Balboa Park-Hillcrest

See

Most of Balboa Park's museums offer free admission one Tuesday per month to residents of San Diego County and to active-duty military and dependents.

Museums

See San Diego Model Railroad Museum

If you have kids or know a train buff, a visit to this fantastic museum should be high on your list. Just like the name suggests, this institution is dedicated to model railroading, with some of the largest model railroad layouts in the world. There are also some interactive exhibits and displays on the history of railroads in San Diego.

📍 1649 El Pradoin Casa de Balboa🕒 Tue-Fri 11AM-4PM, Sat Sun 11AM-5PM💲 $10 adults, $7 seniors (65+), $5 military, $4.50 students, $2 children (6-14) free for ages 5 and under☎ +1 619-696-0199⚠ Last checked Aug 2015 — confirm before you go

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Art museums

See San Diego Museum of Art

The largest art museum in the region, with European, contemporary, and Latin American art, 19th and 20th century American art, and an Asian collection. There are also changing exhibitions, featuring show major art shows.

📍 1450 El Prado🕒 Thu-Sat, Mon-Tue 10AM-5PM, Sun noon-5PM (closed Wednesdays)💲 $12 adults, $9 seniors/military, $8 students, $4.50 children, free for children 6 and under☎ +1 619-232-7931

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See Timken Museum of Art

A small art museum with collections of lesser-known pieces from famous European old masters, American, and Russian painters.

📍 1500 El Prado🕒 Tue-Sat 10AM-4:30PM, Sun noon-4:30PM💲 Free☎ +1 619-239-5548

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Science and technology museums

See Reuben H. Fleet Science Center

This popular science museum is filled with dozens of interactive exhibits of interest to children, young adults and grown-ups too. There's also an IMAX theater in the building, one of the world's first.

📍 1875 El Prado🕒 Mon-Thu 10AM-5PM, Fri-Sun 10AM-6PM💲 $20 adults, $18 seniors, $17 children, free for children under 3 (theater admission separate)☎ +1 619-238-1233⚠ Last checked Aug 2015 — confirm before you go

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See San Diego Air and Space Museum

You may notice the museum as you fly into San Diego - the circular building is centered around a navy PBY flying boat and features exhibits detailing the history of manned flight, from the first planes to space travel, with lots of full-scale models of aerodynamic craft. Among the highlights is an exhibit on San Diego native Charles Lindberg, whose famous flight on his Spirit of St. Louis began in San Diego.

📍 2001 Pan American Plaza🕒 Daily 10AM-4PM (open until 5PM in the summer)💲 $18 adults, $15 seniors/students/veterans, $9 children, free for children 2 and under/active military☎ +1 619-234-8291⚠ Last checked Aug 2015 — confirm before you go

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See San Diego Museum of US

It's beneath the majestic California Tower near the Cabrillo Bridge. The Museum of Man is an institution devoted entirely to anthropology. The museum's permanent collection includes exhibits on the Mayan, ancient Egypt, the Kumeyaay Indians of San Diego County, Human Evolution, and the Human Life Cycle, with some incredible displays such as mummies, ancient artifacts from prehistoric cultures, and replicas of ancient monuments.

📍 1350 El Prado🕒 Sun-Wed 10AM-5PM, Thu-Sat 10AM-8:30PM💲 $12.50 adults, $10 seniors/military, $8 students, $6 children, free for children under 3☎ +1 619-239-2001⚠ Last checked Aug 2015 — confirm before you go

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San Diego Zoo

See San Diego Zoo

An absolutely enormous and world-renowned zoological institution, the San Diego Zoo showcases more than 4,000 rare and endangered animals, including many exotic animals from all over the world, such as apes, hippos, polar bears, tigers, bears, lions, elephants, koalas, kangaroos, zebras, reptiles, hundreds of species of birds, and a whole lot of species of animals that are less well-known.

📍 2920 Zoo Droff of Park Blvd at Zoo Place🕒 9AM–5PM (extended hours in the summer)💲 $71/adult, $61/child, free for children under 3 (includes Guided Bus Tour and Bus/Aerial Tram rides; multi-park passes including admission to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and Sea World are also available)☎ +1 619-231-1515Checked Apr 2023

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The many expansive and well-designed exhibits throughout the park provide a natural setting for the zoo's animals, with the exhibits generally divided up by continent; the major areas are Discovery Outpost (where you'll find most of the reptiles and a children's petting zoo), Lost Forest (with several large bird aviaries, most of the apes, Tiger Trail, Hippo Trail, and African rain forest animals), Northern Frontier (arctic animals, including polar bears), Asian Passage, Outback (Australian animals), and Urban Jungle and Elephant Odyssey (which together hold animals of the African savanna). The terrain of the park, with plateaus, steep canyons, and wide flat areas, creates an expansive setting with many hidden corners and less-beaten paths.

