Balboa Park - San Diego, California

Address:San Diego, California

Where better to spend your free days than a massive park filled with gardens and museums, a pavilion of pipe organs, an antique carousel and a miniature-scale train? At Balboa Park, San Diego's crown jewel, adults and children alike will find hours of fun on this all-ages fun-filled, cultural playground.
Adjacent to downtown San Diego, Balboa Park, the nation's largest urban cultural park, is home to 15 major museums, 8 luscious gardens, performing arts venues and plenty of furry friends too, who live at the San Diego Zoo. Visitors will have plenty of activities to choose from here with the ever-changing calendar of museum exhibitions, plays, musicals, classes and concerts. Start by just taking in the fresh air, strolling the walkways, or get active on the 4.5 miles of hiking trails. Balboa Park boasts the world's largest outdoor organ too, which is always free and plays every Sunday at 2:00. There's an IMAX theater here for the rainier days or head for any of the park's museums and attractions which are mostly located along one road, like the San Diego Museum of Man, the San Diego Museum of Art, the Museum of Photographic Arts, the San Diego Art Institute the San Diego Model Railroad Museum, and the Natural History Museum. You have your choice of gardens to frolic in here, from the Cactus Garden and Casa del Rey Moro Garden, to the Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden and Japanese Friendship Garden. Theater buffs will love the Old Globe Theatre, a replica of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and equally unique is the collection of "international cottages" like the Botanical Building with its reflecting pool, and chess, horseshoe and lawn bowling clubs are also located in the park. Athletes, be sure to take advantage of the Morley Field Sports Complex, home to the Balboa Park Golf Complex, the San Diego Velodrome, baseball fields, the Balboa Tennis Club, archery ranges, and the Bud Kearn Swimming Pool. And should you get hungry while here, there is certainly no shortage of great eats—from the sandwiches and snacks served throughout the park to the Japanese Friendship Garden's Tea Pavilion or in the San Diego Museum of Art's sculpture garden. The Prado Restaurant is also a San Diego favorite for an unforgettable lunch or dinner after a long day at the fun-filled Balboa Park.