The Top 5 Reasons to Visit San Diego, California Now
WRITTEN BY 5 REASONS TO VISIT® EDITORIAL STAFF
PUBLISHED AUGUST 2022 • 4 min read
With near perfect weather year-round, miles upon miles of spectacular coastline, world-class attractions and a thriving urban core, complete with a sophisticated art, dining and nightlife scene—San Diego has earned the name California’s beach city. Discover beachside attitude with big city excitement.
Image courtesy of Visit San Diego
1. THE SHOPPING
Embrace the coastal chic lifestyle at Southern California's trendiest destination, Fashion Valley. This open-air shopping mall is accented by living succulent walls, gorgeous palm trees and iconic fountains—this is where you’ll find the latest fashion trends.
Visit more than 200 stores including international fashion houses like Versace, Burberry, Cartier, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Marc Jacobs, Prada, Chanel, Dior, Balenciaga, and Salvatore Ferragamo, and designer department stores like Bloomingdale's, Macy's, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom. You’ll find everything you need and want at Fashion Valley.
2. THE ART
The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego offers access to the very best art of our time at two iconic locations. The downtown campus captures the energy and vibrancy of the city with site-specific installations by artists Jenny Holzer and Richard Serra, and soaring exhibition spaces that once housed the baggage building for the historic Santa Fe Depot. Experience a showcase of internally recognized collections and a dynamic schedule of exhibitions.
The collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego includes more than 4,700 works crated after 1950, representing a variety of media and genres: painting, sculpture, works on paper, photography, video, and installation. Free tours are offered with admission at the Downtown location at 2pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
Striking streetside art awaits you. They're on doughnut shops and apartment blocks, in beachside neighborhoods and urban business districts, bursting with imagery from waves to wildlife to abstract wows. San Diego's murals and sculptures are a vivid window into the heart and soul of the city, and a showcase for this place's dazzling range of artistic talent.
3. THE COCKTAILS & CUISINE
Intricately styled after the famed French palace of Versailles, gilt glamour lives on through its elegant vintage décor at the award-winning Westgate Room. For your artisanal cocktail fix, we recommend trying the Baccarat Bubbly—concocted with Champagne, house gin and fresh-squeezed lime. Or try the delightfully refreshing AquaVie made with house vodka, fresh squeezed lemon, simple syrup, and cucumber. These cocktails and more are available in the Westgate Room, Veranda, poolside, or in the Plaza Bar.
With exceptional gastronomy providing a taste of modern French culinary tradition and Californian savoir-faire—the Westgate Room is masterfully orchestrated by Executive Chef Fabrice Hardel. Favorite dishes include Tōgarashi Crusted Baja Prawn with vegetables Provençale, squid linguini and cioppino jus, Local Striped Bass with Bhutanese red rice, baby bok choy and coconut curry, the Hardel Burger (vegan option available upon request) wagyu beef, horseradish aioli, whole grain mustard, arugula and Fiscalini cheddar, as well as Dim Sum with pork cha su bao, pork shumai, vegetable potstickers, vegetable spring rolls, hoisin and homemade nuoc cham sauces.
For a stylishly relaxed setting, the Veranda is an enchanting al fresco fine dining experience that champions elegantly innovative French-inspired cuisine, Californian flavors, and modern global dining.
4. THE GARDENS
San Diego Botanic Garden is a 37-acre urban oasis with four miles of trails displaying more than 5,000 plant species and varieties, including 300 plants for which SDBG is the only garden maintaining a population. Explore 15 gardens that represent different regions of the world, 12 demonstration gardens, and the largest public bamboo collection in North America.
Image courtesy of Visit San Diego
The Dickinson Family Education Conservatory the San Diego Botanic Garden is a state-of-the-art, 8,000 square foot glass-enclosed facility containing rare and unusual tropical plants from around the world. As you walk into the conservatory, look up. Above you will see six floating ‘plant islands’ reminiscent of the movie ‘Avatar’ hanging from the ceiling. These one-of-a-kind living ‘plant chandeliers’ are fabricated out of wood and stainless steel with plants that naturally grow in the canopy of trees.
Image courtesy of San Diego Botanical Garden
5. THE ARCHITECTURE
Balboa Park is an amazing cultural center and beautiful paradise right in the middle of San Diego that started 150 years ago. Ethnically diverse, historically rich, culturally abundant, naturally breathtaking, but most importantly the architecture will stop you in your tracks. Starting with Casa De Balboa, look up to see caryatids, or weight-bearing features carved as human figures. Across the Plaza de Panama, you'll find the House of Charm. The facade facing the Plaza is in the Spanish-Colonial style and is based on the Sanctuary of Guadalupe in Guadalajara, Mexico.
The most stunning architectural gem at Balboa Park is the California Tower with its ornate facade and blue-and-gold dome. Built in 1915 for the Panama-California Exposition to serve as the grand entry to the Expo, it is among the most recognizable landmarks in San Diego. Home to the Museum of Us, it is mentioned more than any other San Diego structure in architecture books. The hybrid design, mixing Plateresque, Baroque, Churrigueresque, and Rococo, Gothic, and Spanish-Colonial, creates a totally unique building. End your architectural discoveries with a walk across the Cabrillo Bridge, Which spans 450 feet above a canyon 120 feet below. The bridge employs a multi-arched cantilever structure and was the first of its kind in California.
WHERE TO STAY IN SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
A peaceful sanctuary on the edge of San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter, The Westgate Hotel is a world-class combination of friendliness, comfort and unique, heritage elegance. Custom built as a peerlessly chic recreation of France’s legendary Palace of Versailles—the distinctively European ambiance conjured by French antiques, Flemish and French tapestries, Baccarat crystal chandeliers, exquisite Persian carpets and heartfelt hospitality come together to create cherished memories. Within easy walking distance of The San Diego Opera and Symphony, The Museum of Contemporary Art and the historic vibrancy of San Diego’s Gaslamp quarter, this is where French charm meets California calm.
