San Diego County - 89 Attractions You Must Visit

The museum located in Balboa Park. It was founded in 1874 as the San Diego Society of Natural History. It is the second oldest scientific institution west of the Mississippi and the oldest 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.

This is a 1,800 acre zoo in the San Pasqual Valley area of San Diego, California, near Escondido. It is one of the largest tourist attractions in San Diego County. The park houses a large array of wild and endangered animals including species from the continents of Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America, and Australia. The park is also Southern California's quarantine center for zoo animals imported into the United States through San Diego.

This is a popular beach camping destination along the San Diego County coast. The campsite is great for family and friends. It is located on a bluff right above the beach. It is perfect for photographers everywhere to get that perfect shot of a sunset.The beach is enjoyed by surfers, snorkelers, divers, and beach combers. Anglers like to cast their lines into the surf here.

Seaport Village is a waterfront shopping and dining complex adjacent to San Diego Bay in downtown San Diego. It houses more than 70 shops, galleries, and eateries on 90,000 square feet of waterfront property. The Village contains several freestanding buildings in an assortment of architectural styles, from Victorian to traditional Mexican.

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

A majestic theme park of its kind in the United States and the first on the West Coast based on Sesame Street. The park is ideal for families with kids of all ages and will feature 18 Sesame Street-themed rides and exciting water attractions, including a family-friendly rollercoaster and a 500,000-gallon wave pool – one of the largest in Southern California.

Shelter Island is a neighborhood of Point Loma in San Diego, California. It is actually not an island but is connected to the mainland by a narrow strip of land. The "island" is 1.2 miles long and only a few hundred feet wide. A single street, Shelter Island Drive, runs the length of Shelter Island and also connects it to the mainland via a causeway lined with marine-related businesses.

Silver Strand, is a low, narrow, sandy isthmus or tombolo 7 miles long in San Diego County, California partially within the Silver Strand State Beach. The beach offers many activities including camping, surfing, swimming, body boarding, jet skiing, sailing, water skiing, beach volleyball and fishing.

A beautiful beach that offers swimming, surfing, boating, kayaking, water-skiing, volleyball, camping and picnicking. It encompasses both the San Diego Bay and Pacific Ocean sides of the strand, is a little farther off the beaten path of the highly popular beaches in Ocean Beach and Mission Beach, offering more solitude for those who wish to avoid beach crowds.

Soledad Mountain is a prominent landmark in the city of San Diego, California, United States. The mountaintop is the site of the Mount Soledad Cross, the subject of a 25-year controversy over the involvement of religion in government which concluded in 2016. The 823-foot mountain[1] lies between Interstate 5 to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west.

A wonderful art centre located in San Diego's Balboa Park, in the U.S. state of California. Located between the Zoo and theNAT these quaint buildings and colorful courtyard were originally built in 1935. They depicted a charming old village in Spain for the second California Pacific International Exposition. Over the last 60+ years, San Diego artists have continued to preserve and enhance this historical landmark by adding to its beauty.

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.

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.

Sunny Jim Cave is one of seven unique La Jolla Cove caves. Having been open to the public since 1903, the cave boasts a fascinating history and a little bit of folklore. This fun attraction is a store that has a 143 step man-made tunnel built into it that heads down to a large sea cave below. Since the early 1900s, it has been giving visitors access to this cave year-round. It is the only cave in La Jolla you can get to without traveling over water on a kayak.

Sunset Cliffs Park is a 68-acre park that extends 1.5 miles along Point Loma peninsula's western shoreline.The park's topography includes intricately carved coastal bluffs, arches and sea caves. It affords inspiring panoramic ocean views.There are surfing spots below the cliffs. The cliffside trails are popular for walking and for watching the sunset, but are undeveloped and can be dangerous.

A beautiful beach and a famous surfing mecca at the south end of Encinitas, CA. The park at Swami’s Beach is a great vantage point for watching surfers and has shaded areas to enjoy a picnic as well. Several cafes, including Swami’s Cafe, and other restaurants are just a short walk north on Highway 101.

The New Children's Museum is an arts-based children's museum in downtown San Diego. The Museum inspires new ways to see the world through the language of art. Including a cafe, abundant seating, quiet space for parents and infants and an outdoor park. This Museum empowers children to think, play and create through participatory exhibitions, engaging art-making activities, captivating artistic performances, and in-depth educational opportunities.

Fine arts museum housing a broad collection with particular strength in Spanish art. The exhibits ranges in date from 5000 BC to 2012 AD.

The Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve is one of 30 Reserves in the United States. It encompasses the Tijuana River Estuary, located on the Mexico–United States border. This reserve is a good place for bird-watching since as many as 370 bird species. Visitors of all ages can come to the visitor center for activities. Among the activities are videos that can be shown upon request, and it is shown in both English and Spanish.