Skyline of the Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego

Things to do in Gaslamp Quarter San Diego

Named for the lanterns that used to light its picturesque Victorian Streets, the 16 blocks of San Diego’s historic Gaslamp Quarter are now the heart of the city’s buzzing nightlife scene. Despite its relatively diminutive size the Gaslamp (as the locals call it) packs a powerful punch, with some fine 19th-century architecture, a smattering of museums, great dive bars and some of the best entertainment in town. Check out our 10 favorite things to do in Gaslamp Quarter San Diego below.

Take a Walk Down Historic 5th Avenue

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The Gaslamp Quarter has bags of architectural charm, with attractive historic buildings to be found around nearly every corner. Take a stroll along 5th Avenue to spot some of the best. Built in 1888, the Louis Bank of Commerce at number 835 is an impressive Baroque Revival confection, distinguishable by its elaborate facade and protruding turrets. Also look out for the Yuma Building at number 631. This Art Deco vision in red brick has brightly painted bay windows and twin spires on top. Don’t forget to snap a selfie at the famous Gaslamp Quarter sign – you’ll find it on the corner of 5th and L Street.

Visit The Gaslamp Museum

Step back in time inside downtown San Diego’s oldest surviving structure. Built in Portland in 1850, this unassuming traditional timber-framed ‘saltbox’ house was later deconstructed and shipped to San Diego via Cape Horn and has been standing in the same spot ever since. Wander through the hushed Victorian rooms with their thick carpets and period furniture to learn about former inhabitants including Alonzo Horton, the ‘father of San Diego’, who lived here in the late 1860s and early 70s. The museum also boasts a gift shop for unusual souvenirs and – believe it or not – a resident spook.

Sample the Nightlife

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If this lively downtown neighborhood is known for anything, it’s the fab nightlife. Try some of San Diego’s famously excellent craft beers in an atmospheric dive bar, or head to one of the many rooftop venues for great cocktails and live music. As well as a whole bunch of nightclubs, there’s top-flight entertainment to be found at the likes of the American Comedy Company’s open mic nights and the non-stop party that is The Shout! House’s Dueling Pianos show, where high-energy entertainment, raucous sing-alongs and dancing all night long are par for the course.

Take the Kids to The New Children’s Museum

Let the kids get creative at this excellent interactive museum on W Island Avenue. Inside, the labyrinth of colorful little rooms filled with fun activities and exhibits will blow their tiny minds and keep them entertained for hours. Installations are ever-changing, but you can expect the likes of immersive mini theaters for imaginative role play, colorful murals, brain-bending puzzles, even a giant crocheted hammock that kids can climb inside and explore. There are also studios and workshops where they can unleash their messiest artistic streaks with paint, clay and more.

See the San Diego Padres in Action

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Just a block from the Gaslamp over in the East Village, Petco Park is home to the San Diego Padres. Grab a hot dog, a beer and – of course – a giant foam finger, and soak up the thrilling atmosphere at a Major League Baseball game. And, if baseball isn’t your thing, keep an eye out for concert listings: this enormous stadium has hosted shows by some of the world’s biggest names, including Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney, Madonna and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

See Some Fine Art

Just north of the Gaslamp on Kettner Avenue, the Museum of Contemporary Art is a smaller outpost of the museum’s main galleries in La Jolla. But don’t let that put you off! Works created post-1950, including sculpture, painting, photography and installations are collected here in the huge, light-filled gallery of the historic former Santa Fe Depot baggage building. Expect Pop Art, conceptual art, art from up-and-coming and emerging artists and permanent commissions by established artists including Richard Serra and Jenny Holzer.

Shop Til You Drop

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The Gaslamp is a shoppers’ paradise, with boutique after independent boutique selling the latest fashions, vintage accessories, fine jewelry, unique works of art and more. The Gaslamp Artisan Market brings dozens of stalls selling fresh produce, street food and handcrafted artisan bits and bobs to the neighborhood every weekend. Grab yourself some brunch at one of the many cute eateries then while away an hour or two browsing for one-of-a-kind souvenirs.

