The Old West is Alive in San Diego

After a few days at the beach, travelers to San Diego should set aside a day to tour the city in search of its Old West heritage. The first stop for visitors should be Old Town San Diego State Park which was the center of Spanish and Mexican culture long before the American’s raised Old Glory over the small village near Presidio Hill in 1848. After enjoying the numerous historic sites and shops of Old Town, enjoy a visit to the restored Cosmopolitan Hotel & Restaurant, which was first built in the 1820s as a family home. From Old Town, heritage travelers should visit Balboa Park, which is 100 years old in 2015. The Park was created for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition and is not only one of the largest urban parks in the United States, but outside of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., it has one of the highest concentrations of museums in one park in the country. I highly recommend the Museum of Man and the San Diego Art Museum. From Balboa Park, I recommend a visit to the Star of India and the San Diego Maritime Museum along the Embarcadero of San Diego Harbor. The oldest active sailing ship in the world, the British boat makers built it in the Isle of Man in 1863. After touring the Star of India and the many other historic ships docked nearby, take a trip back in time across the Coronado Bridge to the Hotel Del Coronado, an internationally acclaimed seaside resort that first welcomed guests in 1888.