Population: San Diego has a population of 1.2 million, making it the second-largest city in the state of California.Ĭlimate/weather: Average daily temperatures hover around 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and almost three quarters of days are sunny, which means the weather is generally so perfectly mild that you don't even think about it. In nightlife areas, like Pacific Beach and the Gaslamp Quarter, keep an extra eye out for drunken drivers. The roads can also be treacherous, with heavy traffic and a complicated freeway system (plus, San Diego's not known for having the world's best drivers). Vigilance will serve you well when walking alone at night through certain neighborhoods, especially those to the south and east of downtown, and on the beaches after dark. Safety: San Diego may be the sixth-safest big city in the United States, according to city police officials, but crime is no stranger to these polished, well-manicured streets. San Diego's uptown neighborhoods (like Hillcrest, University Heights, and North Park) are located in the elevated area above downtown, on the north side of Balboa Park. Much of the action occurs west of Interstate 5, the artery that runs north/south through the city and perpendicular to Interstate 8, which runs through Mission Valley and connects the beaches to suburban areas farther east. General orientation: San Diego's downtown area is located on the shores of San Diego Bay across from Coronado, with popular beach areas like La Jolla, Pacific Beach (or PB) and Mission Beach situated a few miles north near the city's smaller Mission Bay. ©2006 La Jolla has one of the most gorgeous beaches in the San Diego area.
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There are also neighboring cities that make up the San Diego metropolitan area, including Chula Vista, El Cajon, La Mesa, Encinitas, Carlsbad, Oceanside, and Escondido, plus dozens of smaller towns in between. Mission Bay swirls inland from the Pacific, isolating a skinny strip of sand known as Mission Beach, while the larger San Diego Bay separates downtown from the "island" of Coronado (which is actually a peninsula).
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Like Los Angeles, San Diego is a sprawling mass of suburbs and neighborhoods.Ĭentral San Diego is full of hills and valleys, and the city's 70 miles of coastal terrain ranges from the wide, flat, sandy swaths at places like Pacific Beach and La Jolla Shores to the rugged cliffs of Ocean Beach and Torrey Pines. Geography and landscape: Situated on the southwest corner of California, San Diego is the southernmost big city in the state, bounded loosely by mountain ranges and deserts to the east and by the Mexican border to the south. ©2006 Edward O'Connor The San Diego Padres play baseball at state-of-the-art Petco Park.
But there's more to San Diego than surf, sunshine, and sand. Kids get to keep busy while splashing around with dolphins at SeaWorld San Diego, hanging with blockheads at Legoland, and exploring the microcosms of sea life in endlessly fascinating tide pools.Īnd the coast, as always, remains some of the world's most beautiful sunsets can, and should, be enjoyed here. San Diego fosters a vital arts and cultural scene, with dozens of museums and theaters, plus grown-up pursuits like classical music and opera. San Diego is also home to the largest urban cultural park in the United States - Balboa Park.
Year-round amazing weather makes San Diego one of the country's best places for outdoor recreation, including surfing at clothing-optional Black's Beach and kayaking around the caves at La Jolla Cove. Recent decades have seen San Diego's downtown transformed into a highly-trafficked entertainment mecca, with giant dance clubs, low-key lounges, and see-and-be-seen bars, plus restaurant after restaurant serving every cuisine imaginable, not to mention a brand-new park for the city's baseball team, the San Diego Padres. Forget what you think you know, because San Diego never ceases to surprise.īeautiful Beaches Image Gallery The Best of San Diego This is a city defined by its literal position on the edge.