If your parents are visiting, or really anyone from out of town, and you want to showcase the most iconic spots in San Diego, use this guide. This is not necessarily a guide to visiting San Diego on the cheap (we have one of those). It is a guide to showing off some of San Diego’s opulence and grandeur. Some of its Southern California charm. The places that make San Diego San Diego. Minus SeaWorld.
The Itinerary
1. Pick Your Parents Up At The Airport
2. Go For A Stroll In Balboa Park
3. Eat Dinner At Mister A’s
4. Get Coffee And A Pastry And Walk Through Bird Rock
5. Play Golf At Torrey Pines
6. See A Concert At Rady Shell
7. Get Brunch At Little Frenchie
8. Spend The Day At Hotel Del
9. Map to this itinerary
Day One Morning
Pick Your Parents Up At The Airport
Rent a Cadillac. Or don’t. Just make sure you drive slow past the water to let them see the beautiful view of San Diego Harbor and the downtown skyline, studded with its luxury apartment buildings. Preferably, live in one of those buildings. If not, tell them about your made up friends who live in those buildings. Or that you thought about living there, but the amenities weren’t good enough. Never let them see where you truly live. Take them straight to their hotel.
Day One Afternoon
Go For A Stroll In Balboa Park
Balboa Park is located right in the center of San Diego and is massive – some 1200 acres, which is bigger than Central Park in New York. Balboa Park proper contains within it two golf courses, a naval hospital, a massive sports complex, and the entire San Diego Zoo, but when most people refer to Balboa Park they are talking about the main walking area on the eastern side, where there is El Prado and most of the museums. This is the area we recommend you go take a stroll.
You should park on the east side of the park, somewhere near 6th Avenue and El Prado (there is usually plenty of parking), and walk across the Cabrillo Bridge. The bridge traverses Highway 163 which is itself not much to look at, but if you gaze northwest you will get an aerial view of the San Diego Zoo and all of it’s lush greenery. If you look close enough maybe you will see an animal or two. Maybe not.
Once at the main square of the park, called Plaza de Panama after the 1915 Panama California Exposition, you have your choice of four art museums right off the square. We suggest the Timken, the Mingei, or San Diego Museum of Art.
The Timken
The Timken’s paintings and sculptures come from the private collection of a local wealthy family and includes Rembrandt, Rubens, and some paintings from the Hudson River School. They also have rotating exhibitions of more modern pieces – at the time of writing this they have a piece by Kehinde Whiley, who famously did Barack Obama’s presidential portrait, and that alone is worth a visit. And the best part? Admission to the Timken Museum is free.
The Mingei
The Mingei International Museum is not technically an art museum, but a museum that highlights the day to day crafts of various cultures, modern and ancient, around the world. Mingei means art of the people and the museum has a unique gallery that you won’t find at a tradition art museum. On the first floor of the Mingei is Artifact, a new restaurant that serves upscale lunch fair, but can also be a good place to just have a coffee or a drink and rest.
You can walk to the Botanical Building after its new renovation (to be completed in 2024) or walk through the Japanese Friendship Garden. Or simply stroll El Prado, the main walkway leading through Balboa Park, and enjoy a nice breeze. This is always a lovely place to bring family and will appeal to pretty much anyone.
San Diego Museum Of Art
The San Diego Museum of Art is huge. You could spend hours wandering this museum’s labyrinthine halls and it would be a great way to spend any afternoon. They have an impressive collection of art that you typically don’t find elsewhere – Africa and Oceania, East Asian, Middle Eastern. And of course they have the typical European paintings of cherubic angels and the modern art abstract paintings of “grief” and “felicity”.
Day One Evening
Eat Dinner at Mister A’s
Mr. A’s is located about a block east of Balboa Park, in the Banker’s Hill neighborhood, on the top floor of the Manchester Financial Building, which means Mr. A’s offers probably the best view in San Diego county. It is an iconic part of the San Diego skyline with airplanes passing at eye level. Mr. A’s could easily rely on their view and nothing else to bring customers and money to their restaurant, but the good news is Mr. A’s also serves legitimately good food.
