Balboa Park

Balboa Park is an urban cultural park in San Diego, California, United States. It is named after a Spanish explorer who first set eyes on the Pacific Ocean in 1513. Balboa Park is a National Historic Landmark which is managed and maintained by the City of San Diego Parks and Recreation Department.



Balboa Park was founded in 1868. Its beauty owes much to the dedicated horticulturalist Kate Sessions who, in 1892, promised to plant trees throughout its 1200 acres in exchange for renting space for a nursery. In 1915 the park was the site of the city's Panama-Pacific Exposition, a world's fair celebrating the opening of the Panama Canal. Several of the Spanish Colonial-style pavilions built in that year survive along El Prado (the park's main street), and the animals gathered for the exhibition formed the nucleus from which San Diego Zoo has grown. Twenty years later the organizers of the California-Pacific International Exposition added more exhibition spaces around Pan-American Plaza. All these buildings now form a rich concentration of museums and performance venues.



Balboa Park is a cultural complex. Besides open areas and natural vegetation, it contains a variety of cultural attractions such as museums, theaters, gardens, shops, restaurants and San Diego Zoo. The park has museum exhibitions, plays, musicals, concerts, and classes. There are a number of gardens located in the park. These include Alcazar Garden, Botanical Building, Cactus Garden, Casa del Rey Moro Garden, Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden, Japanese Friendship Garden, Marston House Garden, Palm Canyon and Zoro Garden. Every year there are about 14 million visitors going to the park.



Balboa Park is adjacent to many of San Diego's neighborhoods including Downtown San Diego, Bankers Hill, Hillcrest, North Park, South Park, and Golden Hill. It is a beautiful and peaceful place. Stretching from Orange County to the Mexican border, the coastline of San Diego County has 70 miles of lovely sandy beaches, cliffs, coves and seaside resorts. The beach culture is sophisticated, and the sports activity is frenzied. Peace can be found at Batiquitos Lagoon, Torrey Pines State Preserve, and the Chula Vista Nature Center, which are all sanctuaries for coastal wildlife. San Diego is a wonderful place for holidays. Goin2Travel is a worldwide vacation rentals websites where owners and managers can list their vacation rentals and travelers can inquire directly and book the rental with the owner or manager. Search for San Diego vacation rental homes and many other vacation homes at Goin2Travel! Click here for Newport beach rental homes and more!