San Diego: Places to Explore

Overlooking downtown and the Pacific Ocean, 1,200-acre Balboa Park is the cultural heart of San Diego. Ranked as one of the world's best parks by the Project for Public Spaces, it's also where you can find... Read more

A quiet town with a handful of year-round residents, Borrego Springs is set in the heart of the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and is emerging as a destination for desert lovers. From September through... Read more

Once-sleepy, Carlsbad, lying astride I-5 at the north end of a string of beach towns extending from San Diego to Oceanside, has long been popular with beachgoers and sunseekers. On a clear day in this... Read more

The Cuyamaca and Laguna mountains separate coastal and inland San Diego from the desert. Abundant winter rainfall produces thick oak and pine forests, year-round streams, and sparkling waterfalls here... Read more

Del Mar comprises two sections: the small historic village adjacent to the beach west of I-5 and a growing business center surrounded by multimillion-dollar tract housing east of the freeway. Tiny Del... Read more

Nearly written off in the 1970s, today downtown San Diego is a testament to conservation and urban renewal. Once derelict Victorian storefronts now house the hottest restaurants, and the Star of India,... Read more

Flower breeding and growing has been the major industry in Encinitas since the early part of the 20th century; the town now calls itself the Flower Capital of the World, thanks to the large number of nurseries... Read more

Escondido and the lovely rolling hills around it were originally a land grant bestowed by the governor of Mexico on Juan Bautista Alvarado in 1843. The Battle of San Pasqual, a bloody milestone in California's... Read more

A quick 5-mile detour off I-15 between Temecula and San Diego, Fallbrook bills itself as the Avocado Capital of the World. Avocado orchards fill the surrounding hillsides, and guacamole is served in just... Read more

Gold was discovered in the Julian area in 1869, and gold-bearing quartz a year later. More than $15 million worth of gold was taken from local mines in the 1870s. Many of the buildings along Julian's Main... Read more

La Jollans have long considered their village to be the Monte Carlo of California, and with good cause. Its coastline curves into natural coves backed by verdant hillsides covered with homes worth millions... Read more

Mission Bay and the surrounding beaches are the aquatic playground of San Diego. The choice of activities available is astonishing, and the perfect weather makes you want to get out there and play. At... Read more

The beach culture is alive and well in Oceanside, despite redevelopment activities that are changing the face of the waterfront. Mixed-use hotels and residences are under construction to enhance the beach... Read more

San Diego's Spanish and Mexican roots are most evident in Old Town and the surrounding hillside of Presidio Park. Visitors can experience settlement life in San Diego from Spanish and Mexican rule to the... Read more

Palomar Mountain, at an altitude of 6,140 feet and with an average of 300 clear nights per year, has the distinction of being the home of one of the world's most significant astronomical observation sites... Read more

Although Coronado is actually an isthmus, easily reached from the mainland if you head north from Imperial Beach, it has always seemed like an island and is often referred to as such. To the west, Point... Read more

For many heading into the San Diego mountains or desert, Ramona is the last stop. It's where drivers fill up with gas (sometimes less expensive than in the city), pick up provisions at one of several supermarkets... Read more

Rancho Bernardo straddles a stretch of I-15 between San Diego and Escondido and is technically a neighborhood of San Diego. Originally sheep- and cattle-grazing land, it was transformed in the early 1960s... Read more

Groves of huge, drooping eucalyptus trees cover the hills and valleys of this affluent and exclusive town east of I-5. Rancho Santa Fe and the areas surrounding it are primarily residential, where you'll... Read more

Once-quiet Solana Beach is the place to look for antiques, collectibles, and contemporary fashions and artwork. The Cedros Design District, occupying four blocks south of the Amtrak station, contains shops... Read more

Once an important stop on the Butterfield Overland Stagecoach route and a market town for the huge cattle ranches surrounding it, Temecula (pronounced teh-mec-yoo-la) is now a developed wine region, designated... Read more