San Diego is best known for its beaches and palms, pandas and orcas, sailors and surfers; not to mention some of the world's finest weather. Los Angeles and San Francisco may be the Golden State's highest profile cities, but San Diego lays claim to being the "Plymouth Rock of the Pacific Coast." This is where the first European settlement took root on the west coast of what would become the United States of America, long before there was a border.
San Diego Today -- A trip to San Diego is as hassle-free as you might imagine a visit to a sun-and-surf capital would be. The airport, like the city itself, is compact and manageable -- and best of all, it is located just a few minutes from downtown. And of course year-round moderate temperatures make touring here easy during any season. While the county of San Diego spreads over a vast territory -- encompassing not only 70 miles of coastline but mountains and deserts, as well -- the city of San Diego, and many other points of interest, are easily accessible. The trolley and bus systems are reliable but are best only for areas around downtown, including Old Town, the San Diego Zoo, Balboa Park, and Little Italy; the trolley can also deposit you at the Mexican border. If you want to explore north to places like the sophisticated beachside enclaves of La Jolla and Del Mar, though, or want to spend time at one of the region's spectacular wilderness parks, you'll need to rent a car.
San Diego's downtown -- 16 miles north of the border -- sits at the edge of a large natural harbor, the San Diego Bay. The harbor is almost enclosed by two fingers of land: flat Coronado "island" on one side, and peninsular Point Loma on the other. Both of these areas hold important military bases, bordered by classic neighborhoods dating to the 1890s and 1920s, respectively. Coronado isn't really an island -- a ribbon of sand called the Silver Strand connects it to Imperial Beach, just north of Mexico.
Heading north from Point Loma is Mission Bay, a lagoon that was carved out of an estuary in the 1940s and is now a watersports playground. A series of communities are found along the beach-lined coast: Ocean Beach, Mission Beach, Pacific Beach, La Jolla, and, just outside San Diego's city limits, Del Mar. To the south of downtown, you'll find National City, which is distinguished by shipyards on its bay side, then Chula Vista, and San Ysidro, which ends abruptly at the border (and where the huge city of Tijuana begins, equally abruptly).
Inland areas are perhaps best defined by Mission Valley, a mile-wide canyon that runs east-west, 2 miles north of downtown. Half a century ago, the valley held little beyond a few dairy farms, California's first mission, and the San Diego River (which is more like a creek for about 51 weeks a year). Then I-8 was built through the valley, followed by a shopping center, a sports stadium, another shopping center, and lots of condos. Today, Mission Valley is perhaps the most congested -- and least charming -- part of the city.
In spite of this, residents all use the valley, and many live along its perimeter: On the southern rim are desirable older neighborhoods like Mission Hills, Hillcrest, Normal Heights, and Kensington; to the north are Linda Vista and Kearny Mesa -- bedroom communities that emerged in the 1950s -- and Miramar Naval Air Station. Just outside and to the north of the city limits is Rancho Bernardo, a quiet, clubby suburb that suffered grievously during the 2007 firestorms.
The city of San Diego possesses one other vital (if man-made) ingredient: Balboa Park. Nestled in a 1,400-acre square between downtown and Mission Valley, the park contains the San Diego Zoo, many of the city's best museums, theaters (including the Tony Award-winning Old Globe), wonderful gardens, recreational facilities, and splendid architecture.
