For many visitors, Tijuana's main event is bustling Avenida Revolución, the street whose reputation precedes it. Beginning in the 1920s, Americans flocked to this street for bawdy, illicit fun; but civic improvements have vanquished the girlie shows whose barkers once accosted passersby. Drinking and shopping are the main order of business these days. While young people from across the border knock back tequila shooters and dangle precariously at the upstairs railings of glaring neon discos, bargain-hunters peruse the never-ending array of goods (and not-so-goods) for sale. You'll find the action between calles 1 and 9; there's a visitor information booth at Revolución and Third on the east side of the street.
Among the numerous curio shops, bars, and restaurants are a few attractions, too. If you've made the 10-minute walk from the border, the first one you'll encounter is the Museo de Cera (Wax Museum), 8281 Calle 1, between avenidas Revolución and Maderas (tel. 664/688-2478). It's filled with characters from Mexican history and lore, and includes a few incongruous figures like Bill Clinton and Whoopi Goldberg. This creepy sideshow is open daily from 10am to 6pm; admission is about $1.60. In an attractive, flagstone-fronted space on Revolución at Calle 4 is the Caliente Race & Sports Book (tel. 664/688-3425; www.caliente.com.mx), which opened in 2006. Here you can bet on international sporting events including NFL, NBA, and soccer games; there's also electronic gaming. Caliente also operates the Hipódromo Caliente (Caliente Racetrack), Bulevar Agua Caliente and Tapachula (tel. 664/633-7300), home of daily greyhound racing and another sports book. It's about a 10-minute cab ride from the tourist drag.
For something decidedly more cultural, head west down Calle 2. Just past Avenida Constitución is the Palacio de la Cultura (tel. 664/687-2604; www.imactijuana.com), a large gallery space that opened in late 2006. Showcasing the work of local artists, this complex is set in the Antigua Palacio Municipal, which served as a seat of government from 1921 to 1986 (it's one of the area's few remaining historical buildings). Adjacent to the Palacio on Calle 2, catty-corner from the Cathedral, is Mercado el Popo, a quintessentially Mexican marketplace selling nuts, candy, and produce. One of the most ornate buildings in town is the Palacio Frontón (Jai Lai Palace), Revolución and Calle 7, where the fast-paced court game was once played. The facility is now used for concerts and special events.
A short cab ride away in the Zona Río is Tijuana's cultural icon, the Centro Cultural Tijuana (CECUT), Paseo de los Héroes, at Avenida Independencia (tel. 664/687-9600; www.cecut.gob.mx), which opened in 1982. You'll easily spot the ultramodern complex, designed by architects Pedro Ramírez Vásquez and Manuel Rosen Morrison. Its centerpiece is a gigantic sand-colored sphere that houses an Omnimax Dome Theater. At least two different 45-minute Spanish-language films are shown daily; on weekends there is usually an English-language screening. Tickets are $4.50 for adults and $2.50 for children. CECUT also has a museum that covers the history of Tijuana and Baja, with a collection of artifacts from pre-Hispanic times through the modern political era (descriptions are in both Spanish and English). Music, theater, and dance performances are held in the center's acoustically excellent concert hall. A new wing designed to host major traveling art shows has recently opened; there's also a cafe and a great museum bookshop. The center is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10am to 6pm; admission to the museum's permanent exhibit is $2.20.
CECUT also gets you away from the tourist kitsch and into the more sophisticated Zona Río, where you can admire the wide, European-style Paseo de los Héroes. The boulevard's intersections are marked by gigantic traffic circles, at the center of which stand statuesque monuments to leaders ranging from Aztec Emperor Cuauhtémoc to Abraham Lincoln. In the Zona Río you'll find some classier shopping, a colorful local marketplace, and some of Tijuana's best restaurants.
Mundo Divertido, Vía Rápida Poniente 15035 (tel. 664/701-7133), is an ultimate destination for kids, featuring roller coasters, batting cages, miniature golf, go-carts, video games, and more. It's open daily from about noon to 9pm. There's also a movie theater at the Plaza Mundo Divertido, and Hollywood films are presented in English with Spanish subtitles.
Adult pleasures await at L.A. Cetto Winery (Cava de Vinos), Av. Cañón Johnson 2108, at Avenida Constitución Sur (tel. 664/685-3031; www.cettowines.com), where you can get an introduction to Mexican wine. Valle de Guadalupe, a fertile region southeast of Tijuana, produces most of Mexico's wine. Many of its high-quality vintages are exported to Europe; most are unavailable in the United States. Shaped like a wine barrel, the building's unique facade is made from old oak aging barrels. An impressive visitor center offers an array of treats, including not only the company's award-winning wines, but also its line of tequila, brandy, and olive oil. Admission is $2 for tour and tastings (for those 18 and over only; kids under 18 are admitted free with an adult but cannot taste the wines), $5 with souvenir wine glass. It's open Monday through Friday from 10am to 6:30pm, Saturday from 10am to 5pm.
About 6 miles (9.5km) west of the Zona Centro, off the scenic toll road that heads toward Rosarito and Ensenada (but before you reach the first toll booth), is the beach community of Playas de Tijuana. The large, sandy beach is popular with families, and a line of ramshackle restaurants and cafes on a bluff overlooking the surf offer great spots for lunch and a cold beer. A stone's throw away is the bullring-by-the-sea known as Plaza Monumental. Perhaps the most notable feature here, though, is an imposing, rusting fence with unevenly spaced girders of different heights that disappears into the ocean, dividing the U.S. and Mexico. It provides a stark contrast to the laughing children splashing in the water next to it.
