San Diego/Downtown

Downtown San Diego began in 1867, when Alonzo Erastus Horton bought 960 acres of land by the San Diego Bay after he decided that this should be the center of the city rather than Old Town, the site chosen by the Spanish for security reasons. Soon Horton found himself in the midst of an economic boom, resulting in the development of the southern Downtown neighborhoods, site of the present-day Gaslamp Quarter. However, in the late 1880s Horton's fortunes ran out and the Gaslamp Quarter began to deteriorate. At the same time, John D. Spreckels, a wealthy entrepreneur who had created a transportation and real estate empire in San Diego, began to develop land north of present-day Broadway, further contributing to the Gaslamp Quarter's decline.

Over the decades, Downtown fell into a state of disrepair as investment in the suburbs took its toll on the central city. In the 1970s, redevelopment efforts began taking off, and in the 1980s the area began to rebound with the completion of Horton Plaza, the San Diego Convention Center, and the start of revitalization efforts in the Gaslamp Quarter.

Downtown is divided into a number of individual neighborhoods, each with its own attractions and personality.

At the heart is Columbia, which runs along Broadway as it approaches the harbor. Columbia is mostly a commercial district and contains most of the city's tallest buildings, the train depot, and a sizable chunk of the waterfront which includes the USS Midway Museum, the Maritime Museum, the cruise ship terminal and the ferry landing. To the east of this lies the commercial and governmental center of Core as well as the shopping district of Horton Plaza, with its splendid namesake mall.

To the north of the main business district are a couple of quieter neighborhoods - Cortez Hill, on the hill at the north side of downtown, is a mostly residential neighborhood bumping up against Interstate 5, named for the historic El Cortez Hotel, the tallest building on the hill. Closer to the waterfront at the northwest end of downtown is Little Italy, originally a home to Italian fishermen, now a very active district of shops, restaurants, and parks, with an Italian theme, and is one of the hippest bar and restaurant areas in the city, with a large young professional crowd.

On the southern side of Downtown, Marina is a highly gentrified waterfront district, containing marinas, highrise condos, hotels, the Convention Center, and the Seaport Village shopping mall. To the north of this is Gaslamp Quarter, a historic district which was not only the birthplace of downtown but also the focal point of the first revitalization efforts in downtown during the 1970s. Today the neighborhood is the center of Downtown's nightlife scene; a thriving district of historic buildings, shops, theaters and restaurants. Capitalizing on Gaslamp's success, the East Village on the southeastern side of Downtown is undergoing a construction and redevelopment boom, spurred in part by the ballpark of the San Diego Padres in the neighborhood.

• 🌍 International Visitor Information Center, 1140 North Harbor Dr (in Downtown, in front of the B Street Cruise Ship Terminal), ☏ +1 619-236-1212. Jun-Sep: daily 9AM-5PM; Oct-May: daily 9AM-4PM. 

Downtown is served by three freeways. Be warned though, Southern California is notorious for its confusing interchanges and freeway systems. You may exit off the freeway thinking you're going one direction, when it fact you'll find yourself heading in a completely different direction. So careful examination of a street map is recommended.

• Interstate 5 wraps around downtown to the north and west, providing access from the north and the south. From the north, the Ketner Blvd. exit will provide you with the most direct access into Little Italy, while the Front St. exit will be your best bet for getting right into the thick of downtown. From the south, exiting onto 19th St., which acts as a frontage road to I-5, will get you to a number of east-west streets, including Market St., that upon turning left onto will take you right into downtown.
• SR-163 enters downtown from the north, turning into 10th Avenue/11th Avenue in downtown. SR-163 connects downtown to the northcentral and northeastern areas of San Diego.
• SR-94 connects to areas east, and turns into F Street/G Street upon entering downtown.

Downtown is easily accessible and traversed by automobile, but it is one of the very few areas of San Diego where it makes sense to get around by other means. Parking is expensive and can be very hard to find during special events (like Padres games at Petco Park). You can park at the garage at Westfield Horton Plaza for free for up to 3 hours as long as you validate the ticket at the small validation machines inside of the mall.

The hub for rail services in San Diego is the 🌍 Santa Fe Depot at Broadway and Kettner, which serves as the southern terminus of the COASTER commuter rail service, which runs north along the coast of San Diego County to Oceanside, and the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner to Los Angeles. The Mission-style Santa Fe depot is an architectural gem and worth having a look at even if you don't need to catch a train. The name "Santa Fe" is a reference to the Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Railroad, now part of BNSF corp., which built the station.

Downtown is served by all three lines of the San Diego Trolley light rail system, operated by the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS). The Blue Line comes up from the US-Mexico border at San Ysidro to the south and travels up Park Blvd. in the East Village neighborhood before turning west onto C Street, where it runs through the Core to Santa Fe Depot, then continues north to La Jolla. The Orange Line connects the eastern cities of El Cajon and La Mesa with Downtown and follows the same route as the Blue Line (Park Blvd and C Street). The Green Line comes south from Mission Valley and Old Town, passing through Little Italy and stopping at Santa Fe Depot; then it runs along Harbor Drive, stopping at the convention center and Petco Park.

