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Blog | July 20, 2018

5 Museums You Simply Must Visit When in Balboa Park

If you're tired of the constant hustle of Chicago, LA or NYC, give San Diego a go! In case you enjoy good swimming beaches, ideal climate, and good nightlife, America's Finest City may be the right choice for your vacation days (or even relocation if you

If you’re tired of the constant hustle of Chicago, LA or NYC, give San Diego a go! In case you enjoy good swimming beaches, ideal climate, and good nightlife, America’s Finest City may be the right choice for your vacation days (or even relocation if you happen to fall in love with “the birthplace of California”)! The second largest city in the state is known to be an economic center of the region, but also as a center of research in biotechnology.

When you do decide to visit, don’t miss the wonders of surfing, sailing, scuba diving and other activities San Diego Shores (most notably La Jolla and Mission Bay) offer. If you’re a baseball fan, stop by PETCO Park. Here you’ll find many breweries and wineries in the vicinity, and sooooo much more! Still, we found ourselves captivated by Balboa Park and the vast number of museums that you can find within confines of this 1,200-acre urban culture park. According to our calculations (and Balboa Park Wikipedia Page), there are 16 of them. Here are our favorites:


San Diego Natural History Museum
San Diego Natural History Museum - 5 Museums You Simply Must Visit When in Balboa Park, San Diego

Southern California’s oldest institute of its kind, San Diego Natural Museum was built in 1874. Besides several permanent exhibitions, they always have some fun temporary exhibitions to show. The displays usually focus on this biodiverse southern California region.  Many interesting events are held here, so anyone can find something fun to do, at all times. Make sure to check out their website, so you can go in, loaded with info about the freshest available exhibitions and possibilities!


San Diego Model Railroad Museum

People usually associate passion for model trains with the little ones and/or passionate collectors, but we beg to differ. This San Diego’s model train museum can be entertaining to people of all ages and preferences, even if they don’t have any strong emotional ties to trains and such. That being said, train enthusiasts will probably cherish the opportunity to learn more about the railroading history of San Diego much more than some average Joe. Still, exploring many miniature trains counts as time well spent in our book!


San Diego Air & Space Museum

Does anything flight-related spark your interest? Everything from days of hot-air balloons to the magnificent flying machines we have at our disposal today? In that case, this is the place for you! Watch the history of flight unfold in front of your eyes, as you pass by first hot air balloons, various Spitfires, Hellcats WWI and WWII, Korean War and Vietnam era aircraft. Let’s not forget to mention the section of the museum that is constant work in progress- the one dedicated to space exploration!


San Diego Museum of Man
San Diego Museum of Man - 5 Museums You Simply Must Visit When in Balboa Park, San Diego

Did you think that’s impossible for one museum to contain an entire section dedicated to BEERology, but also have one of the most important Egyptian collection in the United States? Well, San Diego’s Museum of man happens to have both of these things on display, as well as exhibits on monsters, torture, human evolution, and race. They also offer guided tours of the California Tower! Be sure to purchase your ticket for this “The Story of Man through the Ages.”

When you decide that you had enough cultural enrichment for the day, call up your favorite driver service near you (yes, Swift cars offers its services in San Diego as well!), and rest your feet all the way to your home, hotel, train station, business meeting, airport or wherever you’re headed!


The Museum of Art San Diego

If you’re in a mood for a rich and diverse cultural experience, this is the place to visit! When you want to enjoy collections of many Spanish, Italian, South Asian and American works of art, you know where to go. Whimsical paintings and sculptures in this building are just waiting to be admired. Everything here is chronologically organized, so the patrons can appreciate all the art pieces in linear order, from 5000 BC to the present day. Not only that this place has plenty of rich permanent exhibitions, but it regularly features major pieces of artwork from around the world!