Order a tenderloin with gorgonzola crust or go for broke and get the 12 oz ribeye. A nice red wine and a view of the sunset will impress literally anyone you bring to this spot. We should note that Mr. A’s has a dress code (not all that formal, just don’t wear a wife beater). It is not cheap, but when you go to Mr. A’s you are not going for cheap, you are going for impressive.
Day Two Morning
Get Coffee And A Pastry And Walk Through Bird Rock
Bird Rock is a neighborhood just south of La Jolla which is mostly residential, but has a cute little shopping strip running through the center of town. Get coffee at Bird Rock Coffee Roasters, probably the best coffee in San Diego, and get a pastry and/or sandwich at Wayfarer, a delicious bakery down the street, then cruise around this rich, coastal neighborhood and walk down to Calumet Park. There are benches looking out over the ocean and a nice green lawn where you can sit.
Relax and feel the ocean breeze. Tell your father in law, or whomever you are with, how you thought about buying one of those houses, but the cliffs are unstable so you decided to invest your money in a mutual fund instead. And then hide your phone while you Google what a mutual fund is.
Day Two Afternoon
Play Golf At Torrey Pines
This is easier said than done, but playing golf at Torrey Pines is truly one of the best things you can do in San Diego, even if you are not an avid golfer.
Just hear us out.
First, Torres Pines is a public course, meaning if you are a resident of San Diego you can get an ID card and pay local rates. It doesn’t take much to do this – just follow these instructions. Locals pay around $60-70 for 18 holes on the weekend, less on weekdays, and even less if you show up very early in the morning or late in the afternoon. These are much, much lower than the typical rates for Torrey Pines and they are an incredible bargain for the quality of this course. Your visitors will have to pay the normal rate though, which can be anywhere from $150 to $300.
Second, Torrey Pines Golf Course will appeal to non-golfers too – a ride in the cart or walking along the course is a day spent on a beautiful, massive, well-manicured lawn with majestic views of the ocean. (There’s something about the British and their love of lawns. Golf courses must just be the apex of their lawn making desires… anyway). If you time it to catch the sunset on the 18th hole at Torrey, John Daly or Transfusion in hand, well, my friend, you have just reached expert level San Diego living.
Day Two Evening
See A Concert At Rady Shell
Rady Shell sits on the San Diego Bay, near downtown, and is one of the best concert venues in San Diego, if not the best. Newly built in 2021, The Shell hosts the San Diego Symphony Summer Concert Series, as well as an eclectic line up of bands and other events.
The seating options are diverse – you can pay extra to get a table near the front, which is oftentimes worth it, especially for the symphony shows, but there are cheaper options such as sitting in the grass field in back and bringing your own chairs and blankets for a picnic. The cheapest option is to watch the concert from just outside the venue, on the sidewalk by the water, for free, though they are starting to crack down on this.
The Shell serves alcohol and food and is a simply stunning place to listen to the epic notes of Dvorak’s 9th Symphony or Beethoven’s 5th or The Dixie Chicks first album.
Day Three Morning
Get Brunch At Little Frenchie
Of all the Instagramable places to get brunch, you need one that still serves good food. Little Frenchie serves good food.
Located in the peninsular neighborhood of Coronado, Little Frenchie serves a French-themed brunch and lunch menu with plenty of options Americans will be comfortable with. The location is beautiful and the food is delicious and the best part is you are now in Coronado for the day so you don’t have to get back in your car.
Sunday Afternoon
Spend The Day At The Hotel Del
Hotel del Coronado is an iconic part of the San Diego landscape. Built in the 1880s, the Hotel Del is basically as old as San Diego itself and is a nod back to the grand designs of the developers who came to this part of the country and saw great things.
The hotel has seen many iterations (and many famous faces) over its history and does a good job of maintaining its historic grandeur while accommodating modern sensibilities. Hang out on the deck, sit on the beach in front, get a drink at one of their bars, get food at their acclaimed restaurant Serea, or just walk around. Hotel Del is a great final stop for any visit to San Diego and will leave a lasting impression on those who visit.
If you happen to be visiting during the holidays, see our guide here to Hotel Del during Christmas time (a magical experience).
A Map To This Itinerary
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