The MTS also operates bus service throughout the city and in southern portions of the county, and downtown is the hub of the system, so bus service is pretty good in these parts. Nearly all bus routes that serve Downtown intersect with Broadway Street at some point. You can purchase passes, find schedules, and get information about the bus system at the 🌍 12th & Imperial Transit Center in southeast Downtown, which also serves as the Greyhound station and is served by all three trolley lines.

• 🌍 Amici Park, at corner of Date and State Streets. A small park in Little Italy, notable for its bocce (a popular sport in Italy) courts. You can also find Italian recipes engraved onto the sidewalk plaques and tables around the park. 
• 🌍 Children's Park, south of Island Avenue between Front St. and First Avenue. An unusual park with lots of grassy hills, shade trees, and a large water feature. Unfortunately, this park is usually occupied by homeless, so it wouldn't be a safe destination for children. 
• 🌍 Embarcadero Park, south of Seaport Village behind the convention center. Also known as the Marina Park, Embarcadero Park is split into two parts, north and south, which shelter the marina. Very pleasant, with lots of trees, grass, and good views of the harbor. You can access the north park by walking through the Seaport Village shopping center, and you can reach the south park by going around the back side of the convention center. 
• 🌍 Gaslamp Quarter Park, at Fifth Avenue and L Street. A small square next to the Gaslamp Quarter trolley station with a small water fountain. Good views of the convention center. 
• 🌍 Horton Plaza Park, south of Broadway between Fourth and Third Avenue. A historic square just north of the shopping center of the same name. A large fountain marks the center of the park. 
• 🌍 Martin Luther King Jr. Promenade, along the north side of Harbor Drive between First Avenue and Fifth Avenue. A linear park honoring the late civil rights activist. 
• 🌍 Pantoja Park (on the north side of G Street between India and Columbia). A small park surrounded by a residential area. 
• 🌍 Park at the Park, south of J Street between Seventh and Tenth Avenue. For the 81 Padres home game days, this grassy berm overlooking Petco Park is closed to the general public, open as a place to view the game for the price of a ticket. But for the other 284 days of the year, the park is open to the public. The park has a small baseball diamond, a playground, and there are various monuments to the achievements of the Padres, such as a statue of star player Tony Gwynn nearby. 

• Mardi Gras is celebrated in San Diego with a huge party in Gaslamp Quarter on Fat Tuesday (by some claims the largest Mardi Gras event on the West Coast) that features a parade, live music, and (of course) plenty of drinking and revelry at the neighborhood's many bars. This is a ticketed event open only to those 21 and older; see the event website for details.
• ArtWalk takes place every April in Little Italy and has grown into the largest art event in the city, with numerous artists set up along India Street to showcase and sell their work. Music, dance, and interactive art exhibits are also on show for visitors to enjoy.
• Fourth of July brings huge crowds to the waterfront to witness the city's biggest pyrotechnics display, with fireworks launched from several points in the bay all at once, making for a spectacular show.
• San Diego Comic-Con International, San Diego Convention Center (on the waterfront, along Harbor Drive south of 1st Ave). For four days every July, one of the world's largest fan conventions descends on Downtown San Diego, flooding the convention center with over 100,000 attendees. Since its comic book origins, the convention has expanded into virtually every genre of pop culture, drawing Hollywood celebrities, major television producers, toy manufacturers, video game designers, and top-name anime and manga creators, offering sneak peeks at their future works. Expect massive crowds and all manner of celebration of geek culture. It takes some planning to attend Comic-con; tickets sell out almost as soon as they go on sale, and lodging in San Diego becomes expensive and scarce. For this reason, if you're not interested in Comic-con, it's probably best to avoid visiting San Diego during this period. 
• Labor Day Weekend brings the Festival of Sail to the Downtown waterfront. Hosted by the Maritime Museum, this event draws tall ships from around the world to take part in parades, mock cannon battles, and open their vessels for tours. Plenty of vendors, entertainers, and food are also on hand; if you have kids, this is a pretty exciting one to bring them to.
• Little Italy Festa is a huge celebration of Italian culture that takes place in Little Italy every October. Visitors can expect to find plenty of delicious food, cooking demonstrations, traditional art and music, Gesso Italiano (Italian chalk art) painting, and stickball and bocce ball games.
• Each December, the Parade of Lights sails past Downtown to celebrate the holiday season, with dozens of boats decked out in elaborate light displays.

