This huge aircraft carrier was in service for much of the second half of the 20th century, including Vietnam War. It’s been reinvented as a visitor attraction and stands today as the world’s most visited naval ship museum.

With no less than 17 major museums and a spread of other attractions (including San Diego Zoo), this is more than a mere park. What’s more, it’s just a few minutes from the downtown area.

A large family-friendly theme park dedicated to all things Lego, with rides, movie theatres, a water park and a SeaLife aquarium, as well as brick-by-brick reproductions of different parts of the USA.

Widely considered one of the best zoos in the world, the 40-hectare site plays home to more than 3,700 rare and endangered animals – including the renowned giant pandas.

Formerly the site of an early Spanish settlement, the park today offers a visitor centre and various museums, throwing light on the Mexican and early American periods of the mid-19th century.

Six miles south of the city centre, this attraction showcases the creatures and plants of Southern California, both above the water and below. Expect to find everything from owls to leopard sharks.

Part theme park, part oceanarium, this long-standing San Diego attraction continues to pull in tourists by the million. Highlights include everything from beautiful aquariums to thrilling rides.

Aiming to stimulate kids and their families through interaction with contemporary art, this is a well-thought-out attraction that’s adept at sparking young imaginations.

A quality aquarium affiliated to the famous Scripps Institution of Oceanography, with more than 60 different marine habitats on display. There’s also an interactive museum detailing the institution’s research.

The waterfront community of Coronado gives no shortage of reasons to come calling, but this surf academy has a reputation as one of the best in southern California. If you’ve never caught a wave, it’s a great place to start.

Breakfast within sight of the Pacific Ocean at the Hotel Del Coronado, once upon a time the world’s biggest beach hotel and to this day the largest wooden building in the United States. The movie Some Like It Hot featuring Marilyn Monroe was shot in 1958 at this beautifully situated, 130-year-old grand hotel. While enjoying breakfast at the Sheerwater restaurant (insider tip: eggs benedict with spinach), you can feast your eyes on one of the finest beaches in the U.S. Come early enough and you will witness a special morning salute. The soldiers of the nearby marine base use the beach for their training runs and between seven and eight a.m., they line up with their backs to the ocean, facing the hotel and call out: “Good Morning, Hotel Del!” To which the hotel staff call back, “Good morning, Navy!” Then the marines sing the shanty “Anchors Away” before trotting back to their barracks.

Some 6000 families of Italian origin lived here a century ago, and the area around India Street and Kettner Street, with its restaurants, festivals, small shops and – should you visit on a Saturday between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. – one of the largest and most appealing farmer’s markets in the U.S., is still firmly in Italian hand today. The Little Italy Mercato catapults its visitors into a colorful world of tasty vegetables, excellent, freshly caught fish and orchids frequented by trattoria owners, aging hippies and browsing tourists. On street corners, bluegrass bands and jazz saxophonists provide the musical backdrop, and refreshment is available in the form of paninis, sea urchins and freshly pressed smoothies.

This is unique: The aircraft carrier USS Midway served the U.S. Navy from 1945 until 1992. Today the largest floating museum in the world, it is anchored in San Diego harbor. Engine room, hangar deck, bridge, flight deck 310 meters long and dozens of jets – it would be hard to come any closer to such an overwhelming display of technology and history. The Midway was once home to a crew of 4100, complete with church, gym, jail cells and a vast galley. Particularly impressive: the guided tours led by ex-seamen who once sailed into the Gulf War aboard this ship and the Expert Talks held here with marine pilots, who explain what you need when taking off or landing carrier aircraft.

Carnitas’ Snack Shack is a stone’s throw away from the USS Midway and very much a place of pilgrimage for fans of substantial meals. It may sound like little more than a rundown cabin, but in fact it’s a modern, airy building beneath palm trees from which the warm breeze wafts the hearty smell of tacos and pork specialties out to sea. Hani Vacin, the chef here, is a bulky, bald-headed man who trained at some of the top U.S. restaurants before deciding to set up shop in his hometown of San Diego and serve pork belly appetizers, heavenly burgers and, yes, also the odd vegetarian dish.