The zoo is so large that you really need to devote several hours—if not a whole day—to seeing it all. Visiting in the winter will mean fewer crowds and cooler weather, but visiting in the summer has the benefit of extended hours. Buses provide a way to get around the zoo. A special guided bus tour using double-decker buses takes you around much of the zoo without stopping, while the Kangaroo Buses (both double and single-decker) allow you to get on and off in different parts of the zoo. In addition, the Skyfari aerial tram provides a quick shortcut to get from one side of the zoo clear out to the other, providing magnificent views of the zoo. If you decide to walk around, moving walkways make traversing some of the steeper sections easier.

Do

• Balboa Park's many gardens provide a scenic and quiet escape from the bustle of the city or a relaxing break between museum visits. Many of the gardens follow specific themes, with desert species, flowers, native species, a Moorish garden, a rose garden, and a Japanese garden. The highlight of Balboa's botanical collection is the Botanical Building, a historic structure which contains an adjacent lily pond and numerous species of ferns, orchids, palms, and other tropical plants. (The Botanical Building was closed for renovation in January 2022, and is projected to reopen in late 2023 or early 2024.)
• Near the entrance of the San Diego Zoo, the Balboa Park Carousel and the Balboa Park Miniature Railroad provide an entertaining diversion for kids. Each charges $2 per ride per person. The Spanish Village Art Center, a historic landmark built for an exposition in the 1930s, is a community home to many artists and art studios.
• There are many hiking and biking trails through Balboa Park. One of the most popular running/walking trails is a 5.5-mile route that’s compatible with all fitness levels and starts and ends at C Street and 6th Avenue in Downtown and heads north, running past bridges, canyons, creeks, flower-covered hillsides, and gardens. There is also a 0.41-mile Balboa Park bike path which begins at Upas Street and Seventh Avenue, near the northwest corner of Balboa Park. The level of difficulty is well above average here as there are several steep descends, sharp turns, and a bridge that crosses highway 163. In several areas, bicyclists must dismount and walk, for safety.

Performing arts

Do Old Globe Theatre

The original theater, designed to copy Shakespeare's theatre in London, was built in 1935 for the California Pacific International Exposition in only 32 days and featured shortened versions of Shakespeare plays. In 1941, the U.S. Navy ordered the Old Globe to remove equipment and records for a period of 24 hours -- the Navy had acquired Balboa Park for use during World War II. By the summer of 1947, the federal government returned the park to the City of San Diego. In 1978 the theatre was destroyed by fire; a rebuilt theatre opened in 1982. The area hosts three stages including the Old Globe itself, the Cassius Carter Centre Stage, and an outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theater. You will usually have to purchase tickets in advance.

☎ +1 619-234-5623

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Do Spreckels Organ Pavilion

Home to one of the world's largest outdoor pipe organs, the Spreckels Pavilion holds a number of free - yes, free of charge - concerts throughout the year.

☎ +1 619-702-8138

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Events

• San Diego's St. Patrick's Day Parade takes place each March in Hillcrest, with the parade running along 6th Avenue on the west side of Balboa Park, followed up by an Irish festival with traditional music, food, and a Celtic village.
• The San Diego LGBT Pride Parade and festival takes place during Pride Weekend each July in Hillcrest, with a music festival, a block party, a rally, and a major parade running down University and 6th Avenues.
• Cityfest is a huge street festival that takes place every August in Hillcrest, with lots of arts, crafts, food and entertainment.
• December Nights takes places in Balboa Park the first weekend of each December and is a celebration of the holiday season, with plenty of food, crafts, and entertainment at the park's various museums, which are free of charge during the event. The park is decked out in spectacular light displays, which remain up for the remainder of the holiday season.

Buy

Most of the museums in Balboa Park contain gift shops specializing in merchandise and items specific to that museum, like art shops at the art museums, science toys at the science museums, zoo stuff at the zoo, etc. There's also a general gift shop at the Balboa Park Visitors Center in the House of Hospitality, where you can purchase postcards and the like. In addition, the Spanish Village Art Center contains a number of art studios where you can purchase arts and crafts directly from the artist.

The Thursday Club, in Balboa Park, is one of the largest antique markets in the city and is held annually, usually sometime in March. Crowds start lining up for this event early in the morning, and bargains galore can always be found at this very well attended event.

Eat

Expect food to be overpriced(or very expensive) in Balboa Park. Most food options in the park revolve around museum cafes, as there aren't many stand-alone restaurants in the park. You can find a cafe in the Casa de Balboa building, the House of Hospitality, the Natural History Museum, the Science Center, the Old Globe Theater, the Sports Museum, and the Museum of Art. There is a tea pavilion at the Japanese Friendship garden, just south of the House of Hospitality. There are also snack carts around Balboa Park. The San Diego Zoo also provides a number of eating options.

Balboa Park

Hillcrest

Hillcrest, on the other hand, has numerous fine restaurants:

Drink

Sleep