We Love San Diego, and We Know You Will, Too!

Written by San Diego Tourism; Photo: Courtesy of San Diego Tourism

Located in southern California, San Diego is surrounded by sandy beaches and full of fun family attractions for you to discover. It’s well-located, too - it’s just a short two-hour drive up the coast to Disneyland and Los Angeles, and an hour south to Mexico. It’s the perfect vacation destination for families looking for a sunny escape!

Attractions

Named the Top Zoo in the World by TripAdvisor, the world-famous San Diego Zoo celebrates its centennial anniversary all summer long with an uproarious new Wegeworth Bowl Centennial Show filled with music, video and animal ambassadors; a new centennial-themed Bus Tour Film Experience, featuring an exhilarating cinematic look at the zoo’s global conservation work to save species from extinction, and Nighttime Zoo (July 19 to September 5, 2016), when the zoo is open late with entertainment and animal encounters, culminating in a dazzling evening procession.

Now open at LEGOLAND^® California in Carlsbad, the new LEGO^® Movie: 4D A New Adventure reunites the stars of The LEGO^® Movie – including Emmet, Wyldstyle, Unikitty, MetalBeard and Benny – in an all-new story that shows what happened after the blockbuster movie when a shady new character named Risky Business opens a theme park called Brick World, bearing a blatant resemblance to LEGOLAND. The short film plays several times a day with fun 4D effects such as wind, water, fog and more that bring the action bursting off the screen and into the audience. Newly opened ninja-themed Ninjago^® interactive ride will be the first in the world to utilize cutting-edge Maestro™ technology where guests can throw lightning bolts, move shockwaves, send ice soaring and emit fire balls with just a wave of
their hands. 

Art and Pop Culture

The San Diego History Center in Balboa Park joins the zoo’s centennial festivities with Lore Behind the Roar: 100 Years of the San Diego Zoo, the largest exhibition the center has ever produced, showing now through January 2017. Full of interactive features, visitors can “ride” a vintage zoo tour bus, hear stories from long-time zoo employees, live the life of a zookeeper, explore the extensive animal and plant collection and learn fascinating facts about the world’s most popular zoo.

In July, San Diego becomes the centre of the pop culture universe during Comic-Con, America’s longest, continuously-run comics and popular arts convention. To “marvel” at comics art minus the crowds, visitors can explore two unique venues in the newly branded Arts District Liberty Station, home to nearly 120 museums and galleries, artist studios and other organizations showcasing San Diego’s creative community: San Diego Comic Art Gallery, San Diego’s first art space dedicated to sequential comic book art, and Comickaze Comic Books, Southern California’s largest and most diverse selection of comics, manga, action figures and more.

Cuisine

The much-anticipated grand opening of Liberty Public Market at Liberty Station, San Diego’s first year-round food hall, follows a path paved by iconic markets such as Vancouver’s Granville Island and Seattle’s Pike Place. The $3 million Point Loma project transformed a sprawling 1920s-era, warehouse-style building into an indoor-outdoor marketplace featuring select purveyors of cheeses, meats, baked goods, seasonal produce, locally caught seafood, wines, craft beer and more. Located on-site, the new Mess Hall restaurant sources nearly all of the dishes on the ever-changing menu from the market’s artisans.

Enjoy “la dolce vita” in Little Italy, San Diego’s hottest dining and nightlife neighborhood where celebrity chefs are making waves with the openings of Herb & Wood by Top Chef finalist Brian Malarkey, The Crack Shack by Top Chef All-Star winner Richard Blais and Bracero Cocina de Raiz by “Mexican Superchef” Javier Plascencia, showcasing San Diego’s signature Cali-Baja cuisine.

Travel Information

Flights to San Diego are easier than ever for Canadians. On June 2, 2016, Air Canada Rouge begins flying daily non-stop flights from Vancouver (YVR) to San Diego International Airport (SAN), through October 16, 2016. WestJet also begins new non-stop service from Vancouver to San Diego on June 16, 2016; Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays through October 20, 2016.

San Diego is a two-nation vacation destination, with Tijuana, Mexico located just 17 miles from downtown San Diego. At the new Cross Border Xpress, connecting Tijuana International Airport (TIJ) directly to a new facility in San Diego via a secure pedestrian bridge border crossing, air passengers can connect to a wide range of direct flights 24 hours a day to more than 30 destinations in Mexico.

Funded in part by the San Diego Tourism Marketing District with City of San Diego Tourism Marketing District Assessment Funds.