Go See a Show

Head for the historic Balboa, a former moviehouse and vaudeville theater with some 100 years of history. Inside, ornate decorative moldings and a tiled dome create a suitably evocative setting for touring Broadway productions such as Wicked, Cats and The Book of Mormon as well as concerts by rock royalty – previous performers to have graced the stage here include Patti Smith, Willie Nelson, John Legend, Tori Amos and Nick Cave.

Step Aboard an Aircraft Carrier

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The USS Midway Museum at Navy Pier honors the United States' longest-serving 20th-century aircraft carrier, which saw service between 1945 and 1992 before finding its permanent home here in San Diego. Airplane enthusiasts will be in seventh heaven, with oodles of magnificent flying machines to admire, including a SDB Dauntless dive bomber from the Second World War and an F9F-P Cougar from the Korean War. Play captain up on the bridge, climb into a cockpit and hear great stories and anecdotes about the USS Midway from the fantastic volunteer crew.

Chill Out in Horton Plaza Park

Horton Plaza is hard to miss – that’s because it’s the only square in the tiny Gaslamp Quarter. Grab yourself an ice cream from the pavilion and watch the world go by from the amphitheater steps, or sprawled on one of the grassy lawns. The large, ornate fountain on the plaza dates back to 1910 and is surrounded by palm trees – it’s a relaxing spot to while away a few idle moments in the famous San Diego sunshine.

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Stuart Bak
Stuart Bak
Freelance travel writer

Stu caught the travel bug at an early age, thanks to childhood road trips to the south of France squeezed into the back of a Ford Cortina with two brothers and a Sony Walkman. Now a freelance writer living on the Norfolk coast, Stu has produced content for travel giants including Frommer’s, British Airways, Expedia, Mr & Mrs Smith, and now Go City. His most memorable travel experiences include drinking kava with the locals in Fiji and pranging a taxi driver’s car in the Honduran capital.

