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City center of San Diego, California, United States
Photo: Leandro Neumann Ciuffo, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Downtown San Diego (also referred to as "Centre City" in some cases) is the thriving central business district of San Diego. A heavily gentrified area with plenty of tourist amenities, Downtown serves as a hub of business and entertainment, with plenty of restaurants, shops, and nightlife to take in, as well as a few attractions, including several museums and the home of the San Diego Padres baseball team.
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Home to a number of historic Victorian-era buildings, such as the Louis Bank of Commerce, the Backesto Building, the Old City Hall, the Yuma Building, and a whole bunch of other beautiful old structures.
Previously called the William Heath Davis House, this museum is the headquarters of the Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation. The visitor center here offers information for self-guided tours of the district as well as a guided walking tour of the district that leaves every Saturday at 11AM, and Thursday at 1PM. Hosts a festival every St. Patrick's Day.
Home to a number of historic sea vessels, including the Star of India, the world's oldest active sailing ship, the Berkeley, an 1898 steam ferryboat, the Californian, a replica sailing ship, the Medea, a 1904 steam yacht, the HMS Surprise, another replica sailing ship, and a B-39 Soviet Attack Submarine.
Just north of Santa Fe Depot, this museum holds a part of the museum's collection over 4,000 works.
A museum dedicated to Chinese history, culture and art. Includes exhibits on the Chinese experience in America.
Dedicated to the history of firefighting in San Diego.
Take a self-guided tour of the USS Midway (CV-41), a former aircraft carrier of the US Navy. The Midway is home to a collection of former naval aircraft housed on her expansive flight deck. Guided tours and displays offer a unique look into the life aboard and of a powerful old warhorse.
Popular shows and musicals with some amazing performances.
See the Major League Baseball Padres play at Petco Park. The stadium, modeled after other "retro" ballparks, has many unique elements, such as the Western Metal Supply Co. building, a historic warehouse which is incorporated into the left-field seats. Price range for tickets varies widely, from $15-20 for a spot on the grassy lawn beyond the outfield wall (the "Park at the Park") to over $50 for a seat behind home plate. Ballpark tours are available off-season daily at 10:30AM and 12:30PM, with an extra 3PM tour on Saturdays; tours are also available during the season, but times vary depending on whether there's a game that day or not.
Copley Symphony Hall
Somewhat in the shadow of the mighty Los Angeles Philharmonic, but still a top notch symphony orchestra. See website for the current season.
A small park in Little Italy, notable for its bocce (a popular sport in Italy) courts. You can also find Italian recipes engraved onto the sidewalk plaques and tables around the park.
An unusual park with lots of grassy hills, shade trees, and a large water feature. Unfortunately, this park is usually occupied by homeless, so it wouldn't be a safe destination for children.
Also known as the Marina Park, Embarcadero Park is split into two parts, north and south, which shelter the marina. Very pleasant, with lots of trees, grass, and good views of the harbor. You can access the north park by walking through the Seaport Village shopping center, and you can reach the south park by going around the back side of the convention center.
A small square next to the Gaslamp Quarter trolley station with a small water fountain. Good views of the convention center.
A historic square just north of the shopping center of the same name. A large fountain marks the center of the park.
A linear park honoring the late civil rights activist.
A small park surrounded by a residential area.
For the 81 Padres home game days, this grassy berm overlooking Petco Park is closed to the general public, open as a place to view the game for the price of a ticket. But for the other 284 days of the year, the park is open to the public. The park has a small baseball diamond, a playground, and there are various monuments to the achievements of the Padres, such as a statue of star player Tony Gwynn nearby.
For four days every July, one of the world's largest fan conventions descends on Downtown San Diego, flooding the convention center with over 100,000 attendees. Since its comic book origins, the convention has expanded into virtually every genre of pop culture, drawing Hollywood celebrities, major television producers, toy manufacturers, video game designers, and top-name anime and manga creators, offering sneak peeks at their future works. Expect massive crowds and all manner of celebration of geek culture. It takes some planning to attend Comic-con; tickets sell out almost as soon as they go on sale, and lodging in San Diego becomes expensive and scarce. For this reason, if you're not interested in Comic-con, it's probably best to avoid visiting San Diego during this period.
Outstanding thin crust pizza in a renovated warehouse space. Open late. Features both red (with tomato sauce) and white (cheese only) pies.
Modern and classic hand-made pasta dishes. Multi-year winner of critics and readers choice for Best Italian in San Diego Magazine.
Unpretentious barbeque on paper plates. Unique interior with friendly staff and customers. Bar on premises.
Cool gastropub with a great menu and wonderful selection of draft beers. Try a sample of four beers for $7 to see what you like. If none of the draft beers suit your taste, there's a multitude of other beers from all over the world listed on the chalkboard.
