Explore the vibrant Gaslamp Quarter in the center of San Diego. Dating back to the late 1860s, the Gaslamp Quarter constitutes a significant portion of the city’s historic downtown. Today, it contains most of San Diego’s nightlife and is also listed in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Visit Balboa Park, a 1,200-acre urban cultural park in San Diego that is a National Historic Landmark. Balboa Park hosted the Panama-California Exposition in 1915 and the California Pacific International Exposition in 1935, so be sure to see the historic Exposition buildings. Explore the open space areas, natural vegetation zones, green belts, gardens, and walking paths, as well as several museum and theaters.

Travel to the San Diego Botanic Gardens in Encinitas. Formerly the Quail Botanical Gardens, this 37-acre garden features the largest bamboo collection in the country, as well as desert gardens, a tropical rain forest, Mediterranean climate landscapes, and a subtropical fruit garden. Travel around the world and see the geographically organized gardens from almost every continent.

Investigate the landmarks featured within the Old Town San Diego State Historical Park. Listed in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, this wonderful cultural institution is an open-air museum that contains an array of historic buildings that date as far back as the 1820s. Few places in the area are better to learn about San Diego’s rich past than this fascinating historic site.