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Best Cruises in San Diego

San Diego Bay is second to none when it comes to world-class beaches, shops, restaurants and entertainment, not to mention those swoonsome sunsets so typical of the SoCal coastline. You might find yourself hiking the pine-scented bluffs of La Jolla, diving kelp forests at Point Loma, fishing for herring from the historic Ocean Beach Pier, sipping craft beer on the Mission Bay boardwalk, or toasting s’mores at sundown on lively Pacific Beach. But there’s just as much fun to be had on the water, with sport and snorkeling activities aplenty as well as plenty of opportunities to go exploring and whale-watching by boat. Read on for our guide to making the best of the Bay (and beyond) with our pick of the best cruises in San Diego… The Harbor Cruise The classic harbor cruise is a must-do for newbies, as essential a San Diego activity as experiencing the Gaslamp Quarter nightlife, saying hey to the La Jolla seals, or ogling Monet masterpieces in the San Diego Museum of Art. Here’s your chance to kick back, relax and let the crew do the sightseeing for you. Landmarks you’ll spot along the way include Seaport Village (pictured), Coronado Island, the Cabrillo National Monument, and the Old Point Loma Lighthouse on the tip of the peninsula. Crew will also be on hand to serve drinks and point out any native marine life along the way. The San Diego Harbor cruise can be booked via a variety of different operators – the 90-minute City Cruises experience is one of the best and is available as part of the money-saving San Diego attraction pass from Go City. Get more info on pass options here. The Whale-Watching Cruise If viewing whales and dolphins in their natural habitat is on your bucket list, you’ve come to the right place. San Diego’s balmy waters are prime territory for marine mammals: gray whales cruise through the bay en route to and from Mexico’s calving lagoons in winter and spring, while blues cruise the same aquatic highway in summer. Pods of dolphins and colonies of harbor seals mean you rarely have to wait long before some sort of sighting.  Boat tours depart daily from Downtown and Mission Bay, with many guaranteeing a refund in the unlikely event you do fail to set eyes on any of our splendid sea-faring friends. The Speed Boat Cruise Take it up a notch (or seven) on a speed boat adventure across San Diego Bay. Ok, so this one is less a cruise and more of a white-knuckle ride (depending on who’s doing the driving, of course). Just pick up your 13-foot, two-person cruiser and, well, the Bay is your oyster. Maybe you’ll cruise over for close-up views of the USS Midway aircraft museum, or meander down to admire the curvaceous Coronado Bridge, a 200-meter engineering masterpiece in concrete and steel that links Coronado Island to the mainland. Or, y’know, you can just spend the whole time doing donuts in the harbor. The choice is yours. Speed boat hire is also available as part of the Go City San Diego pass. The Coronado Ferry Cruise The cute old-fashioned ferry that chugs across the bay from San Diego to Coronado Island is hands-down the most romantic way to travel between the two. Hop aboard at Broadway Pier (every hour) or San Diego Convention Center (every half-hour) to reach the island in just a few short minutes. There’s plenty to do once on the island, too, from selfies at the iconic Hotel del Coronado (pictured) to farmers’ markets, coastal cycling adventures, and firepit s’mores on the beach. Check out our guide to all things Coronado here. The Amphibious Cruise San Diego SEAL Tours offers the best of both sightseeing worlds thanks to its amphibious ‘boats with wheels’. Board at Seaport Village or the Embarcadero for a 100-minute narrated tour that takes you on one of San Diego’s best ‘cruises’ first through the scenic streets of downtown San Diego then into the water. Transformation from bus to boat complete, the tour continues to sights including the millionaire mansions at Point Loma, Shelter Island, and the world-famous Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The Foodie Cruise Everybody knows serious sightseeing can be hungry work. What better way to acknowledge this than by booking one of San Diego’s top brunch or dinner cruises? Again, there are loads of different operators to pick from, but City Cruises are among the most reputable locally. Get your sea legs on for a two-hour brunch/sightseeing experience that includes pastries, eggs, smoked salmon and more, plus unlimited mimosas during the two-hour cruise. Or, if you prefer to wait until the sun’s over the yardarm, opt for a dinner cruise that promises cocktails, a la carte dining, live DJs and swoonsome views of the San Diego skyline at sunset. The Gondola Cruise Like your cruise experiences a little more… quirky? San Diego Gondola Cruises has just the thing for you! As the name suggests, this experience brings a little slice of Venice to Southern California, with your choice of daytime or sunset cruises of the Coronado Cays aboard a Venetian-style gondola. The ride comes complete with stripy-shirted gondolier, traditional Italian music, and (for an extra charge) a real-life mandolin player. You can even add wine and truffles to the 50-minute experience. Who said romance is dead? The Fishing Cruise The waters around San Diego are rich in sea bass, rock fish, halibut, yellowtail and more. Why else did you think so many dolphins, seals and gulls hang out along the coastline here? There’s a wide range of fishing charters available, from half-day local forays into the harbor and kelp fields to epic voyages into Mexican waters for prized game including dorado and bluefin tuna. Check out the plethora of local operators to find the trip that best suits your skill level and preferred catches. Save on Tours, Attractions and Activities in San Diego Save on admission to San Diego attractions with Go City. Check out @GoCity on Instagram for the latest top tips and attraction info.
Stuart Bak
Stuart Bak
San Diego skyline by night
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Things to do in San Diego at Night Time

