It is in Southern California, has beaches, tourists and more than 300 days of sunshine a year. There are beach bars, clubs, sports bars, craft beer bars, live music bars, restaurant-bars karaoke bars, pickup bars and hang-out bars.
There are three main party districts, Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach and the Gaslamp Quarter. Other areas – the neighborhoods of North Park and South Park bordering Balboa Park and Little Italy, for instance – and bars scattered around other parts of the city like fragments of a shattered plate.
As well as outlying areas that include Imperial Beach and the North County beach towns of Del Mar, Encinitas, Solana Beach and Oceanside.
Two places you might think of being party places are not. After dark anyway. They are Coronado and La Jolla. Each is a fine and beautiful part of San Diego but they roll up the sidewalks at 9 o’clock and pretty much say “see you in the morning.”
Still, if you want to party, here is a breakdown of the top party areas in San Diego.
San Diego Gaslamp Quarter Nightlife
Right out the door of the Convention Center, the Gaslamp Quarter is a mix of tourists on expense accounts, tourists on holiday and local pubbber and clubbbers.
The Gaslamp Quarter has the most varied nightlife in all of San Diego with dance clubs (Parq, Nova and Toro), happening casually sophisticated bars that turn into clubs at night (American Junkie, barleymash, Bootlegger, Tiempo, Tipsy Crow) cool hidden gems (Vin Sirah and Trailer Park After Dark) and hangout bars (Patrick’s Pub, the Field and dozens of others).
Every Friday and Saturday night it’s a “scene” with rock music pedicabs dropping off passengers, street entertainers (including an incredible close-up magician) and pubbers and clubbers walking up and down Fifth Ave., which is blocked off to traffic on weekends.
San Diego Pacific Beach Nightlife
This is where life’s a beach in San Diego, a place where those who are just out of college or mentally still in one. The party starts with the weekend bottomless mimosas and other voluminous drink specials for late-morning breakfast at places like Duck Dive and spill over to Maverick’s, Lahina (a lifeguard stand-looking place overlooking the bike path and beach), dive bars (Open Bar is worth stopping in for a beer or two) and restaurant/bars.
After the sun goes down the beach party people go home, rest up, wash up and hit the beach town at night.
San Diego Ocean Beach Nightlife
OB, as locals call it, is a hippie hangout, a place that seems pleasantly stuck in the 60s. You can get a real feel for this by walking out to the beach and going to the hippied-out Hodad’s for a burger.
The nightlife is centered on Newport Ave., and it has some classic dive bars, the multi-level live music and great bottomless drinks brunch bar The Holding Company, South Beach which has a tiki bar on the first level and around the corner the massive Wonderland Ocean Pub which is several bars on three levels.
Inland a bit are more craft breweries and beer-serving restaurants than even PubClub.com can count.
Editor’s Note: This article was written by PubClub.com and not using AI or ChatGPT technology.
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