places of interest in San Diego?

Venice BEach

 

The options in San Diego are almost limitless. Depends on your interests, and which school you will be attending. If you are at San Diego State, there is a lively food, bar and music scene within walking distance from campus. If you're at UCSD or USD, much less nearby, but all you might want to do is drivable. UCSD is in la Jolla, so much more "beach" feel.

For the adult student population, both Ocean Beach and Pacific Beach are great; lots to do and see (human and otherwise). The Gaslamp has some very good eating and nightspots. The San Diego Padres play a form of major league baseball, and Petco Park is downtown with excellent food nearby. The SD Chargers are in Mission Valley in the fall; tickets can be pricey, but cheap seats can be had.

Coronado is more sedate, but has great beaches. The Hotel Del Coronado is the oldest electrically lit structure west of the Mississippi River; wired literally by Thomas Edison. It was also Frank Baum's inspiration for the Wizard of Oz (Coronado is "The Crown City" in fact) and has been used in numerous movies. One of Disney's hotels in Florida even replicates the Hotel Del. Dr. Seuss also lived there and did much of his work in the area.

Balboa Park has an excellent Air and Space Museum, as well as an assortment of other museums. The San Diego Zoo is also in Balboa Park, although the San Diego Wild Animal Park in North SD County is a more unique and worthwhile experience IMHO.

I'd take surfing or paddleboard lessons, go to the Padres and Chargers to see American pro sports, go to Humphreys for a concert, eat at Point Loma Seafoods, spend time in Ocean and Pacific Beaches, tour the Hotel Del and USS Midway and walk La Jolla's cliffs as a start. The Trolley goes to many of the locations, and is fairly safe, so you will want to try it and then use it to save money in parking costs. You also want to eat a fish taco (really) and eat food from real Mexican restaurants instead of tourist places.

Most San Diegans are pretty approachable, so don't be shy in re asking for directions or recommendations. Personally, I'd tell folks not to go to Mexico. Nothing there you can't experience in San Diego, and the rules in Mexico are "interesting" at times. Of course, if you have a friend who has family there and knows their way around, don't worry and do it.

I'm confident others will have ideas, also. Have fun while you're there.

Regards, Bob H

 

I go to UCSD...is this the uni you will be attending? Too bad I will be graduating this June so probably won't be in town when you are here.

Not much to do in La Jolla. There are a few good and relaxing beaches namely Blacks Beach and La Jolla Shores...alternatively you could also explore Del Mar and Oceanside. But for drinking and partying, not the right school. SDSU has much, much better atmosphere for the uni scenes and there are a lot more things to do down south. UCSD is just books after books and labs after labs. Don't get your hopes down though, what you will experience is all in your hands.

I am sure there are a few tourist websites that would give you a good idea of what San Diego has to offer...

 

My favorite city and beach in the US is Del Mar. Check it out

 

Go see Bill Noon in La Jolla at Symbolic. He always has a fine collection of toys to view and he treats you well.

 

I was just there last weekend. A long walk down Pacific Beach is nice. Lots of fun activity on the board walk. Park at Chrystal Pier and walk down and back. Plan on a couple of hours. Food at the Green Flash is good and the Crab Shack is also great. Try the crab nachos......yum.
Symbolic is OK if you are into modern cars. Years ago the place would be filled with mind blowing vintage. I once saw two 250LM's there at the same time. Last weekend a few vintage, and a full room of boring modern cars. Who gives a crap about Bugatti's anyway?

 

Agreed. So many boring Bentley's and Roll Royce's...and Lamborghini Gallardo's. They are all the same. The back room is a little more interesting. A white Miura S, Aston DB2, Maserati MC12 (WOW!), Maserati 3500GT (WOW!), and a few other good stuff.

 

They don't have nice cars in Germany??!

 

I've lived here most of my life and I think it's way better than Hawaii. Great beaches, night life, etc. all the touristy places like sea world, the zoo, wild animal park etc.
But...... If you have some guts and want to do things that will change your life, here's some "don't miss it" experiences:

Take a "tandem" ride in a hang glider flight at the Torrey Pines Gliderport right across from the UCSD campus. Not at all dangerous - they're highly professiona and run thousands of flights per year. I've never heard of an injury to a passenger.
Contact them at:

Fly With Us

A second experience not to be missed is to go for a ride aboard "Stars & Stripes 11" one of the few Americas Cup Class boats. "Stars & Stripes" is one of the yachts sailed by Dennis Connor in defense of the "olde mug" perhaps the oldest trophies in all of sports history. There are only a few places in the world where you can do this; San Diego. Newport in Rhode Island and (I think) Sydney or Perth in Australia.

Contact them at: SailUSA11.com

I think San Diego is the only city in the world where you can experiece both of these
life changing experiences. Fell free to PM me if you have questions. Sieze the Day!

Steve