1000 San Diego things to do

Discover where to eat, shop, live, play, work, stay, travel.

Instant Access to 1000 Things to do in San Diego, Attractions, Maps, Tours

All categories are hot linked for instant access including the Table of Contents.

TABLE OF CONTENTS,

Airports,

Attractions

Banquets & Catering,

Birthdays, Eat Free

Coupons/Deals,

Getaways,

Jobs,

Kid Free Meals

Maps

Mexico,

Micro Breweries,

Military,

Neighborhoods,

Museums

Real Estate,

Relocation,

Recreation,

Restaurants,

Shopping,

THINGS TO DO,

Weddings,

Wineries

Here’s 1000 MORE FREE & Fun Things to do

MOST VIEWED PAGES DAILY Click on Text To SEE

+ 50 Maps & Tours

Where to Stay

Top 10 Burger Joints

Antique Districts

56th Annual City Guide

Explore the City via 50 Diy Map Tours by Land, Air, Sea

SanDiegan.com 56th year is the Original & Trademarked City Guide used by Millions

Google (circa 1998) was launched 3 years after we established our website, making us an internet pioneer. Millions of newcomers, visitors & residents have used our 56 annual online & print city guides. Google categorizes us as an authority site like it does The New York Times.

City of San Diego Rewards Barry with a San Diego Day

The San Diego Mayor and the City Council gave Barry a “Barry Berndes Day” on January 14th, 2018. This award was in recognition of Barry’s over 50-year devotion to showing millions of newcomers, visitors, and residents San Diego via the SAN DIEGAN, SanDiegan.com, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, & LinkedIn.

Have fun Exploring the city via 650 pages of Content

How to Navigate this Huge Website EASILY & Fast

(1) Click here for instant access to 50 suburbs & city walking & driving tours with maps. (2) Click on the Barry Icon at the top left corner of every page to return to the home page. (3) Click on the little box with the arrow in it in the right corner to instantly return to the top of any page. (4) Content is roughly organized & HOT-LINKED in alphabetical order.

50 FREE DIY Essential City Map Tours By Land, Air, Sea

Barry Knows RESTAURANTS

450 Restaurant Reviewes

BARRY KNOWS RESTAURANTS & He has reviewed 10,000

San Diego BEST Curbside Takeaways & Delivery Restaurants

Barry is an internationally acclaimed restaurant reviewer. He has dined in 10,000 restaurants, so far, & has selected 450 for your review. Barry goes unannounced, pays for his own meals, eats three meals at one sitting, and inspects the kitchen. This is your assurance that you will receive an equal or better meal than he enjoyed.

SEARCH 450 Restaurants

Search By Name, Location, & Cuisine – Hot-Linked

#1 RANKED & Most Recommended

#1 Ranked EAT FREE on Your Birthday 90 locations

#1 Ranked Where kids Eat FREE 83 locations

#1 Ranked 10 Best Burger Joints

#1 Ranked Curbside Takeaways 70 locations

#1 Ranked San Diego Banquets & Catering 200 locations

Most Recommended

Sandiegan.com/ 1000-Best-things -to-do
A frosty Margarita & Mexican Meal is a must!

Casa Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant

Dave & Buster's San Diego Restaurant Bar and Arcade
Dave & Buster’s San Diego Restaurant Bar and Arcade

Eat & Play at Dave & Busters

A Harbor Dinner Cruise is a Must!

Harbor Sunset Dinner & Dancing Cruise

Il Fornaio Upscale Italian Cuisine

lL Fornaio Italian Restaurant

Kaiserhof German Restaurant

1000 things to do in San Diego
Dine like royalty here.

Marine Room: Dining at High Tide

Sunday Brunch Le Fountainebleu

1000 things to do in san diego
Delicious seafood abounds at this excellent waterfront restauarant.

Top of the Market Seafood Restaurant

San Diego Best of Everything San Diego, California USA

The Charthouse in Cardiff By the Sea

“Enjoy San Diego’s Best” One-Restaurant-at-a-time.

Barry has literally dined in 10,000 restaurants over the past 56 yearsHe goes unannounced, he pays for my own meals, and inspects the kitchen. Unlike a Yelp reviewer, he is a professional reviewer. He always eat three meals at one sitting, and NEVER ORDERS HIS OWN MEALS.

