The Gaslamp Quarter is the city's historic district, a 16-block area of shops, galleries, coffee houses, theatre spaces and dozens of restaurants. It can be explored by horse-drawn carriage, a Ford Model T or on foot with an audio walking tour from the Gaslamp Quarter Foundation. The San Diego Maritime Museum , anchored along Harbour Drive, is a good place to begin an exploration of the waterfront. The cruise ship terminal is a popular waterfront destination and excursion boats leaving from Pier B can take visitors on a tour of the bay. The city's maritime past is further commemorated in Seaport Village , a 14-acre waterfront shopping and dining complex which puts the visitor in mind of the days when cargo ships would embark on the perilous journey from New England, rounding Cape Horn before reaching California.
Balboa Park is another reminder of the founders' civic vision.
It covers 1200 acres and contains some fantastic architecture, including 14 museums, art galleries, the Reuben H Fleet Space Theater and Science Center , the Simon Edison Center for the Performing Arts , the San Diego Junior Theater , Starlight Bowl , sports facilities and the California Tower with its working 100-bell carillon. The Park also houses the world-famous San Diego Zoo , which houses 800 different species. The entire zoo is designed as a 100-acre tropical garden which can be visited on foot or on a guided bus tour. This quaint village is set on a peninsula, connected to the mainland on the south by way of a narrow sandbar known as the Silver Strand . The fascinating Hotel del Coronado , known as 'The Del', boasts turrets, tall cupolas and hand-carved wooden pillars.