Downtown is San Diego's Lazarus. Written off as moribund by the 1970s, downtown is now one of the city's prime draws. The turnaround began in the late 1970s with the revitalization of the Gaslamp Quarter Historic District and massive redevelopment that gave rise to the Horton Plaza shopping center and the Convention Center. Although many consider downtown to be the 16½ block Gaslamp Quarter, it's actually comprised of eight neighborhoods, also including East Village, Little Italy, and Embarcadero. Considered the liveliest of the bunch, Gaslamp's 4th and 5th avenues are riddled with trendy nightclubs, swanky lounge bars, chic restaurants, and boisterous sports pubs, something of a French Quarter West (but without Bourbon Street's less savory distractions). Nearby, the most ambitious of the downtown projects is East Village, encompassing 130 blocks between the railroad tracks up to J Street, and from 6th Avenue east to around 10th Street. Sparking the rebirth of this former warehouse district was the 2004 construction of the San Diego Padres' baseball stadium, PETCO Park. As the city's largest downtown neighborhood, East Village is continually broadening its boundaries with its urban design of redbrick cafés, spacious galleries, rooftop bars, sleek hotels, and warehouse restaurants.
When visiting downtown, there are countless amounts of activities and beautiful sights to see around the city. Thanks to the sophisticated Metropolitan Transit System, a car is not necessary to get around.
MISSION VALLEY
The MTS provides both bus and rail services throughout San Diego. The light rail service consists of the blue, orange and green lines. The Metropolitan Transit System allows you to avoid the cost of renting a car but still see all that downtown has to offer.
Metropolitan Transit System
San Diego Traveling South
Sample Itinerary: Little Italy to International Border
Let's say you're staying in Little Italy and want to make your way south for the day, traveling to the border but stopping at interesting places along the way.
BOARD: County/Little Italy TC station, blue line.
• Stop 1: Civic Center. Horton Plaza shopping one block south, landmarks and historical buildings.
• Stop 2: 5th Ave. The heart of downtowns famous gaslamp district. Offers trendy restaurants and bars
• Stop 3: Park & Market. This stop allows you to experience the East Village neighborhood, a charming section of downtown.
• Destination: San Ysidro Station/International Border.
San Diego Traveling East
Sample Itinerary: Old Town to SDSU
After making your way back up to Little Italy from the border, you can take a trip to the northeast part of the city.
BOARD: County/Little Italy TC station, blue line. Take blue line Old Town. GET OFF at the Old Town Station, and board the green line.
• Stop 1: Fashion Valley, excellent shopping.
• Destination: San Diego State University
Traveling West
Sample Itinerary: SDSU to Old Town
After traveling northeast to the University, you can easily make your way back southwest with a few fun stops along the way.
BOARD: SDSU station
• Stop 1: Mission San Diego, San Diego's historical mission
• Stop 2: Qualcomm Stadium
• Destination: Old Town. Historical sites, shopping, great restaurants.
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