Great Plaza Buffet
Delicious Chinese, Korean & Japanese Cuisine await.

America’s Biggest Asian Restaurant Row

The Kearney Mesa Convoy District is home to the Biggest and Best Asian Restaurant Row in America. It’s literally 1.5 miles long and filled with over 100 award-winning restaurants. Get this, they are literally next door to one another.

Banquets & Catering

sandiegan.com Banquets
Celebrate life with an excellent setting to celebrate any occasion.

If there is a wedding or special event in your future, then do what thousands of locals do, visit this page. The SanDiegan.com reviewed recommendations include impressive wineries, elite golf course clubhouses, classy yacht clubs, prestigious hotels, and awesome restaurants with breathtaking ocean views.

Best Breakfast & Brunch 75-Personally Reviewed Venues

All 75 SanDiegan.com recommended breakfast and brunch restaurants have been personally reviewed. Expect a delicious dining experience while discovering the Best of San Diego.

Best Burger JointsTop 10

InNOut Burger
The San Diegan features the Top 10 Burger Joints in San Diego.

#1 RANKED. HOT-LINKED! An American passion is a constant search for the best hamburger. Here at SanDiegan.com, you’ll find the Top 10 Best Burger Joints in San Diego.

Best Lunch & Dinner Venues 175-Reviewed

As San Diego’s Dean of Restaurant Reviewers, Barry only recommends the best reviewed restaurants. He goes unannounced, paying for my own meals and insect the kitchen. San Diego is an awesome restaurant town.

Best 70 Curbside Takeaways

HOT-LINKED for quick access is the SanDiegan.com recommended BEST Curbside Takeaways places. Barry only recommend personally reviewed restaurants vs. a list of unknown places.

Best Restaurants By Name, Location, & Cuisine

Top 10: Mr. A’s Sky High views & French cuisine

Top 10: Harbor Sunset Dinner & Dancing Cruise

Top 10: Top of the Market Seafood with Bayview

Eat FREE on your Birthday

Kid FREE MEALS

Contents Page Offers quick access to the contents of this website.
SanDiegan.com highly recommends 50 incredible air, land & sea travelogue tours.

BARRY KNOWS SAN DIEGO

1000 things to do in San Diego
Barry is an Internationally Acclaimed Tour Book Writer.

See San Diego with San Diego’s Resident Expert

His 1000 BEST San Diego things to do, are all reviewed.

BARRY KNOWS SHOPPING

Sandiegan.com San Ysidro and Las Americas factory Outlets
A visit to the Mega Las Americas Factory Outlet Shopping Center is a must.

SHOP ‘TIL YOU DROP

Barry and his staff walk the malls, tour the stores and provide the insight only a local knows.

Best Factory Outlet Centers in San Diego.

City Lights Year-Round Christmas Store. 

 Baja Duty FREE Shopping at the Tijuana Border

Home Buying,

Car Buying

11 Farmers Markets

SanDiegan Encinitas Farmers Market
With food costs so high, a smart alternative is to shop the many Farmers Market

Shop Antique Districts

SanDiegan.com La Mesa Village
Historic La Mesa’s Antique Row is a must see destination.

There are three antique districts in San Diego. One is in the beach town of Ocean Beach and steps from the ocean. Another is in east county’s Historic La Mesa, which is also home to antique car shows and their popular annual Octoberfest. Then there is Adams Avenue Antiques, which is centered around 30th St. in North Park. All are fun to explore.

Shop 5 Factory Outlets 21 Malls, + Biggest Swap Meet

Fashion Valley, mall, shopping
Stunning Fashion Valley in Mission Valley is a “Must Visit” destination.

#2 RANKED. HOTLINKED! San Diego has three awesome factory outlet centers, where you can literally shop till you drop!

BARRY KNOWS TIJUANA

Getaways/Tijuana's Rio Tijuana
A visit to Tijuana must include an excursion to Rio Tijuana for shopping

Exploring this international city is fun. Bargain shop Downtown Tijuana, Rio Tijuana and Hidalgo Mercado. Purchase duty-free French perfume. Bring back a bottle of duty-free liquor. Save up to 50% off on meds at Farmacia Gusher. Dine in world-class Tijuana Restaurants. Click on the headline above to view Tijuana chapter.

