SAN DIEGO, CA

San Diego’s not called “America’s Finest City” for nothing.

From its beautiful harbor, to its great beaches, to its internationally famous zoo, as well as its location just one hour from mountains and two hours from the desert, San Diego can take visitors from city to nature and from beach to desert in mere hours. In addition, its location right next to the Mexican border means you can visit two countries in one day!

Located in the very southwest corner of the United States (just about 100 miles south of Los Angeles), San Diego’s visitors will find all the fine dining, shopping, world-class theater a cosmopolitan could want! Are your tastes more for hiking, beach going, sailing or surfing – more outdoor-oriented? San Diego’s your city, as well.

First, shopping: San Diego’s downtown is small-ish in size; you easily could walk from San Diego Harbor up Broadway to the east end of downtown. So you might want to start your day at Horton Plaza, a colorful and eclectic outdoor shopping center offering you high-end department stores such as Nordstrom, as well as eclectic boutiques. As for dining, you’ll find several restaurants for any budget. May we also recommend you take in a world-class theater production at the San Diego Repertory Theatre, located in the mall’s lower level.

Next, you’ll need to head out to the Gaslamp Quarter, located just to the east and south of Horton Plaza. The Quarter is full of wonderful eateries (1970’s song man Jim Croce’s widow and son run the famous Croce’s Restaurant and Jazz Bar), from great Oriental, French, Cajun, American, Italian – any kind of food you desire is located in the two or three blocks of San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter.

In fact, if music is what you seek, be sure to visit San Diego in the spring for what is known as the largest Mardi Gras festival on the West Coast. The Gaslamp Quarter fills with music as a parade and huge music block party – that features several stages – celebrates Fat Tuesday.

Once you’ve had your fill of food, shopping and great music, head on up 5th Avenue to the San Diego Zoo. Be sure to check out Hippo Beach and the Panda Research Station. Walk from the zoo to Balboa Park and check out the many great museums located there in buildings first constructed for the 1915-16 Panama-California Exposition.  A visit to the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center is a must, as is a visit to the San Diego Hall of Champions Sports Museum (check) and the San Diego Air & Space Museum (you’ll be able to peer inside the Apollo 9 Command Module spacecraft.

Of course, a visit to San Diego would not be complete without a tour of San Diego Harbor. Shaped like an inverted “j,” San Diego Harbor was the first part of California visited by non-Native Americans in 1513 when Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo of Spain sailed into its mouth near what is now Cabrillo Point. You can tour the harbor via several harbor cruise companies, during which you’ll see Cabrillo Point, float past the Navy’s aircraft carriers docked across the bay at North Island and glide under the graceful Coronado Bay Bridge, which connects Coronado Island (which really is an isthmus) to San Diego.

You might also consider taking a water taxi or driving over the bridge to Coronado Island, home of the 120-year-old Hotel Del Coronado. Have Sunday brunch in the gorgeous Crown Room, which is constructed completely of wood (even the nails) and take a walk along the beach where the Oscar-winning movie Some Like it Hot (starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon) in 1959. If you’re brave enough, why not try to spend the night in Room 3502, said to be haunted by a young woman who killed herself over a love affair gone wrong.