After-dark activities abound in buzzing San Diego, where night owls can partake of delights as diverse as spooky ghost tours, craft beer taprooms, sunset s’mores on the beach, and nocturnal critters at the epic Balboa Park Zoo. Dive in for our guide to some of the best things to do in San Diego at night time. Get Spooked on a Ghost Tour San Diego could well be the planet’s most haunted city. The proliferation of ghost tours available in and around the Old Town would certainly have you think so. Hit up the spookier-than-spooky Whaley House (built in the 19th century on the site of an old gallows, natch) for your main spectral fix. Here, in ‘the most haunted house in America’ (LIFE magazine) nearly two centuries of domestic tragedy make for perfect ghost-hunting fodder, with nerve-shredding night tours available, led by ghoulish expert guides. Fearless travelers can also join terrifying walking tours of Old Town burial grounds and the ghostly Gaslamp Quarter if they dare. Creature Features San Diego Zoo is one of the biggest and best-loved zoos on the planet. Excellent during the daytime, it’s arguably even better at night when the nocturnal critters start stirring from their daylight slumbers and getting ready for dinnertime. The night zoo operates through summer, adding tribal music, wildlife performers, acrobatics and more to an already fairly exotic roster of attractions that includes tropical aviaries, savannahs and Arctic environments. Dinner on the Bay An evening cruise of San Diego Bay is a great way to see the city sights and beautiful California coastline without lifting a finger (or indeed a foot). Sail across the harbor, taking in views of the dramatic skyline against fiery sunset skies and check out attractions including Coronado Island and the USS Midway. Lucky punters might even catch a glimpse of the occasional migrating whale (blue in summer; gray in winter) as they tuck into dinner and cocktails and enjoy the on-board entertainment. S’mores on the Beach San Diego’s long and beautiful stretch of California coastline means just one thing: you absolutely must cozy up around a night time beach bonfire with friends and family. Grab your cookies, chocolate and marshmallows and hit up cookout hotspots (no pun intended) at the likes of Mission Beach, La Jolla Shores and Coronado Beach. You’ll have to book your spot at the beach in front of the legendary Hotel del Coronado well in advance, but boy is it worth it. Perched right on the seafront overlooking Point Loma, ‘The Del’, with its distinctive conical turrets, is a Coronado institution. Here, families build sandcastles along the hotel’s fine band of golden sand, paddle-board in the lagoon, and gorge themselves silly on firepit s’mores at sunset. Beery Bonanza Microbrewing is big business in San Diego, where somewhere in the region of 150 independent breweries are thriving at any given time. Because of this, you rarely have to walk far to find a fine brewhouse or taproom, especially in hip enclaves like North Park, where colorful street art and beautiful beer make for fine bedfellows. Sup strong stouts at the Belching Beaver Brewery or grab a hazy IPA at the Fall Brewing Company. Mosey over to hippy-dippy Ocean Beach where sun-kissed vibes are the order of the day at the Ocean Beach Brewery, or strike out for the lovely gardens and outdoor games at Stone Brewing’s huge Liberty Station complex. Heck, if you fancy taking an immersive deep-dive into the best the ‘capital of craft’ has to offer, you can even go on a guided tour of multiple San Diego microbreweries. Or, as it used to be called, a bar crawl.   Sunset Stroll The clue’s in the name: Sunset Cliffs just south of Ocean Beach is one of San Diego’s finest spots for watching the sun go down over the Bay. Take a flask of your favorite mocktail (non-alcoholic drinks only up here we’re afraid) and enjoy the peace and relative solitude as the skies turn various shades of fiery orange, mustard yellow and burnt sienna over a petrol-blue sea. It’s the perfect setting for #humblebrag Insta shots and also (if you squint against the fading light) a pretty decent whale-watching spot, especially between December and April, when gray whales migrate en masse from Alaska to the warm calving grounds of Baja’s lagoons. Balboa Park Balboa Park is a treat at any time, but arguably lovelier still at night when its buildings are beautifully illuminated (if not necessarily open). The park’s most extraordinary architectural marvels were designed for Expos in the early 20th Century. Ogle the ornate Spanish Renaissance-style facade of the San Diego Museum of Art, featuring sculptures of Velázquez, Murillo and Zurbarán, pause for a pic in the Casa del Prado’s atmospheric cloisters, and listen out for the chime of the California Building’s eye-popping bell tower. There’s live music and theater at the Victorian Spreckels Organ Pavilion and Old Globe respectively, and you can unleash your inner kid on the old-fashioned carousel, a menagerie of brightly painted beasts that includes horses, giraffes, cats and a dragon! It’s Showtime! San Diego’s lively nightlife scene runs the gamut from rowdy dive bar rock shows to country music and top-flight comedy. Hit up the open mic night at the American Comedy Company for some of the freshest new talent in California, grab dinner and a show at the legendary House of Blues, or bust some moves and get involved in raucous singalongs at the non-stop party that is The Shout! House’s Dueling Pianos show. You’ll find some of the music world’s biggest names dropping by Petco Park and Snapdragon Stadium on their world tours, while the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach has hosted gigs by the likes of BB King and the Black Eyed Peas. Save on attractions in San Diego Save on admission to San Diego attractions with Go City. Check out @GoCity on Instagram for the latest top tips and attraction info.
Stuart Bak
Stuart Bak

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