Where To Eat, Play And Stay In San Diego

California’s so-called ‘beach city’ serves up more than just endless blue skies and beautiful coastline.

A day out in downtown San Diego

Get a sense and feel for the city by strolling around its culture-rich centre.

map of San Diego — A map showing San Diego’s must-visit spots. (Map: Mark Rossi)

1. Hang 10 in La Jolla

Both novice and experienced surfers can enjoy a lesson with experienced instructors from Surf Diva at La Jolla Shores, on a section of San Diego’s 113-kilometre-long coastline that is known for its gentle waves.

sunset in La Jolla Shores, San Diego — Surfing at sundown in La Jolla Shores, San Diego. (Image: Surf Diva)

2. Coffee up

Bird Rock Coffee Roasters is a boho hang known for its brioche breakfast sandos and a rotating roster of specialty coffees. The La Jolla outpost works closely with the Art Cooperative, a space for art and music next door. It’s so So-Cal.

Honey Bee Latte at Bird Rock Coffee Roasters — A cup of honey bee latte keeps your sadness away. (Image: Bird Rock Coffee Roasters)

3. Good times in the Gaslamp Quarter

The Gaslamp Quarter was once San Diego’s scuzzy red-light district. But the downtown neighbourhood is now the pulsing heart of the city, dotted with destination diners, discreet dive bars and breezy rooftop hangs.

4. Roost at Kingfisher

Settle in with a Vietnamese spritz and plate of crispy chicken wings at Kingfisher, a Southeast Asian bar and restaurant with a hella Valley Girl twang.

The pretty interiors at the inner-city eatery are as vivid as a kingfisher’s plumage.

vietnamese dish at King Fisher — A classic Vietnamese-inspired dish. (Image: Kingfisher)

5. Perch at Petco Park

Attending a San Diego Padres baseball game provides an illuminating glimpse into Californian culture.

In addition to being the home ground for the major league team, Petco Park gets runs on the board for its calendar of concerts.

kid and dad playing baseball in San Diego — Baseball is one of the most-loved sports in San Diego.

6. Bike San Diego Bay

The 38-kilometre-long Bayshore Bikeway is a scenic way to loop around San Diego Bay into Imperial Beach.

Hire a bike from Wheel Fun Rentals and cruise between Coronado and Chula Vista and back into Downtown.

biking in San Diego — Biking is the perfect way to stroll around the colourful city. (Image: San Diego Tourism Authority)

Slick Stays

There’s a surplus of beachfront stays in San Diego. Here are a few family-friendly favourites to book for 2023.

Hotel del Coronado, Coronado Beach

This National Historic Landmark (above) is a wedding cake of a hotel that has played host to a number of dignitaries and celebrities since it was built in 1888 and even had a starring role in Some Like It Hot with Marilyn Monroe.

Stay in the new Cabanas near the expansive main pool or in The Victorian, the original oceanfront building.

beach lounge chairs in Hotel Del Coronado — Lounge by the beach next to your oceanfront accommodation in Coronado Beach.

Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa

This mid-century resort on the shores of Mission Bay is within 16 kilometres of major attractions such as Balboa Park and the Gaslamp Quarter.

The 310-room Polynesian-styled hotel is also the perfect launching pad for a cruise on the Bahia Belle sternwheeler boat.

beachfront tower room at Catamaran Resort Hotel — Capture the Pacific Ocean right outside your balcony. (Image: Catamaran Resort Hotel)

The Crystal Pier Hotel

Live out your southern Cali dreams and sleep over the ocean at the Crystal Pier Hotel, the Cape Cod-styled clapboard cottages built in 1930 on the former Pickering’s Pleasure Pier.

Each nautical-striped cottage has a private patio so you can drop a line in from your doorstep.

boardwalk at Crystal Pier Hotel — Soak up the warm sea breeze at the Crystal Pier. (Image: Crystal Pier Hotel)

Celebrating cultural gems in California’s second-largest city

There are myriad attractions in this Pacific Coast hangout that give the city its cool, creative edge.

Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego

San Diego is closer to Tijuana than to LA, so it makes sense that the opening collections at the newly renovated La Jolla branch of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego celebrate artists from the US-Mexico borderlands.

The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park

The Rady Shell is a sleek new outdoor venue located on the San Diego waterfront.