The second-oldest urban park in the U.S. (founded 1868) and the city’s most extensive green area is the best place in San Diego to visit several museums within a short time. Balboa Park is the site of 15 museums spotlighting all manner of subjects from automobiles, natural history, aviation and photography to art. There’s also a Japanese tea pavilion, a palm canyon and a replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theater. San Diego Zoo is also located in Balboa Park and has for decades been one of the world’s most popular zoos. It will take you two or three days to see everything, so it’s a good idea to pick out a handful of museums, enjoy the beautiful gardens, play a round of golf on the 18-hole Balboa Golf Course and maybe take in one of the free concerts at Spreckels Organ Pavilion, which houses the largest outdoor organ (5017 pipes) in the world.

La Jolla (pronounced “La Hoya“), the beautifully manicured suburb of the super-rich, is a wonderful place to stroll along the cliffs and observe seals, seabirds, dolphins and – with a little luck – also spot humpback whales between December and March. On Children’s Pool beach, which is sheltered by a quay wall with a public pathway along the top, you have a virtual “seal guarantee.” But beware of the Pacific breakers, which even on calm days can splash surprisingly high up against the quay wall and soak bystanders. A marine reserve starts at delightful little La Jolla Cove and extends 15 kilometers northward. La Jolla Shores surfer bay is also ideal for a kayak tour along the coast. A tour including some of the caves that are accessible only from the water will take you roughly one and a half hours to complete. Several thousand completely harmless leopard sharks gather here in the summer months, when you have the chance to come within just a few meters of them.

Mission Beach and Pacific Beach are California exactly as people picture it, with good-looking young people living out their surfer dream along the Boardwalk, the three-kilometer promenade. Many of them live in tiny cabins close to the beach and sleep with their boards beside their bed. Everything here revolves around the beach, where funny little cafés alternate with surf shops and quirky boutiques. Your best plan is to grab a caffè latte, settle down on the beach wall and do some people watching – bikini blonds, the six-pack ab brigade, inline skaters, canoeists, joggers, beach bums, geriatric surfers and even dogs on boards are sure to keep boredom at bay. If you’re lucky, you may even spot local character Slomo swishing by. Twenty years ago, the former neurologist gave up the luxury life, his Ferrari, villa and pool to devote himself to his hobby: inline skating on one leg, body slanted forward and his arms stretched out to the side.

How about dinner at the Café Coyote? Mexico is just a few kilometers from the south of San Diego. Mexican food markets, shops, restaurants and galleries dominate the city, especially in the old town. On some corners, the neighborhood looks a little like a tourist trap, on others, it couldn’t be more unique and original. Best to simply take a stroll and follow your instincts. At any rate, the Coyote is a top address with its colorfully decorated walls, burbling fountains, delicious burritos, tacos and fajitas, giant margaritas, not forgetting the mariachi singers and women baking tortillas, the typical Mexican corn flatbreads, before their guests’ eyes. Every year since 2009, the people of San Diego have voted The Coyote the best Mexican restaurant in town.

The Gaslamp Quarter has been one San Diego’s nightlife hotspots for decades now: The 16-block district has hundreds of restored Victorian buildings housing boutiques, clubs and bars. The classy speakeasy-style Probition bar is inconspicuously tucked away behind a door marked “Law Office Eddie O’Hare.” In other words, it emulates an illicit 1920s drinking establishment and is popular with fans of good cocktails, great soul and jazz bands and smart clothing, who come here to indulge in their passion.  Reservations impossible; weekend dress code: no shorts, sandals or T-shirts. Cocktail tip: Jesse Didn’t Die, consisting of gin, curaçao, lemon and Pimm’s. By the way, the unmissable Yuma Building, a former brothel, stands just a few meters from the entrance of the Prohibition. During a razzia in 1912, 138 prostitutes were arrested and given the choice of joining a Christian reform movement or henceforth to ply their trade in Los Angeles; of the 138, 136 decided to take the ticket to L.A.

Five-star dining at this gourmet restaurant at the Grand del Mar Hotel.

A popular neighbourhood restaurant blending local ingredients with world flavours.

Seen by many as one of the best Italian restaurants in the city.

Specialising in “slow food done fast”, with an emphasis on locally sourced dishes.

Well-priced Mexican seafood served up at three different locations around town.

One for the beer lovers – its on-site brewery produces a huge range of drinkable brews.

A large, stylish rooftop bar at the Andaz San Diego Hotel.

Bringing a slice of the Emerald Isle to Southern California.