Third and newest of the popular locally owned breakfast restaurant. Avoid the lines at the North Park and Mission Beach locations by coming here. Vegetarian offerings for the diet conscious. Only open for breakfast and lunch from 8AM - 3PM.
Enjoy Sicilian style favorites and some of the best pizza in town at this family-oriented restaurant. Deli has large selection of Italian imports and is a great place to grab a sandwich.
Serves tonkotsu (pork broth) and vegetarian ramen. Gets crowded, expect to wait for seating if you arrive during the lunch or dinner rush. There is also a North Park location with a slightly different menu.
As its name suggests, it's open 24/7. Tasty but fairly standard American food.
Local favorite with great burgers, milkshakes, and not a lot else. Lively little spot with funky decor. There is also a location in Ocean Beach.
This section of Fifth Ave contains many of the most popular clubs and bars in San Diego, and is typically seen as the heart of San Diego’s nightlife.
Traditional British pub.
Wine bar and appetizers, relaxing environment.
One of San Diego's oldest drinking establishments and best dive bars.
Western-themed hipster hangout with good cocktails, rotating DJs, and a fun dance floor. A world away from the usual bottleservice & bouncers experience at many downtown SD clubs.
Popular sports bar with good bar food and DJs at night.
Little Italy tasting room and gastropub for one of San Diego's best known craft brewers. Several other locations around the city.
Irish pub literally shipped over piece by piece from Ireland and reassembled. Good food and drinks, and frequent live Irish music.
Hostel with easy access to the historic Gaslamp District. They have 2 bed private rooms, 4 bed mixed, 4 bed female and 6 bed mixed dorms. Most of them with a sink and a closet. Amenities include free wifi, free luggage storage, and free breakfast.
It's in Gaslamp Quarter, clean, friendly, and offers 24-hour desk service, free breakfast, laundry facilities, lockers, and Wi-Fi. This hostel is part of a non-profit organization, HI-USA. The only hostel in this area to offer air conditioned rooms with iPod dock alarm clocks. Also offers free activities including: Walking tours, pub crawls, a screen printing workshop and bicycle tours. In addition there are three donation based dinners offered per week.
A friendly and cozy hostel that offers free breakfast and free dinner daily. Also they provide free adventure activities that guests can go on to enjoy San Diego.
Fun hostel in San Diego's trendy East Village. The hostel offers free breakfast, free dinners, free internet, free house phone, free pub crawl and free use of linens and towels. They also run a weekly tour to Tijuana.
In Little Italy, this lovely hotel has 75 small rooms with views of the bustling neighborhood. Parking is quite tight here, but the place is quite affordable at around $80/night.
Small hostel in the Gaslamp Quarter. The hostel offers free breakfasts, wireless access, lockers, a laundry room, and bike rentals. They run a tour to Tijuana on Saturdays.
A contemporary and casual hotel, the Bristol features an unusually large pop art collection.
A 100% non-smoking hotel in the Gaslamp Quarter.
A unique 245-room hotel where timeless charm is blended seamlessly with sophisticated comfort of modern guest accommodations. Ideal location in the Gaslamp Quarter.
Housed in a beautiful historic building, this hotel offers lovely rooms and complimentary breakfast - served on the rooftop terrace (weather permitting).
A luxurious Victorian-era hotel in the Gaslamp Quarter.
22-floor hotel in the Gaslamp neighborhood with most of the services and features typical of Marriotts (sadly, no pool or jacuzzi). Rooftop bar, on-site restaurant.
Complimentary airport shuttle, extensive amenities and friendly staff.
formerly the Kimpton
Rates start at $169 a night.
This hotel has over 1600 rooms, making it the largest hotel in San Diego. It's next to the Convention Center, and consists of two towers that are connected on the bottom four floors.
A modern luxury hotel connected to Petco Park via a skybridge across the street, the Omni was built along the new ballpark and has a few baseball relics inside, such as Joe DiMaggio's cleats in the lobby, Babe Ruth's 1932 contract with the Yankees in the Presidential Suite, and a broken bat autographed by Willie Mays in the fifth-floor hallway.
A luxurious and historic hotel across the street from the Horton Plaza Square. It was built by Ulysses S. Grant's son, who later became a real estate developer in San Diego.
A shopping and dining complex overlooking the bay, with a recreated historic "seaside village" look. Nearly 70 shops and restaurants and an antique carousel.
Gorgeous shop with very well priced and excellent chocolates. All candies are made fresh daily on premises.
By car
Downtown is served by three freeways. Be warned though, Southern California is notorious for its confusing interchanges and freeway systems.
By public transit
The hub for rail services in San Diego is the Santa Fe Depot at Broadway and Kettner, which serves as the southern terminus of the COASTER commuter rail service, which runs north along the coast of…
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