• 🌍 Hostel on 3rd, 542 3rd Ave, ☏ +1 619-595-1440, hostelon3rd@gmail.com. Hostel with easy access to the historic Gaslamp District. They have 2 bed private rooms, 4 bed mixed, 4 bed female and 6 bed mixed dorms. Most of them with a sink and a closet. Amenities include free wifi, free luggage storage, and free breakfast. Starts at $30 per person. (updated Jan 2019)
• 🌍 Hostelling International San Diego-Downtown, 521 Market St, ☏ +1 619-525-1531. Check-in: 2PM. It's in Gaslamp Quarter, clean, friendly, and offers 24-hour desk service, free breakfast, laundry facilities, lockers, and Wi-Fi. This hostel is part of a non-profit organization, HI-USA. The only hostel in this area to offer air conditioned rooms with iPod dock alarm clocks. Also offers free activities including: Walking tours, pub crawls, a screen printing workshop and bicycle tours. In addition there are three donation based dinners offered per week. Rates start at around $25 for dorm rooms and around $65 for private rooms (rates vary). 
• 🌍 ITH Adventure Hostel, 1658 Front St, ☏ +1 619-228-9234. A friendly and cozy hostel that offers free breakfast and free dinner daily. Also they provide free adventure activities that guests can go on to enjoy San Diego. Dorm beds start around $20. 
• 🌍 Lucky D's Hostel, 615 8th Ave (cnr 8th and Market Street), ☏ +1 619-595-0000. Fun hostel in San Diego's trendy East Village. The hostel offers free breakfast, free dinners, free internet, free house phone, free pub crawl and free use of linens and towels. They also run a weekly tour to Tijuana. Dorm beds start around $20/night, privates around $50-60/person. 
• 🌍 La Pensione Hotel, 606 West Date St (at India), ☏ +1 619-236-8000, toll-free: +1-800-232-4683, fax: +1 619-236-8088. In Little Italy, this lovely hotel has 75 small rooms with views of the bustling neighborhood. Parking is quite tight here, but the place is quite affordable at around $80/night. 
• 🌍 USA Hostels San Diego, 726 5th Ave, ☏ +1 619-232-3100. Small hostel in the Gaslamp Quarter. The hostel offers free breakfasts, wireless access, lockers, a laundry room, and bike rentals. They run a tour to Tijuana on Saturdays. Dorm beds start around $20/night, privates around $50-60/person. 

• 🌍 Bristol Hotel, 1055 1st Ave, ☏ +1 619-232-6141, fax: +1 619-232-0118. A contemporary and casual hotel, the Bristol features an unusually large pop art collection. $150-$200. 
• 🌍 Comfort Inn Gaslamp Convention Center, 660 G St, ☏ +1 619-238-4100, fax: +1 619-238-5310. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: Noon. A 100% non-smoking hotel in the Gaslamp Quarter. $119-189. 
• 🌍 Courtyard by Marriott San Diego Downtown, 530 Broadway, ☏ +1 619-446-3000, fax: +1 619-446-3011. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: Noon. A unique 245-room hotel where timeless charm is blended seamlessly with sophisticated comfort of modern guest accommodations. Ideal location in the Gaslamp Quarter. $169-249. 
• 🌍 Gaslamp Plaza Suites, 520 E St, ☏ +1 619-232-9500, fax: +1 619-238-9945. Check-in: 4PM, check-out: 11AM. Housed in a beautiful historic building, this hotel offers lovely rooms and complimentary breakfast - served on the rooftop terrace (weather permitting). $120-275. 
• 🌍 Horton Grand Hotel, 311 Island Ave, ☏ +1 619-544-1886. A luxurious Victorian-era hotel in the Gaslamp Quarter. $175-300. 
• 🌍 Marriott Gaslamp Quarter, 60l60 K St, ☏ +1 619-696-0234, fax: +1 619-231-8199. 22-floor hotel in the Gaslamp neighborhood with most of the services and features typical of Marriotts (sadly, no pool or jacuzzi). Rooftop bar, on-site restaurant. $200-350. 

• 🌍 Doubletree San Diego Downtown, 1646 Front St, ☏ +1 619-239-6800. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: noon. Complimentary airport shuttle, extensive amenities and friendly staff. 
• 🌍 Kimpton Alma, 1047 5th Ave, ☏ +1 619-784-4363. Formerly the Se Sean Diego, now a Kimpton Hotel. This boutique hotel is near Horton Square and a few blocks from the Gaslamp District. Rates start at $159 a night. 
• 🌍 Manchester Grand Hyatt, 1 Market Pl, ☏ +1 619-232-1234, sandiego.grand@hyatt.com. This hotel has over 1600 rooms, making it the largest hotel in San Diego. It's next to the Convention Center, and consists of two towers that are connected on the bottom four floors. Prices start around $280 a night. 
• 🌍 Omni Hotel, 675 L St, ☏ +1 619-231-6664, fax: +1 619-231-8060, reservations@omnihotel.com. A modern luxury hotel connected to Petco Park via a skybridge across the street, the Omni was built along the new ballpark and has a few baseball relics inside, such as Joe DiMaggio's cleats in the lobby, Babe Ruth's 1932 contract with the Yankees in the Presidential Suite, and a broken bat autographed by Willie Mays in the fifth-floor hallway. 
• 🌍 U.S. Grant Hotel, 326 Broadway, ☏ +1 619-232-3121. Check-in: 4PM, check-out: noon. A luxurious and historic hotel across the street from the Horton Plaza Square. It was built by Ulysses S. Grant's son, who later became a real estate developer in San Diego. $270-500.