying.
Of course, there's far more to San Diego than just these highlights. Two major attractions which I missed on this trip are places which I have previously visited and enjoyed. First is the Old Town historic preservation district, just north of the current downtown area and airport. Here are some pictures of Old Town (the original centre of San Diego) from my trip in 2009.
Another major attraction is the Maritime Museum on the downtown waterfront, with its extraordinary collection of historic civilian and war ships. Here are a few samples from my 2005 visit.
As you can see, there's plenty to do in this city, with something for every interest from history to nature to simply lazing on the beach.
Actually, not much remains of the originals. They were constructed out of temporary materials, never meant for long-term use. By now, some of the old buildings have been replaced with more modern structures, while others have been re-built as permanent duplicates on the same site.
Most of the El Prado promenade is now pedestrian-only, and the buildings house many of San Diego's leading museums. Here are a few samples:
These structures, with their fantasy-wedding-cake--Spanish decoration, set a style trend for public architecture whose influence can easily be seen in other fair and exposition grounds, such as Exhibition Place in Toronto.
Adjacent to the Prado is the Japanese Friendship Garden, a multi-year project which has now spread to a sizable garden on the plateau, and an even larger and more extensive garden in one of the valleys which carve through the Park. Even in winter, with not many plants bedded out, it's a serene and lovely place to walk.
Balboa Park is also home to the San Diego Zoo, and the whole park is a popular place with San Diegans and tourists alike. Even on a weekday, the parking lots are pretty much filled up before noon, so this is one place where it pays to be early!
By the way, the Park is just north of the inbound flight path to the airport. Try not to be disturbed by the airliners looking like they are going to practise their roof landings.
La Jolla is another place for morning visiting. This coastal town, carved out of a steep hillside above the water, is another popular walking/shopping destination in San Diego, and another place where the early bird gets the good parking spots.
La Jolla (pronounced "La Hoya", for those not up in their Spanish) is famous for its rugged cliffs, caves, and tide pools. This makes for an unusually scenic waterfront promenade.
If you're wondering why there's so much litter on such a sheltered beach, look a little closer.
La Jolla has a sizable permanent population of seals and sea lions. The ones on the beach are mostly resting quietly. This lot, frolicking in the water and on the rocks, were much more active -- and a whole lot more vocal.
With its beautiful waterfront park and such spectacular views, you'd expect La Jolla to have a good collection of waterfront restaurants. But no. Just homes and condos. You have to start up the hill towards the main shopping street before you find any eateries. This was the view from outside the first café up that hill.
The third key place I went was the Cabrillo National Monument, at the southern tip of Point Loma. This park is actually located inside the Point Loma Naval Base, so you have to pass through or by the military presence and the Fort Rosecrans military cemetery as you visit. But it's worth it. The Monument is named after the first European navigator to land on the Pacific Coast in 1542. Here's the actual memorial to Cabrillo, with a live tourist and his silly grin taking up part of the foreground.
From the hilltop memorial, on a clear day, you can easily see southeastwards towards Tijuana and the mountains beyond -- Mexico.
A zoom lens brings the Hotel del Coronado and the city beyond it much closer.
The opposite Pacific Ocean shore of Point Loma has some spectacular rock formations and tidepools.
Not surprising for a military base, the Pelican Air Force can frequently be seen practising their formation flying.
Of course, there's far more to San Diego than just these highlights. Two major attractions which I missed on this trip are places which I have previously visited and enjoyed. First is the Old Town historic preservation district, just north of the current downtown area and airport. Here are some pictures of Old Town (the original centre of San Diego) from my trip in 2009.
Another major attraction is the Maritime Museum on the downtown waterfront, with its extraordinary collection of historic civilian and war ships. Here are a few samples from my 2005 visit.
As you can see, there's plenty to do in this city, with something for every interest from history to nature to simply lazing on the beach.
