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town's urban delights, but sleep by one of the world's loveliest beaches. Balboa Park, the city's cultural heart, covers 1,200 acres on hills and canyons just east of downtown and is home to the justifiably renowned San Diego Zoo, more than a dozen museums and The Old Globe, winner of multiple Tony awards. Gourmet restaurants and gorgeous Victorian mansions line quiet streets in nearby neighborhoods including Bankers Hill, Hillcrest and Mission Hills. Beach Towns, Golf & a Safari Park Beach towns line the coastline from the border with Mexico (18 miles or 29 km south of downtown) to Oceanside. Each town has its unique character, from Ocean Beach's hippie holdover vibe to classy La Jolla's Mediterranean village sensibility. Beloved by surfers and escapists (who can afford staggering housing prices), a series of small communities line the coast north of La Jolla's Torrey Pines State Park. Dozens of cities and communities dot the canyons and mesas between the coast and a series of mountain ridges to the east. Amid the residential neighborhoods, including some of the nation's wealthiest enclaves, are championship golf courses, polo fields, wineries, breweries, casinos and the San Diego Zoo's Safari Park. The Laguna and Cuyamaca mountains and Cleveland National Forest rise above these inland attractions, and beyond the peaks, highways descend to the Anza-Borrego BIRCH AQUARIUM Thanks to prescient developers and determined preservationists, downtown San Diego evolved into an exciting, cosmopolitan city with several hip To Oceanside & Los Angeles UCSD MIRAMAR RD. Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum SHORES La Jolla Cove TOUR City & Town ● LA JOLLA DRIVE Desert State Park, still within San Diego County's boundaries. Beyond all its outdoor attractions, San Diego also has a rich cultural and intellectual soul. Writers, artists, musicians and scientists conjure ideas while surfing the La Jolla Shores or jogging in Mission Bay Park. The Old Globe and La Jolla Playhouse, both Tony winners, frequently send plays to Broadway. Multiple scientific landmarks including the Salk Institute and Scripps Institute of Oceanography are magnets for some of the world's brightest minds. To the Wild Animal Park, Escondido TORREY PINES RD. University City LA JOLLA PKWY. TORREY PINES RD. COAST BLVD. LA JOLLA BALBOA AVE. ONT DR E. CLAIREM ET AV T GARN , LAMON VD. ON BL Pacific Beach MISSI CROWN PT. DR. MISSION BAY Crown Pt. Mission Beach INGRA HAM W. MISSION BAY DR. Serra Museum FRIA EL CAJON BLVD. FT. STOCKTON WASHINGTON San Diego Zoo AN S Old Town CR HARBOR DRIVE LAUREL BLVD . SH ● BALBOA PARK ● PARK BLVD. HARBOR ISLAND DR. CATA LINA OT SC OT T ST. TALB 59-MILE SCENIC DRIVE E DRSIDI . O INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT SE . RO SU NS D. C HILL TH OR . Hotel Circle PR BLV Sunset Cliffs W TS HA RS RD FIRST AVE. ET BL CL VD IF FS . ITZ Ocean Beach Sports Arena RTS A BLVD RENA . TA YL SPO OR SeaWorld NIM TE EL R IS LA ND DR Embarcadero ● . Maritime Museum Seaport Village ● GASLAMP QUARTER Coronado AN GE 4T H ST . OR Point Loma San DiegoCoronado Bay Bridge National City E LV R ST RA ND ● CABRILLO NATIONAL MONUMENT SI HW Y. tip of Point Loma and on to MISSION BAY, several beach towns and LA JOLLA. Along the way you'll drive through BALBOA PARK and the GASLAMP QUARTER—both with multiple tempting distractions. The same can be said for all 26 highlighted stops along the route, including the BIRCH AQUARIUM at Scripps in the hills overlooking La Jolla Shores. CLAIREMONT MESA BLVD. NAUTILUS ST. . DIEGO CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU'S INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION CENTER. Meandering along HARBOR DRIVE, it passes along San Diego Bay to CABRILLO NATIONAL MONUMENT at the LA JOLLA BLVD Seagulls on blue and yellow signposts lead the way to central San Diego's best vistas along the 59-MILE SCENIC DRIVE. You can do the trip in a couple of hours, but why hurry? The route conveniently begins downtown at the SAN Mt. Soledad SAN DIEGO CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU Chula Vista To Tijuana 112 2 013 travel guide to c al ifo r n i a