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San Diego is LA's more fun and relaxed little sister, just 120 miles south (a two-hour drive with no traffic) but with a totally different vibe. People here seem a little less stressed, happier and able to live in the moment. There's a strong surfer culture, burgeoning tech scene and a youthful infusion of UCSD college students. Plus, San Diego's position as a border town means there are heavy Mexican influences everywhere, from art to architecture to food. You'll eat well from morning until night, and there's lots to do between meals too. However long your visit is, here's what you shouldn't miss.
Coffee and pastries
Great coffee is a prerequisite for any proper college town. Rikka Fika is one of San Diego's most charming cafes, with excellent coffee, matcha and pastries. Lofty Coffee has several locations around town, with housemade syrups and almond milk, and Kyoto-style cold brew.
Preorder everything if you're lucky enough to be in town for a Relic Bageri pop-up. The viennoiserie are the best in San Diego, and every flavour is a winner. Pistachio pomegranate croissants, pumpkin cheesecake Danishes and fall herb kouign amann were just a few standouts from a recent weekend. If Relic isn't available, get your croissant and coffee fix at Patisserie Melanie, a cheerful new cafe in North Park that also serves macarons, quiche and croque madame sandwiches.
Check into a boutique hotel
Kimberly Motos
San Diego's hottest and most irreverent restaurant group, CH Project (behind Morning Glory, Born & Raised and Ironside Fish & Oyster) recently opened their first hotel, updating the historic Lafayette Hotel with maximalist design and eight new food and beverage outlets. There's a 24-hour 1940s diner, a moody Oaxacan-inspired restaurant and mezcaleria constructed from a decommissioned Catholic church shipped from Puebla, and a soon-to-open French fine-dining restaurant that pays homage to Auguste Escoffier's iconic recipes.
Josh Cho Photography
If you prefer to be by the water, The Pearl Hotel in Point Loma is a sustainably minded mid-century modern gem just a block from the harbour with 23 guest rooms and suites all decorated with local artwork and ceramics. Weekly dive-in movie nights by the oyster-shaped pool are a highlight.
Paraglide at Torrey Pines
San Diego Tourism Authority
Torrey Pines is consistently ranked as one of the best (and most beautiful) public golf courses in the country, but if you don't golf, paragliding is a thrilling way to enjoy the dramatic cliffs just north of La Jolla.
Torrey Pines Gliderport is the largest tandem flight centre in the country and you'll glimpse dozens of colourful parachutes swooping and swerving along the shoreline on a busy day. The wind can be fickle and unpredictable, but the best window for flying is usually between 11am and 4pm. To fly, winds must be blowing from the west at least 9-10 miles per hour, which can be an exercise in patience as you wait for favourable conditions. You'll be paired with an experienced pilot and takeoff is easy – simply jog off the cliff towards the Pacific Ocean and trust that the sky will catch you.
Unlike hang gliding, where you're lying facedown in a horizontal position, with paragliding you're sitting comfortably upright the entire flight. It's a remarkably peaceful and comfortable ride.
Ice cream crawl
As one of the most reliably warm and sunny destinations in the US, ice cream season is year-round in San Diego and there are plenty of stellar spots to try. An's Dry Cleaning (above) is an unassuming former dry-cleaning business in North Park that's now serving the best gelato in San Diego. Flavours are named after fabrics like canvas (olive oil rosemary) and leather (brown butter chocolate chip cookies), and you'll eat from ironing board tables. Stella Jean's is another favourite, with creative seasonal specials and signature flavours like mango sticky rice and ube pandesal toffee, inspired by co-founder Gan Suebsarakham's Thai heritage. There are always several delicious vegan and gluten-free options and the ice cream pairs well with warm pies from sister restaurant Pop Pie Co. next door.
If you're feeling especially ambitious, drive to Chino Farms in Rancho Santa Fe for the most exclusive (and expensive) farm-to-pint ice cream by Aisu Creamery. The strawberry ice cream, made with fragrant mara de bois strawberries, is pure magic and passion fruit, black sesame and chocolate raspberry are well worth the $20 a pint price tag too.
Diverse dinner options
Jordan Younis
When it's time for dinner, San Diego can satisfy any craving, whether it's omakase sushi at Soichi Sushi, hearth-cooked local seafood at Fort Oak or Mediterranean small plates at Callie. Mexican food is easy to come by too – from tacos, margaritas and aguas frescas at Lola 55 and Fish Guts to a wood-fired Michelin-starred tasting menu at Valle (above).
Mandie Geller
Modern Italian restaurant Marisi in La Jolla is the hottest reservation in town right now, with an excellent aperitivo hour and classic Italian cocktails. Housemade pastas and line-caught local fish are highlights, but Executive Chef Cameron Ingle has a way with vegetables too. Hearty salads and sides like roasted koginut squash atop hot honey yoghurt sprinkled with crunchy pepita praline and hearth smoked apple paired with brassicas make Marisi one of San Diego's best dining options for vegetarians.
Elodie Bost
The small coastal town of Oceanside just north of San Diego has become a fine-dining stronghold as well, with two Michelin-starred restaurants – Jeune et Jolie (above) and Valle – and newcomers like Matsu harbouring Michelin ambitions.
Bar hop in Little Italy
This busy neighbourhood is fun to explore during the day, but even more fun at night. From cocktails and Champagne at the whimsical Wolfie's Carousel Bar to the open-air rooftop bar at Born & Raised, famous for their perfectly executed classic cocktails and martini cart, there are endless options for drinking the night away. Juniper and Ivy has great drinks too, often collaborating with the kitchen led by James Beard-nominated chef Anthony Wells for creative zero-waste concoctions. You'll want to stay for dinner – Wells is one of the most talented chefs in town with a constantly changing menu featuring unique dishes like sunchoke stroganoff and persimmon caprese salad that you won't find anywhere else.
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