Historic Sightseeing In San Diego

San Diego is located on the true frontier of the West. With its neighbouring Tijuana providing a glimpse into Mexican culture and much of its unique character blending into San Diego, there’s already a lot of cultural history abundant in the city on account of its geography. Pair that with the city’s turbulent history, multicultural past and unique architecture and you have a lot of scope for sightseeing and historic exploration.

Guests at the Good Nite Inn Corporate and family rooms in San Diego will be perfectly placed to enjoy the sights and sounds of the city, but digging deep into the city’s vibrant past will require a little more tailoring of your tourist agenda. Below are just some of the historically important areas in San Diego, and how they can provide you with a riveting glimpse into this stunning city’s past most.

Gaslamp Quarter

The Gaslamp quarter is so named on account of its streets being lined with traditional and rather ornate gas lamps. Nowadays, the gaslamp quarter is home to hundreds of nightclubs, bars and restaurants, making it a hotspot for tourists and locals alike looking for some evening fun. However, the area is still well known for its stained glass windows and classic brick sidewalk, which hark back to the early architectural history of the city.

USS Midway

The USS Midway was the longest-serving ship in US Navy and with San Diego harbouring a navy station at Navy Pier, it’s the perfect place to showcase this stunning aircraft carrier. Military-savvy guests at hotels in San Diego will find restored cabins, hangars full of US fighter planes and a fully immersive museum in the bowels of this stunning ship.

Chinese Historic District

San Diego has one of the oldest Chinatowns in the US and although it might not be the well-known type of Chinatown, that of Chinese markets and restaurants is one of the historic importance to the city. When Chinese fishermen emigrated to Southern California in the 1860s’, they were segregated from the rest of the city’s population and were only allowed to live in this eight-block district, now overlapping with the Gaslamp Quarter. Nowadays, the area is full of museums and monuments to the former residents who suffered prejudice during the era.

Balboa Park

Balboa Park was the home of two of the biggest international exhibitions of the US’s history, and provided a unique glimpse into South American culture back in the 1910s’ and 1930s’. Nowadays, however, the beautiful urban park – which beats Central Park in size – is home to the city’s best art galleries, museums and cultural spaces. For those staying at hotels in California, San Diego, Balboa Park is often top of the list when it comes to city sightseeing.

Old Town State Park

Immerse yourself in the 19th-century culture at San Diego’s Old Town State Park. Guests at hotels and Good Nite Inn booking coupons can dive into a wide range of activities here, from horse riding to geocaching artefact hunts. Dating back to 1821, the State Park is often referred to as the birthplace of California, it being the area in which Mexican settlers first started building after the country’s fight for independence from Spain. The park has many refurbished historic buildings along its dusty roads, especially of note on account of its adobe bricks being used instead of wood, giving the buildings a red tinge.