No hotel in the region can compare to the Hotel del Coronado for history, but US Grant, built in 1910, comes close. It’s on the National Register of Historic Places for its past including celebrity guests, magnificent ballrooms, a one-time Turkish bath and a speakeasy. Visitors can take a tour with advance reservation by calling the concierge desk.
US Grant Hotel
San Diego
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
11.32 MILES
Built in the 1930s behind a wave-cutting seawall, La Jolla’s Children’s Pool was created as a family beach but has since been invaded by herds of seals…
11.56 MILES
This state-of-the-art aquarium is a wonderous underwater world home to 5000 fish. Visitors can watch sharks dart, kelp forests sway, and even meet a…
0.76 MILES
Next to the new Waterfront Park, this collection of 11 historic sailing ships, steam boats and submarines is easy to spot: just look for the 100ft-high…
0.4 MILES
This interactive children’s museum offers interactive art meant for kids. Installations are designed by artists, so tykes can learn principles of movement…
12.71 MILES
For a glimpse at what a wall between neighbors really looks like, find your way to binational Friendship Park. On the Mexico side of the wall in Playas de…
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park
3.39 MILES
On the site of San Diego's first European settlement, Old Town consists of a cluster of restored or rebuilt historic 19th-century buildings filled with…
0.66 MILES
A couple blocks east of Petco Park, the city's recent landmark is a beauty. Crowned by a steel-and-mesh dome, the futuristic, nine-story library features…
11.17 MILES
Waves have carved a series of caves into the sandstone cliffs east of La Jolla Cove. The one below the Cave Store, a shop selling vintage curios, is 200…
Nearby San Diego attractions
1. Gaslamp Museum & William Heath Davis House
0.37 MILES
This house, a prefab affair brought from Maine in 1850, contains a small museum with 19th-century furnishings, plus historic newspaper clippings in the…
0.4 MILES
This interactive children’s museum offers interactive art meant for kids. Installations are designed by artists, so tykes can learn principles of movement…
3. San Diego Chinese Historical Museum
0.44 MILES
The historic heart of San Diego’s Chinese community is 3rd Ave. Immigrants were once taught English and religion in the Chinese Mission Building, built in…
0.46 MILES
In an upcycled Santa Fe Depot baggage building, this well-respected museum presents changing exhibits drawn from a collection spanning the arc of artistic…
0.53 MILES
This museum preserves a historic collection of fire-fighting equipment and has exhibits depicting some of San Diego’s ‘hottest’ moments from the late…
7. Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church
0.56 MILES
The rich ceiling murals here were painted by an Italian who was flown over to do the work. The church, built in 1925, is still a hub for Little Italy…
0.64 MILES
A quick stroll southeast of the Gaslamp is the home of the San Diego Padres baseball team. The stadium has beautiful brick construction and skyscraper…