Balboa Park

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Located on the northern border of Downtown San Diego, Balboa Park is a 1,200 acre park with museums, botanical gardens, walking and hiking trails, venues and home to the world famous San Diego Zoo. 

Established in 1835, the park is one of the oldest in the United States dedicated to public recreational use. In 1915-1916 and again in 1935-1936, the park hosted the World’s Fair (Panama–California Exposition and California Pacific International Exposition) leaving us with most of the historic ornamented Spanish Baroque and Spanish Colonial architecture we see today. 


As of right now, there is plenty of free parking found throughout the park but keep in mind that this is a main tourist attraction visited by 20 million people every year, so it can get busy at times. I recommend visiting in the early hours before anything opens, that way you can really appreciate the grounds and architecture. 

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