PARK SAFE at Border Station Parking & take the RT Shuttle. See Tijuana Restaurants, Shops, Hotels.  

TRAVEL ALERT Park SAFE at U.S. Border take RT Tijuana Shuttle

sandiegan.com border station parking
Park safe! Take a sleek modern bus to Tijuana and back via a bus.

Your American Insurance is NOT VALID IN MEXICO. If you get into an accident, you and your car will be detained in the county jail in Mexico until the guilty party pays the damages. Plus, the long waits in crossing the border on your return from Tijuana, which often takes hours. The recommended tried and true solution is to take a sleek (No Hassle) round-trip-shuttle bus service from the Border Station Parking lot to Tijuana and back to your car. This is a 24-hour-a-day fenced and attended lot. Click on this link for a detailed explanation and map. For info on Tourismo Express RT Shuttle Bus to Tijuana click on this hot-link.

Best Tijuana Parking at U.S. Border & RT Bus Shuttle

Sandiegan.com San Ysidro Map

#1 RANKED. HOT-LINKED. Border Station Parking is the best place to park your car on the U.S.A. side of the U.S./Mexican Border. Border Station Parking (428-9477) is at 4570 Camino de la Plaza. in San Ysidro.

SAVE 32 to 50% on Meds

sandiegan.com gusher
Save money at Tijuana’s #1 Drug Store

Barry Knows Baja – All Personally Reviewed

SanDiegan.com wines
Mexico’s Wine Country is Just a Short Trip South of the Border

#1 Ranked. Wine Tasting adventure in Valle de Guadalupe.

 Romantic Escape to Ensenada, Mexico. 

1000 things to do in San Diego

Dine in great Seaside Restaurants.

Where to Buy Mexican Insurance.

Best Eat FREE On Your Birthday in San Diego

San Diego Birthday Specials
San Diego Birthday Specials

You may not live to be 100, but everyone should have 100 birthdays. Eating in multiple restaurants for FREE during your birthday month is what local restaurant owners are encouraging you to do. Eat FREE on your Birthday iSan Diego is FUN and Highly Recommended.

Kids Eat FREE Places in San Diego 7-Days a Week

There are dozens of restaurants in San Diego that want to offer your kids a free meal on specific days a week when an adult purchases a meal. This is a win-win offer you should not pass up for enjoying Kids Eat FREE Places in San Diego 7-Days a Week.

Kid-Friendly 40 Things to Do

HOT-LINKED. You are one click away from instant access to 30 fun activities just for kids. Plus, kid-friendly restaurants, where kids eat FREE every day, and where kids eat FREE on their Birthday.

BARRY’S BREWERY TOUR

sandiegan.com Breweries, San Diego, Beer
Take my Tour of America’s three best microbreweries.

Best Micro-Brewery Tour

San Diego is the Microbrewery Capital of the World. It can boast such a claim because they have won more blue ribbons at world competitions than any other city. The SanDiegan.com tour includes three of the top microbreweries in the U.S.A. They are Stone Brewery, Ballast Point Brewing Company Coronado Brewery. Plus, my self-guided tour shows you four popular neighborhoods with maps and great places to eat.

50 suburbs & city walking & driving tours with maps. 

sandiegan.com san diego bay
San Diego Bay offers Majestic Bay Views.

The SanDiegan.com Tour of the historic maritime museum is a must. It’s fun to climb aboard its fleet of ships. Then visit the USS Midway aircraft carrier, dine in fabulous bay front seafood restaurants, wander through fascinating shops at Seaport Village.

Sightsee 24 Nearby Travel Trips

Sightsee Sunny San Diego by Land & Sea Tours

San Diego Skyline from Harbor Island
San Diego Skyline from Harbor Island

See San Diego by AIR

helicopter tour, 

seaplane tour

San Diego by Land with 50 maps

See San Diego by SEA

sailboat San Diego Bay cruise, 

Catamaran Boat Cruise

Hornblower sunset dinner & dancing harbor cruise.

Best Embarcadero tour of ships, museums, dining

sandiegan.com san diego bay
San Diego Bay offers Majestic Bay Views.