The concert hall without walls is the summertime home for the San Diego Symphony and is known for its exceptional acoustics and architecture.

oceanfront concert venue at the Rady Shell Jacobs Park — The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park is the perfect spot to watch concerts. (Image: The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park)

Comic-Con Museum

Balboa Park is best known for being home to San Diego Zoo. But fans of Comic-Con, the biggest pop culture convention on the planet, know it as the place to marvel at the comic-inspired exhibits at the Comic-Con Museum, which opened in 2021.

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The Land of the First People Park

The Iipay – Tipay Kumeyaay Mut Niihepok (Land of the First People) park offers insights into the Kumeyaay Nation and their connection to their ancestral lands near Old Town San Diego, which is worth dedicating a day or two to exploring.

La Jolla Playhouse

No visit to San Diego is complete without taking in a show at La Jolla Playhouse, co-founded in 1947 by actor Gregory Peck. The theatre is known around the world for swinging the spotlight on local talent and developing award-winning plays and musicals.

Old Town

The Kumeyaay were San Diego County’s First People, and lived in this region more than 10,000 years before the missionaries arrived in 1769 and built a mission on a hillside in present-day San Diego.

A small Mexican community was formed at the base of the hill in the 1820s and the rich heritage that defined the area was recognised in 1968 when it was declared Old Town State Historic Park by California’s Department of Parks and Recreation.

Take a Trolley Tour to historic Whaley House, San Diego’s first commercial theatre, and stroll through the neighbourhood during the Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) to see Old Town come alive.

The influences from south of the border are also evident in the Old Town Urban Market: head to Tuetano Taquería for tacos and Barrio Donas for doughnuts. While we’re talking culinary attractions, follow the aroma of coriander, cumin and corn to eateries Casa Guadalajara and Cafe Coyote where you’re guaranteed great Mexican food.

old town trolley tours at BalBoa Park — Hop on a trolley to explore Balboa Park. (Image: Old Town Trolley Tours)

What to eat and where

San Diego’s most coveted dishes look to the Pacific Coast for inspiration. Here are some delicious seafood staples to seek out and try.

Quesadillas

Take your tastebuds to Tijuana with a tortilla filled with pepper jack cheese, roasted chillies, pico de gallo and shrimp and then folded and cooked to melted perfection at Barra Barra Saloon in Old Town San Diego.

Seafood boil

The Crab Hut is a lively meeting place for locals and holidaymakers who gather here to tuck into the signature Cajun-style seafood boil (pictured above), comprising a king crab claw, snow crab cluster, craw fish, clams, mussels and potato slathered with garlicky butter.

Lobster roll

Ironside Fish & Oyster eatery is located in a historic hipster-cool renovated warehouse in Little Italy. It’s where the city’s tattooed and moustachioed crowds convene to devour soft white rolls stuffed with lightly dressed chunks of Maine lobster.

Tuna crudo

The best way to take the pulse of San Diego is to head to the Fish Market. Once you’re done with the babble and noise downstairs, head to Top of the Market in pursuit of tuna crudo. Suddenly, there’s another very good reason to stay in San Diego a bit longer.

Wellbeing means different things to different travellers. Here’s how to pick a hotel that gets it right for you.

The best wellness holidays aren’t necessarily spent wrapped in a spa robe. Sometimes they’re found around a dinner table in Cambodia, on a hiking trail in New Zealand or after finally beating jet lag on the other side of the world. The hotel you choose is what makes them happen.

1. Easy access to good food

meals from Novotel Bangkok Sukhumvit 20 — Taste delicious meals at Novotel Bangkok Sukhumvit 20.

One of the quickest ways to derail healthy habits on holiday is to spend half of it working out where to eat instead of digging into the culture around you. Thankfully, Novotel has done much of the hard work already, with chefs building menus that lean into the flavours, ingredients and traditions of each destination.

In Sihanoukville, Cambodia, Korkor soup – often dubbed ‘Cambodian ratatouille’ – sits alongside raw blue crab dressed with lime and chilli, best enjoyed with views across the Gulf of Thailand.

In the lovingly chaotic city of Bangkok, the presence of food cranks up the sociability. At Novotel Bangkok Sukhumvit 20, you can settle in with mango sticky rice and stranger-turned-friends beside the pool at Sky on 20 rooftop bar, or bring them along to tackle river prawns and stir-fried crab with holy basil at the buzzing Crab Paradise Dinner Buffet.

