Sun, surf and a great location are the elements that most visitors identify with San Diego. Located at the northern tip of the coast of California, the city enjoys sun throughout the year and a temperate climate during the winter. Most visitors to the city are attracted by good weather and experience life in this Californian paradise. Surrounded by sandy peninsulas (the locals describe as “islands”), San Diego is a good place for a holiday. The pristine beaches (such as the sheltered coast of the island of Coronado) and modern shopping districts, where you entertain the wealthy and give to the jewel cliffs of San Diego, La Jolla, are two unique elements that this city has .
SeaWorld , on the shore of Mission Bay, is another unique attraction. This is the closest exit to the ocean and the city, in some way, it is the symbol that represents San Diego. It is the center where many programs are coordinated conservation and protection of marine wildlife, while an educational tool that has become the best brand of San Diego. The importance of the sun is evident when observing the throngs of surfers that flood the city, especially north of Mission Bay, where there are many small shops, cafes and restaurants in a beach area that embodies the essence of the California lifestyle.
The historical communities as Gaslamp Quarter (the first commercial district of San Diego) and Little Italy, which sustained past a tuna industry of millions of dollars, are the nuclei of the visual arts and performances. Once a year, downtown artists open their studios and galleries to the public to celebrate the artistic legacy of the area. Music is an essential part of the cultural character of San Diego and is the star of the festival of the historic Gaslamp Quarter. The works of blues and jazz musician Jim Croce are a vibrant part of the culture of the city.
With dozens of cultural organizations, associations of writers and artists cooperatives, San Diego is one of the most important artistic centers in southern California. San Diego, at the time a thriving fishing port, currently focuses its successful resources and energy in tourism. More than 26 million tourists a year visit San Diego from all over the world. His success as one of the main tourist destinations in North America owes much to its history and multicultural status, as well as its amazing location and artistic scene. Considered the birthplace of California, San Diego was founded by a Spanish mission eighteenth century led by Father Junipero Serra.
In 1769, Serra established the first of several Catholic missions on a green of what later became San Diego mound. In the early nineteenth century, Serra established missions along the coast of Alta and Baja California, the territory that is now the West Coast of the United States and Mexico . The Presidio, the name by which the first mission in California is known, is the heritage of the Spanish origins of San Diego. The high walls of the Presidio, tiled roofs and manicured gardens and architecture reflect a flavor that can be seen as of today in much of Southern California.
‘s Hispanic influences are still strong today because San Diego is located an hour from the border with Mexico. Everywhere there are signs of this strong relationship with the Hispanic world, especially in border festivals such as Cinco de Mayo, the International Film Festival of San Diego and the Latino Film Festival. Though its origin is due to modest the efforts of a Spanish monk, in San Diego where more than a dozen religious beliefs such as Hinduism, Islam or Judaism. San Diego is not a city, it is a mosaic of cultures, and unique neighborhoods and small communities. It is, in short, the perfect pot of American cultures.