Best 14 Historical Museums

San Diego Relocation Essential Information
Being a military town San Diego has a lot of military museums

Best Las Vegas-Style Casinos are 15 min. from Downtown

San Diego Casinos
San Diego is home to Las Vegas-Style Casinos, only 15 minutes from downtown San Diego.

Two casinos are only 15 freeway minutes from downtown San Diego. They are JAMUL CASINO Sycuan Casino. Our SanDiegan.com Las Vegas-style casinos offer top-notch gaming venues along with nationally acclaimed entertainment, and dining alternatives galore 24 hours a day. Five casinos even boast luxurious hotel accommodations. One casino even has a BIG factory outlet.

Churches

Click on Churchfinder.com for an extensive and informative list of over 100 places of worship. Since San Diego is often referred to as Paradise on Earth, it should come as no surprise that locals love to worship their God.

Coupons and Deals

Hotels 

Hotel Coral, Ensenada, Getaways, Baja California, Mexico
San Diego is blessed with 100’s of awesome hotels.

If you’re NOT staying in a spectacular oceanfront hotel like La Jolla Shores Hotel or a romantic San Diego Harbor view hotel like Kona Kai Resort & Spa on Shelter Island, then staying in a good Sandiegan.com recommended hotel with excellent access to the rest of the city for a lot less money makes good sense.

Museums(94)Attractions

Balboa Park is San Diego’s Cultural Center and is home to 17 museums, live theatre, a merry-go-round, and more. The San Diego Museum of Art has a great app as well. Plus, SanDiegan.com offers a wonderful walking tour with three easy-to-follow maps.  Don’t miss seeing historic Old Town San Diego, where California’s history began. Admission to Old Town including parking is FREE. My SanDiegan.com easy-to-use map includes where to enjoy a delicious meal with a frosty margarita, and while dining you’ll be serenaded by the sounds of strolling mariachi bands. Ole!

RELOCATION

RELOCATION ESSENTIALS:

Within 10 Days of Relocating to California, you must obtain a California Driver’s License Here’s How

RELOCATION SanDiegan.com Repairs & Remodeling

If you’re NOT a fix-it man, the next best thing is knowing where to find the help you need, especially if you’re a newcomer.  These recommendations are the result of actually using each one of these journeyman craftsmen. So saying YES TO RECOMMENDING THEM IS EASY.

Home Depot is unquestionably the best hardware store with multi-locations countywide.

Jack-of-All-Trades and Master-of-All. Chepy Flores is an excellent journeyman master carpenter with 45 years of experience and the skill and know-how to fix or build whatever you want. Skills include: cutting and laying saltillo tile, stucco, especially fogging, spray painting, & carpentery. Call Chepy Flores (707-298-0930). He’s a local, born and raised in San Diego and knows what quality is and isn’t. He is a hard worker & easy-to-work with. Reasonable rates. He can’t be overly recommended

Electrician Consider yourself Lucky when you when you can get the services of Bill Watt (1-619-398-7628). He’s an electrician with over 40 years of experience. His knowledge ranges from a standard fix it job to trouble shooting Solar. Of course, he’s easy to work and offers reasonable rates. He cannot be overly recommended!

Roof Repair, it’s Shake, Shingle & Roll Roofing. He’s the best! For low-priced

Junk Removal contact junkbustersinc.com or toll-FREE 1-844-464-586) Ask for the ($99) SPECIAL. 

Tree Care Lucas Lemcke Tree Service (619-316-5242) [Lemckelucas@hotmail.com]. They are licensed and bonded and low priced for excellent professional service. It’s not uncommon for entire neighborhoods to use this same tree service.

Saltillo Tile Installer No less spectacular is the beautiful artistic tile work by Steve Cumper (858-292-0651) a 30 + year seasoned professional. With a business slogan that “No Job is Too Small” you can finally beautify your bathroom, kitchen and floors the way you have always wanted them to be. Steve is your guy! He is a great guy to work with, and his prices are fair and reasonable.

Garage Doors East County Garage Doors to the rescue (619-599-6866) [eastcogaragedoors@gmail.com]. Toby has 30 + years of experience and can spot the problem almost the minute he walks into your garage. Working with the owner of any business makes a big difference with the service you get.

