Of Beaches, Bays, The Gaslamp, Nightlife & Events
In a state with so many desirable destinations it almost seems unfair to all the other states, one place is so spectacular it manages to stand out even in California: San Diego.
It’s the most golden city in the Golden State, a place that combines many of the state’s top attributes – beaches, sunshine, the city life and fun events just to name a few – into package so polished it’s as shiny as a car just emerging from a detailing shop.
In San Diego, it’s hard to know where to start but it doesn’t really matter because no matter where you begin, you’re going to enjoy it. But, like attacking a great-looking plate of food put down in front of you at a restaurant, just dig in.
San Diego even takes beaches to a different level in California. While there’s certainly nothing as stunning as the scenery you get in, say Big Sur, there’s water, water everywhere because San Diego has bays and inlets. Mission Bay has several of these and every day of the week the entire area is playground for water enthusiasts.
And the water is warm enough to swim in it, play in it, Jet Ski in it, water ski in it, go stand-up paddleboarding, you name it. Of course, there’s also the ocean and in California that means surfing and boogie boarding.
Speaking of the beaches, there’s Ocean Beach that’s added a modern touch to its hippie 60s roots, dynamic Mission Beach with its signature roller coaster and a massive beachfront bar in front of it, the “dude” locals hangout of Pacific Beach and the dramatic cliffs of La Jolla.
Just up the coast in what’s known as “North County,” the cliffs of Torrey Pines slowly descend down to Del Mar and into Solona Beach, Cardiff-By-The-Sea, Encinitas, Leucadia and Carlsbad.
Looking for an island? Then head over the bridge or hop on a ferry to Coronado. A big city park? Balboa Park is almost like walking through an amusement park.
The real diversity of San Diego comes into play downtown and specifically the Gaslamp Quarter. The Gaslamp is like a near-spotless French Quarter in New Orleans – there’s restaurants with cafe-style seating on the streets and dynamic nightlife with nearly every type of bar that truly satisfies the pub and club criteria for PubClub.com’s top bar destinations.
For fun events, there’s Del Mar Opening Day (third week in July), the OTL (second and third weekends in July), the Wine & Food Festival (Nov. 13-20 in 2016), the Oyster Festival (late June), Fat Tuesday in the Gaslamp, a St. Patrick’s Day parade and a lot more to keep one happily occupied throughout the year from a social standpoint.
There’s no other city in California – not Los Angeles, not San Francisco, not San Jose – that hits as many high marks as San Diego. Then again, there’s few cities in the world that can match San Diego, either.
Accommodations In San Diego
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