Page 121 - 2015 Travel Guide to California

Diego has become an exciting, cosmopol-
itan city with several hip neighborhoods.
The heart of the action is the historic
Gaslamp Quarter packed with classy night-
clubs and restaurants of every description
housed in restored 19th-century Victorian,
Baroque and Frontier buildings. Petco
Park, downtown’s exceptional baseball sta-
dium (and occasional concert venue), has
been the impetus for the burgeoning East
Village neighborhood filled with trendy
condo complexes, boutiques, cafés and a
long-awaited, architecturally stunning
Central Library, which opened in Sep-
tember 2013. The Embarcadero sidewalk
beside San Diego Bay runs past a fleet of
vessels including cruise ships, aircraft car-
riers, ferries, historic paddleboats and
handsome yachts. Little Italy, a few blocks
north of downtown’s core, has undergone
a nearly complete transformation from a
simple Italian community to a desirable
urban neighborhood. Fortunately, several
venerable pizza parlors, bakeries and bars
remain amid modernist condo complexes,
gourmet restaurants and trendy shops.
The whole downtown region throbs
with excitement day and night, and is now
the center of San Diego’s nightlife scene.
There’s talk of a new football stadium
downtown, along with additional water-
view hotels. The urban core continues
through established neighborhoods
including Bankers Hill and Hillcrest, the
always-hopping heart of the gay, lesbian
and transgender community.
DRIVE
»
TOUR
OCEANSIDE
Historic Highway 101, also called the PACIFIC COAST
HIGHWAY, runs through San Diego’s idyllic NORTH
COUNTY coastal communities, passing by gorgeous long
beaches and wild lagoons. You can do the trip in a
couple of hours, but why hurry? Begin at the north end
of La Jolla at TORREY PINES STATE PARK and descend a
steep hill to Torrey Pines beach, then uphill again to DEL
MAR. Stop signs at each block force you to slow down
and appreciate the Tudor-style buildings and quaint
shops and cafés in town before you descend again and
cruise through SOLANA BEACH, CARDIFF-BY-THE-SEA,
ENCINITAS, LEUCADIA, CARLSBAD and OCEANSIDE.
Each town’s main street presents an array of dining and
browsing options, from funky Mexican take-out stands
to fancy restaurants on the sand. Of the many beaches
along the way, MOONLIGHT BEACH in Encinitas presents
the most playtime possibilities including a playground,
snack bar, picnic tables and a year-round lifeguard sta-
tion. Take your time and stop often. The distance
between Torrey Pines and Oceanside is only 25 miles,
but you can easily spend a full day exploring. When
you’re ready to return to central San Diego, just hop on
I-5 South at one of the many entrances along 101.
CARLSBAD
LEUCADIA
MOONLIGHT BEACH
ENCINITAS
CARDIFF-BY-THE-SEA
SOLANA BEACH
DEL MAR
TORREY PINES
STATE PARK
2015 T R AV E L G U I D E TO C A L I F O R N I A 119