Upholstery Call Sabino Galvan (619-864-3374). Sabino came highly recommended to me, and I couldn’t be happier. Get a low price for the highest quality. All you need do is go online and purchase the fabric you love, and take your desired furniture along with the fabric to him. Why not get what you want vs. buying something almost as good and paying more?

RELOCATION Real Estate: Home Buying, Apartments, Condos, Retirement, Where to live

For 56-years Sandiegan.com has been everyone’s choice for the insider information of what each suburb has to offer.Also review the top builders and mega apartment complexes. My hands-on experience includes having actually lived in nine different suburbs in San Diego County while growing up in San Diego. Reading the over 20 neighborhood chapters with walking and driving tours is a must for getting to know the lay of the land. A great source of San Diego stats is realestateusnews.com

Accounting Services

The cornerstone of a savvy business and household is having an accounting firm to do your taxes in California. Easy to recommend is Kornfeld & Associates at 2067 1st. Ave. in downtown San Diego 92101 (619-563-8000) or email Casey@kornfeldca.com. This is a full service accounting firm with the expertise to do your business as well as personal income taxes.

Free San Diego Relocation Assistance

HOT-LINKED. Also, refer to the SanDiegan.com  home buying, renting, condos, apartments and office space. Click on this tab Commercial.com for assistance in finding office space. I’ve used Pacific Coast Commercial for office space with great success.

Relocation Newcomer Military Assistance

Sandoegan.com San Diego Relocation Essential Information
A tour of the USS Midway will make you proud to be an American. We are a Navy town and like to show our out-of-town guests who we are.

Many locals served in the military in San Diego. So, I’ve been on every military base. I know the San Diego you want to know! Be sure to make full use of the Housing Referral Office for your branch of service. They are staffed with military wives, who are committed to your family having a smooth transfer. The Housing Referral Office is a big help.

JOBS – JOBS – JOBS

sandiegan.com JOBS
Many of the 36 million visitors a year, relocate here to enjoy living in Paradise 365 days a year.

As a newcomer be sure to review Sandiegan.com Real Estate, Neighborhoods, Jobs, and Shopping chapters. If you’re in the military read the extensive Military chapter accessing it via the Navigational Bar in the laptop version. Your research should include using the suburb maps with walking and driving tours to give you the lay of the land to discover the uniqueness of each suburb.

Relocation Newcomer Car Buying Guide

San Diego’s big car dealerships are grouped together regionally from the South to the North. The Mile of Cars mileofcars.com in the South Bay boasts of having 5,000 cars and 18 dealerships. They cater to the military at the Naval Bay at 32nd Street and Latinos south of the border in Mexico. The next concentration of dealerships is in Mission Valley along Highway 8. East of Mission Valley is the city of El Cajon, which is home to a host of dealerships along El Cajon Blvd. The remaining three multi dealerships are in Poway, Escondido, and Carlsbad. They cater to soldiers stationed at Camp Pendleton. The biggest single dealership with multi-locations and an excellent reputation is the Mossy Automotive Group with 7 locations offering Nissan, Toyota, Ford, Volkswagon, Honda, Mitsubishi, Infiniti, and El Cajon Ford. I have bought and leased several cars from Mossy. So, I can attest to their high quality.

Relocation Online Universities/Colleges

Click on the headline for a list of the Best Online Schools in San Diego. San Diego is a college town with over a dozen colleges and universities. Plus, being a military town as well there are a lot of perks for military families to take full advantage of the extensive online alternatives available to get their degree while in San Diego.

San Diego is paradise on earth. Just ask a local. Yet, no two suburbs are the same. Aspire to live in the coastal zone as near to the ocean as possible, especially if you are single. I have spent the past 54 years creating chapters with a map of all of the great places to live. A review of the many cities and suburbs listed in the Neighborhood tab is essential. Read each suburb chapter before you tour them. San Diego is also home to awesome new home builders including Shea HomesMcMillin.com, and Pardee Homes offer extras like solar. See the Real Estate Chapter within SanDiegan.com.

Sports and Recreation

Oh my gosh! For outdoor activities galore finding over 1000 Best things to do in San Diego os very doable. Also, featured above in alfa order is 1000 FREE things to do in San Diego.

sandiegan.com airlane
Seeing San Diego by Air land and See is a must!

