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San Diego Holidays, Hotels & Travel Guide
Travel guide to hotels & holidays in San Diego
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San Diego Holidays Overview
A guide to holidays in San Diego - San Diego characterises a typical Southern
Californian beach city: with year-round sunshine and surf; a superb
coastline with miles of sandy-white beaches; easygoing inhabitants,
and a wide variety of world-class family attractions that draws
tourists, long-time vacationers and would-be residents to
'America's finest city'.
Although California's
second biggest city with an ever-increasing population of more than
a million, San Diego prides itself on its conservative small-town
ambience, with very little of the pollution, highway congestion and
raciness of Los Angeles. In 1769 a Spanish missionary by the name
of Father Junipero Serra established a Catholic mission and
fortified settlement in what was later to become San Diego; it was
the first permanent European settlement on the West Coast of the
United States. It remained a village backwater until, with the
bombing of Pearl Harbour during World War II, the US Naval Fleet
Headquarters was relocated to San Diego Bay and the booming of
wartime activity transformed it into a thriving city.
The city is a vibrant collection of colourful
neighbourhoods and communities. It has award-winning restaurants,
trendy shopping districts, attractions such as the world-renowned
San Diego Zoo and SeaWorld, and a dynamic downtown district that
includes the city's historic Gaslamp Quarter. There are numerous
indications of its Mexican and Spanish heritage: in the
architecture, the typical Mexican cuisine, and the strong links
with the town of Tijuana just across the Mexican border.
San Diego is also rich in art and culture and the city
boasts the largest urban cultural park in the US, with beautiful
gardens and Spanish architecture featuring 15 museums, art
galleries and theatres to be found in Balboa Park. More than 70
miles (113km) of beaches around the city offer superb surfing and
beach activities and provide the perfect introduction to this
accessible and laid-back city.
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San Diego
holidays - Top Places To Go
1. Balboa Park
1549 El Prado
www.balboapark.org |
What is it? Balboa Park contains one of the biggest
groups of museums in the USA, many of them housed in magnificent
Spanish-Mexican buildings, in addition to more than 85 Performing
Arts and International Culture Organisations including theatres
like the internationally acclaimed Old Globe Theatre, and several
art galleries. The park also houses the world-renowned San Diego
Zoo with more than 800 species in spacious re-created natural
habitats. The oldest and most famous of the 15 museums is the
Reuben H Fleet Science Centre with a big screen Omnimax Theatre and
virtual reality simulator that transports visitors to outer space.
Other museums cover a wide range of interests, including cars and
motorbikes, anthropology, various forms of art, and natural
history. The Spanish Village Art Centre provides a traditional
ancient village setting for viewing sculpture, painting,
glassblowing and pottery performed by crafts people in classic
tiled-roofed studios. The park has numerous features and facilities
including golf courses, hiking and cycling trails, promenades,
extensive landscaped gardens and horticultural treasures, a
Japanese Friendship Garden, fountains and restaurants, a pavilion
for Sunday afternoon concerts and the world's largest outdoor
organ.
Hours of Operation: The visitor centre is open daily from 9.30am to
4.30pm (5pm in summer). Some museums are closed on Mondays, but the
zoo, science centre and Spanish Village Art Centre are open
daily
Phone:(619) 239 0512 |
2. San Diego Zoo
2920 Zoo Drive, Balboa Park
www.sandiegozoo.org |
What is it? The San Diego Zoo is one of the city's
biggest attractions and has a worldwide reputation for its
enlightened management program, worldwide conservation efforts,
natural animal environments and most notably its success in
breeding endangered species in captivity for reintegration into
their natural habitats (together with the Wild Animal Park north of
the city). It is the only zoo to have successfully bred Chinese
giant pandas in captivity. The zoo houses more than 4,000 mammals,
birds and reptiles. Many rare and endangered animals roam simulated
natural habitats, while tourists follow walkways and bridges,
passing waterfalls, tropical forests, sandy plateaus, arctic
tundra, and bird aviaries. The 100-acre (40-hectare) park can be
explored on foot, on narrated open-air trams, hop-on-and-off buses,
or above the ground on the aerial Skyfari tram or hot air balloon.
