Things to Do and See in San Diego

Yes - second the Legoland. It's in Carlsbad, which is still San Diego metro area, even though that's hard to make out map-wise.

Coronado Island is very, very pretty. Go visit the Hotel Del Coronado (Or if you're so inclined to pay through the nose, staying there is unbelievable).

Seaport Village is a neat little collection of shops downtown / on the bay. Worth an hour or two of idle time & watching the boat activity.

As for beaches...Pacific Beach is the one that "looks" like a little fun beachy place. Old time roller coaster, boardwalk, etc. The other beaches are fine, too. For kids, I personally prefer to do Coronado Island beaches - little less of the teenage/college/party crowd, but then again, that's part of the atmosphere of the beach, too.

Downtown - Gaslamp District is neat - and the mall - Horton Plaza - is pretty cool.

Old Town is neat to see. Exactly what it sounds like - an old town - tourist area.

You're already going to the zoo, so you'll be in Balboa Park - it's very beautiful - all the museums, etc. Always a festival of some sort happening somewhere around there. Adjacent to that is the community/town of Hillcrest - it is predominantly considered the "gay" district, but oh, so much fun - neat shops, all walkable.

Oh, I miss San Diego! You'll never want to leave - it's just beautiful. Have a great time!!!

I second La Jolla and Coronado they're beautiful. And please, please wear comfortable shoes to the zoo. It is really, really big!!!! The ocean is very cold even in the summer and take sweatshirts for in the evening especially if you are staying on the beach, it gets cool at night.

I agree with the other mom....don't miss Coronado Island. It's a pretty drive over the bridge (just minutes away) and then go check out Del Coronado Hotel...it's a very famous old hotel. If you're going to be there over a Sunday...eat Sunday brunch there....it's the largest buffet I've ever seen in my whole life! the food was amazing and the views were great! have a great time!

You've gotten some great suggestions. If you're interested in sports, I would add taking a tour of Petco Park (baseball stadium). It's one of the neatest ballparks we've been to. It's close to Seaport Village and Gaslamp Quarter so you could make a day of those things. Enjoy! San Diego is one of our favorite places!

Hi there. We used to live in Orange County and drove down to San Diego often. Our favorite places to eat were in the Gaslamp district. Obviously, the San Diego Zoo is a neat experience - but it's huge, so plan to stay all day if you go. If you drive north along PCH, you'll get a lovely view of the ocean, and there are several places to stop and eat or watch the waves.

Lego Land possibly. In La Jolla you can watch handgliding off a cliff, which is pretty cool. The beach of course!

I second the Seaport Village idea! It's so fun, and I haven't been there in years, but there used to be a retaurant floating on top of the ocean in Seaport Village also!! My favorite thing there is a little town called Julian. My Aunt and Uncle live is Chula Vista and Julian is like an hour drive up into the mountains..Gorgeous!!.. and once you're there there's tons of cool shops and they are famous for their peach cobbler. Its to die for. You may want to look it up online though, cause I think I heard it suffered some damage in the fires.