HOT-LINKED Everything from Sky Diving to Sailing or just Basking in the Sun is what makes discovering my San Diego Best of San Diego, Ca. is a 365 days a year playground. What to do is never a problem when there are over 1000 Best San Diego things to do featured in SanDiegan.com.

Barry’s Travel Getaways 

Sasndiegan.com julian pie
Julian is Home to the Best Homemade Apple Pie in the County

Virtually every year online travel magazines rank San Diego as the top Travel destination worldwide beckoning 36 million visitors here to relax and enjoy the moment. Here is a local and regional travel list nearby world class travel destinations in nearby.

Travel Getaway to Catalina

sandiegan.com catalina
Not far from San Diego is Catalina Island a romantic getaway.

A super romantic SanDiegan.com getaway 26 miles off of the California coast from Dana Point via a sleek ferry is a romantic getaway almost incomparable. The island was once owned by Wrigley chewing gum millionaire William Wrigley.

Travel by Air, our Major Airport is 2 min. from downtown

San Diego is a happy 10 airport county with the San Diego International Airport at Lindbergh Field being the busiest air travel destination. It’s just 2 miles from downtown San Diego. The second busiest airline destination is North County’s McClellan–Palomar Airport. The third major airport (while technically not in the U.S.A) is Mexico’s Tijuana International AirportTravelers can actually get to the airport from the U.S. to Mexico and back via a short walking bridge.

Travel to San Diego By Car

YOU DEFINITELY NEED A CAR to see the over 1000 Best things to do in San Diego. Preplan getting a car (if you didn’t arrive by car) at the airport or train station. A cheaper way is via Dirt Cheap Car Rental. They rent slightly used cars mostly to foreign exchange students and savvy visitors, who don’t need a brand new car to impress people they don’t even know.

Travel via Cruise Ship

Dozens of cruise ships make scheduled stops in San Diego at the beautiful downtown San Diego Cruise Ship Terminal. A stopovers enable you to discover a great deal of the Downtown area..

Wedding Venues, Rehearsal Dinners, Wedding Receptions

sandiegan.com Wedding at Orfila Winery
Memorable Moments await with a vineyard wedding venue

Locals rely on us for San Diego Banquets and Catering, Wedding, Rehearsal, and Reception venues, Military weddings, rehearsal dinners, and receptions venues. My recommendations include impressive wineries, elite golf course clubhouses, classy yacht clubs, prestigious hotels, and awesome restaurants with breathtaking venues and ocean views.

BARRY KNOWS WINERIES

Navigate three nearby wine region includes visiting the best wineries and dining in gourmet vineyard restaurants, over night laces to stay (if you wish) and sightseeing. Locals love their day or weekend getaways to the wineries, and so will you.

Wine Tours in San Diego

sandiegan.com orfilia
Orfilia Winery wines have been served at the White House.

There are literally 166 wineries in San Diego County. Many wineries are freeway close. San Diego wines have also been served at the White House. Also impressive is the fact that there are two viticultural areas (AVAs) in San Diego County. The oldest wine-growing region is the freeway close to San Pasqual Valley near Escondido. It’s home to the Orfila Vineyards and Winery, with more blue ribbon awards. than any other winery. Here too is the promising Rancho Guejito Vineyard. The other wine-growing region is in Ramona, boasting 30 wineries.

40 Temecula Wineries 

Sandiegan.com Falkner Winery

HOT-LINKED! Freeway close to Temecula is a famous wine-growing region. It’s also one of my highly recommended things to do in my San Diego Best of San Diego, Ca. There are more than 40 wineries you can visit 4 are must-visit wineries. I have also chosen two excellent restaurants to dine in. Plus, two excellent vineyard hotels I have personally stayed in and one is a French chateau. The map is excellent and includes a tour of Old Town Temecula and new Temecula

Ensenada Mexico is home to 200 Valle de Guadalupe Wineries 

SanDiegan.com wines
Mexico’s Wine Country is Just a Short Trip South of the Border

Sixty-eight miles south of the U.S. border near the small romantic seaport town of Ensenada. Wine tasting in Mexico also means dining in gourmet restaurants while sampling their’s wines against the backdrop of sweeping vineyard views. It’s an amazing experience and well-worth the journey. Be sure to read the Ensenada chapter and study the map. Definitely buy Mexican auto insurance.

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