San Diego Balboa Park

Balboa Park is an enormous park in the middle of downtown San Diego. Admittance to the park grounds is free, as is parking. The park features several playgrounds, picnic tables, and walking paths. Within the park, there are theatres, museums, restaurants, gift shops, and fountains. It is a great place to spend the day. There are also a lot of fun things to do in the park that require a little planning ahead of time.

If you are a San Diego resident or active military (and family) you can enjoy the Balboa Park Residents Free Tuesday program. This allows residents and military to attend the museums in the park for free, according to the schedule listed below. Special presentations or exhibits may not be included.

Free Museums in Balboa Park: First Tuesday
Reuben H. Fleet Science Center
Centro Cultural de la Raza
Model Railroad Museum
Natural History Museum

Free Museums in Balboa Park: Second Tuesday
Museum of Photographic Arts
Museum of San Diego History
Veteran's Museum and Memorial Center

Free Museums in Balboa Park: Third Tuesday
San Diego Art Institute
Mingei International Museum
San Diego Museum of Man
Japanese Friendship Garden

Free Museums in Balboa Park: Fourth Tuesday
San Diego Air and Space Museum
San Diego Automotive Museum
San Diego Hall of Champions
House of Pacific Relations International Cottages

Another free attraction is the Spreckels Organ Pavilion, which features one of the world's largest outdoor pipe organs, with 4530 pipes. Like most of the buildings in the park, it was created for the Panama-California Exposition of 1914. Free summer concerts are offered, usually on Sunday or Monday. You can also walk through the Spanish Art Village for free. It has artist-occupied cottages, and features arts in a variety of media. Art demonstrations are often given on weekends, and art fairs are held occasionally.

If you want to plan a nice date, the Old Globe theatre has three unique stages and produces fifteen plays per year. They take place in the historic Old Globe Theatre, the Cassius Carter Center Stage, and the outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre. In another part of the park, musicals are presented at the Starlight Bowl by the Starlight Theatre. Performances take place in July August, and September.

Balboa Park has many activities for children. The hands-on experiments that they can do at the Science Center are always a hit, as is the Imax Theater there. They may also like the Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater. Puppet shows are given throughout the year. There is also a Junior Theatre, which stages plays and dance productions. Another feature of the park is the the world-famous San Diego Zoo, which has animals from all over the world, including panda bears. Close to the zoo is a carousel and a train ride for the children.

If you prefer to enjoy the scenery, all of the gardens in the park are free. There are too many to name here, but I will go over a few. The Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden is probably the most popular garden in the park. It features a gazebo covered in roses, and pathways lined with them. It is a common spot for weddings. The Japanese Friendship House features a garden and a tea house that serves a variety of Japanese teas and foods. Other gardens include the Cactus Garden, Alcazar Garden, Australian Garden, California Native Plant Garden, the Botanical Building, and the Veteran's Memorial Garden.

Whether you attend the museums, walk the trails, have a picnic, or catch a show, Balboa Park is one of San Diego's greatest places to visit. For more information about the park, visit the Balboa Park website.