Local Attractions
Balboa Park
Ever changing. Always amazing. Where culture, science, and nature collide, Balboa Park is home to more than 16 museums, multiple performing arts venues, lovely gardens, trails, and many other creative and recreational attractions, including the San Diego Zoo. With a variety of cultural institutions among its 1,200 beautiful and lushly planted acres, there is something for everyone.
Balboa Park boasts 17 museums and cultural institutions with an incredible diversity of collections. From local San Diego history, to the history of flight, trains, or automobiles, to the workmanship of the old masters, and the arts, crafts, and culture of people near and far, recent and historical.
Griffith Observatory
It is an icon of Los Angeles, a national leader in public astronomy, a beloved civic gathering place, and one of southern California’s most popular attractions. The Observatory is the best vantage point for observing the world-famous Hollywood Sign.
Griffith Observatory inspires everyone to observe, ponder, and understand the sky. Griffith Observatory is an icon of Los Angeles, a national leader in public astronomy, a beloved civic gathering place, and one of southern California’s most popular attractions.
Santa Monica Pier
They don’t call this iconic pier one of the most entertaining places to visit in SoCal for nothing. For decades, the pier has been luring visitors with its shops, arcade and restaurant. Not to mention, it’s home to the Pacific Park amusement park.
Constructed in 1909, the storied Santa Monica Pier was the first concrete pier on the West Coast. It quickly gained a reputation among locals as the best fishing spot in Santa Monica. Santa Monica Pier fishing remains a popular activity to this day.