20 Attractions to Explore Near Old Town San Diego State Historic Park

Old Town San Diego features acres of Mexican heritage, historical sites, colorful shops, eclectic restaurants, a theater and tons more to explore.Old Town has over 30 restaurants, most with great outdoor dining, and a quaint atmosphere plus there are more than 75 unique places to shop. This historic area is situated next to the State Park with 32 historic sites and shops.

This is an 1857 Greek Revival style residence, a California Historical Landmark,[2] and museum located in Old Town, San Diego. From its rich Greek Revival architecture style and authentic decor to its mysterious past and unrivaled haunted pedigree, it’s no wonder this home attracts visitors from all over the world. Besides being the Whaley family home, it was also San Diego’s first commercial theater, the county courthouse, and a general store.

This is the world's largest accredited model railroad museum. This unique museum contains five enormous scale model layouts depicting railroads of the Southwest in O, HO, and N scales. Its mission is to collect, preserve and present the heritage of American railroading using educational programs, displays, toy trains, and scale models of California railroads.

The Junípero Serra Museum, in Presidio Park, is one of the most familiar landmarks in San Diego. The Museum exhibits archeological finds, historic objects, and reference materials related to Spanish colonization and the early history of California and provides educational programs about the Spanish, Mexican and indigenous heritage of the San Diego region.

Presidio is a national park site like no other, with surprising adventures for everyone. Get away from it all on a trail and enjoy the view from a scenic overlook. The park encompasses about 40 acres and has views of the city, the San Diego River valley, and the Pacific Ocean. The grounds are open for picnics and play. The facilities can be used for weddings and other special events.

A 7-day a week Public Market and event venue offering the best of what the region has to offer. Showcasing a rustic environment with prepared foods, beer, wine, specialty cocktails, produce, fish, desserts and pastries, pastas, arts and crafts, a test kitchen, pop up dinners, and educational driven events.

This is a large peninsular park located within Mission Bay, is a popular location for charity walks and runs, bicycle races, time trials and other special events. It is also the home of the annual Over-the-Line tournament.

An animal theme park, oceanarium, outside aquarium, and marine mammal park. Popular for their animal exhibitions and shows.

A majestic Sea port in San Diego. In addition to port activities, the Port District controls San Diego Bay and owns and manages the Bay's immediate waterfront under the state's Tidelands Trust. The U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics has ranked the Port of San Diego as one of America's top 30 U.S. containership ports bringing in nearly 3 million metric tons of cargo per year through the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal and the National City Marine Terminal.

Manta is a steel launched roller coaster at SeaWorld San Diego in San Diego, California. Manta features two launches. Riders reach speeds of up to 43 miles per hour on the two-minute, 2,800-foot long ride.

This is a 375-foot long pedestrian bridge that stretches across the Kate Sessions Canyon at a height of 70 feet. The bridge is supported by steel cables that are secured to huge slabs of concrete buried in the soil.Today, locals and visitors enjoy a stroll across this bridge for the views and serenity offered in its secluded spot.

San Diego Waterfront Park is a 12-acre open space park surrounding the San Diego County Administration Center. Numerous walkways with intermittent benches wind through the gardens. There are six large civic green lawns, and a long row of reflecting pools with interactive spray fountains.

Established in 1948, it preserves one of the largest collections of historic sea vessels in the United States. The centerpiece of the museum's collection is the Star of India, an 1863 ironbark.

Star of India is an iron-hulled sailing ship, built in 1863 in Ramsey. After a career sailing from Great Britain to India and New Zealand, she was renamed, re-rigged as a barque, and became a salmon hauler on the Alaska to California route. Retired in 1926, she was restored as a seaworthy museum ship in 1962–3 and home-ported at the Maritime Museum of San Diego in San Diego, California. She is the oldest ship still sailing regularly and also the oldest iron-hulled merchant ship still afloat.

This is one of the most visited landmarks in San Diego County. The pier extends 1971 feet into the ocean and is purported to be the longest concrete fishing pier on the west coast.

The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego offers access to the very best art of our time at two iconic locations. While the La Jolla location is currently closed for a major renovation and expansion project, the downtown location serves as MCASD's primary hub of activity. The Museum of Contemporary Art has a nearly 5,500-object collection of post-World War II art that includes key pieces by color field painter Ellsworth Kelly.

This anthropology museum's cultural resources and permanent exhibits focus on the pre-Columbian history of the western Americas, with materials drawn from Native American cultures of the Southern California region, and Mesoamerican civilizations such as the Maya. The museum also holds one of the most important collections of Ancient Egyptian antiquities in the United States, which includes burial masks, figurines, and seven painted wooden coffins. The most extraordinary of these is an extremely

The California Tower, the soaring, intricately detailed, portion of the California Building, is an icon of San Diego, and can be seen from miles around. The building houses the San Diego Museum of Us. This beautiful structure is an architectural hybrid of architectural different styles, including Baroque, Plateresque, Churrigueresque, and Rococo, with some Gothic details.

A historical naval aircraft carrier museum. The museum consists of the aircraft carrier Midway. The ship houses an extensive collection of aircraft, many of which were built in Southern California.

With over 4 million visitors, San Diego Zoo is the most visited zoo in the United States. Housing more than 3,500 animals of more than 650 species and subspecies, San Diego Zoo was a pioneer in the concept of open-air, cageless exhibits that re-create natural animal habitats.