One of the highlights is the Tiger River Asian rainforest with
animal enclosures situated along misty trails enhanced by
waterfalls and exotic plants. It features tigers, pythons, tapirs
and crocodiles. Other highlights include the Gorilla Tropics, Sun
Bear Forest, polar bears in a simulated freezer, and the Ituri
Forest Exhibit that features African buffaloes, monkeys and hippos.
There is also a Children's Zoo where small animals such as bunnies,
goats and sheep can be petted, and the nursery where the latest
arrivals are looked after. An outdoor amphitheatre has daily sea
lion and other animal shows.
Hours of Operation: Open daily from 9am to 10pm (Mid-June to
mid-September), and from 9am to 4pm (mid-September to
mid-June)
Phone:(619) 234 3153 |
3. SeaWorld
500 SeaWorld Drive, Mission Bay
www.seaworld.com |
What is it? On the shores of Mission Bay is one of San
Diego's best-known attractions whose mascot, the resident killer
whale Shamu, has for many become synonymous with the city. SeaWorld
is a leader in marine conservation and plays an important role in
rescuing and rehabilitating animals found beached along the West
Coast. It is also one of the world's largest marine entertainment
parks and is a source of education as well as family recreation.
The park is best known for its work with killer whales (Orcas) and
dolphins, and the Dolphin Interaction Program provides the
experience of feeding, stroking and wading with bottlenose dolphins
(requiring advance booking and an additional fee). SeaWorld's
favourite attractions are its arena shows that run throughout the
day, highlighting the behaviours and talents of trained marine
mammals such as sea lions, walruses, otters, dolphins and killer
whales. Most of the exhibits are walk-through marine environments
like the Penguin Encounter that passes through a glass-enclosed
Antarctica with remarkable emperor penguins sliding over glaciers
into the icy water. The walk-through glass tube that passes through
the Shark House affords frightening face-to-face encounters.
Adventure rides include the Shipwreck Rapids ride with its
turbulent rivers and underground canyons, the exhilarating Journey
to Atlantis and the virtual-reality trip to the world of beluga
whales, polar bears and walruses of the Wild Arctic. During summer
peak hours the shows and more popular exhibits can be very crowded
with long queues.
Hours of Operation: Open daily, but park hours vary according to the
season. Generally open from 9am to 10pm (summer) and from 10am to
5pm (September to May)
Phone:1 800 257 4268 or 800 380 3203 (recorded
information) |
San Diego
holidays - Top Events
1. Mardi Gras
From 2007-02-20
To 2007-02-20
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What is it? The last day before Lent every year, the
Gaslamp Quarter erupts in an outdoor festival of purple, green and
gold, the traditional colours of Carnival. Celebrations include
live bands and dancing, Cajun food specials, block parties and
flamboyant costumes. The evening's highlight is the Masquerade
Parade that features bands, dancers, floats and thousands of
colourful plastic beads that are thrown to the happy
revellers.
Where is it? Gaslamp Quarter |
2. San Diego Street Scene
From
To
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What is it? One of the biggest music festivals in
California, Street Scene offers a weekend of brazen festivities
with music, dancing, food and drink. Although the main focus is on
the variety of musicians and bands of all styles, from rock, pop
and reggae to blues and samba, there are also stalls lining the
streets, theme lounges, karaoke stages and late-night clubs and
restaurants.
Where is it? Gaslamp, downtown |
3. Dead Sea Scrolls
From 2007-06-29
To 2007-12-31
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What is it? The Dead Sea Scrolls are one of the greatest
archaeological finds of the 20th century, and one of the world's
greatest treasures, discovered in 1947 in caves along the shores of
the Dead Sea in Israel. Considered to be the oldest copies of the
books of the Hebrew Bible, the scrolls are written on parchment and
papyrus in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek written around 250 BC. For the
first time ever, some of these will be on show, forming the largest
and most inclusive exhibition of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and will go
on to be exhibited around the world after San Diego. The exhibition
includes scrolls of the biblical books of Isaiah, Psalms, Job and
Leviticus, as well as the Ten Commandments; illuminated biblical
manuscripts; and a collection of ancient
artefacts.
Where is it? San Diego Natural History Museum |
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