Then Novotel Dubai Al Barsha welcomes you with a laidback twist on the level of indulgence the Middle Eastern city is best known for up on Deck Se7en. Looking towards Burj Al Arab, the rooftop lounge has everything from Mediterranean-style dishes like seabass ceviche to Italian prosecco sundowners.

At the other end of the scale, in the hills that surround the Novotel Bali Ubud Resort, calm comes from nature. At Siralada restaurant, Balinese traditions shape the menu while thunder rumbles over the surrounding jungle – proving the setting is as nourishing as the food itself.

While at Novotel Nha Trang, chef Kieu Thi My Hanh and her team showcase Vietnam’s knack for balancing freshness, texture and fragrant herbs. Pho remains a favourite, while seafood salad with pomelo and mango brings those flavours together in one bright dish.

It’s all an approach backed by partnerships with expert food creators such as Alfie Steiner, whose plant-forward recipes prove healthy food should never taste plain.

2. Better sleep options

Novotel Bali Ubud Resort room — Sleep deeply with Novotel.

There are few travel experiences more disappointing than arriving in a new country, determined to seize the day, only to fall asleep fully clothed by 3pm.

For Australian travellers, jet lag is often an unavoidable part of the journey. That’s one reason Novotel runs sleep-focused initiatives that help guests adjust quickly without compromising on health. We’re talking partnerships with Sydney-based sleep specialist Olivia Arezzolo, known for her advice on everything from better sleep habits to beating jet lag, alongside features like pillow menus, in-room yoga content and tailored sleep guidance.

The sooner you’re operating on local time, the sooner you can get back to more pressing matters – like deciding which spa treatment to book.

3. More ways to move

woman hiking around queenstown new zealand — Stay at Novotel Queenstown Lakeside and explore local hiking trails. (Credit: GettyI mages/ naruedom)

Every place in the world has its own way of getting you moving: whether that’s hiking up ice-bitten mountains before a sauna or gentle stretching by the pool before a facial. From fitness centres to spas, Novotel recognises that wellbeing rarely looks the same.

At Novotel Queenstown Lakeside, activity is inescapable. Here, hiking trails, ski fields, bungee jumps, and white-water rafting have made the region famous. The hotel’s location on the shores of Lake Wakatipu means less time spent organising yourself and more time out there experiencing them. To top it all off, you can book a private hot tub for the evening before heading back into the wilderness tomorrow.

Bali, of course, takes a softer approach. At Novotel Bali Ubud Resort or Novotel Bali Nusa Dua, movement is less about conquering a mountain and more about a dance class between the tropical gardens and lagoon pools. Afterwards, the spa takes over, with traditional treatments like a Lulur body scrub: a combination of rice, turmeric, sandalwood, ginger and jasmine that’ll soothe muscles already relaxed by the Balinese heat.

4. Better connections

Kids will love a stay at Novotel Sharm El Sheikh.

One of the best things about travel is that it gives your family stories you’ll be telling for years. Novotel helps create them with activities that bring everyone together, whether that’s trying something new, learning a local skill, or simply spending more time together.

Go for a distinctly Thai twist at Novotel Phuket Vintage Park, where many of the family activities draw on local culture. Kids can try everything from beginner Thai boxing and language lessons to umbrella painting and – a pastime beloved by children the world over – pool foam parties. Everyone is welcome to join in, whether that’s getting splashed, covered in paint, or simply watching their children discover a new side of Thailand during the dedicated Family & Kids Day.

A different adventure awaits at Novotel Sharm El Sheikh. Kids could be perfectly content with discos, drawing classes and new holiday friends, but the Red Sea has other ideas. Sitting on the edge of Naama Bay, days here might involve snorkelling colourful reefs, taking a boat trip to Ras Mohammed National Park or heading into the desert by quad bike or camel for a Bedouin-style dinner beneath the stars.

5. Location is everything

Surin Beach, Choeng Thale, Thalang District, Phuket, Thaiföld — Explore Phuket’s gorgeous beaches. (Credit: Bence Biczo)

Everyone’s idea of wellness looks a little different. With more than 600 hotels across 65 countries, Novotel gives guests the freedom to choose the destination that suits them best. Whether that’s a beachside escape in Phuket, an alpine expedition in Queenstown or a city break in Bangkok, there’s a good chance a Novotel isn’t far away.

All that’s left? Choosing your version of wellbeing.

Discover stays to inspire your everyday at novotel.accor.com.

Must-visit spots for your San Diego getaway