I was looking for a place to walk for a few hours and I found Balboa Park. All I knew about it was it is where you enter the famed San Diego Zoo, but what I found was so much more intriguing.

The park has 17 museums, multiple performing arts venues, various themed gardens, shopping, restaurants, street vendors, and historical and cultural attractions. It is easily worth spending an entire day exploring it all.

If you’re not from the area, you’ve likely heard about the zoo but little about Balboa Park next door. But, the park has a wealth of activities, events, shops, museums and things to see and do. It’s a great location to visit for locals and tourists.

History of Balboa Park

Balboa Park is one of the oldest parks in the United States. The land was reserved in 1835 with 1,200 acres of history and cultural spaces.

Many buildings and spaces within the park are landmarks from the 1915–16 Panama–California Exposition and the 1935–36 California Pacific International Exposition. The park and many buildings are National Historic Landmarks, and the park is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Balboa Park Gardens

My interest in visiting the park was the gardens. There are nearly 20 distinct types of gardens that you explore, with excellent walking trails within the park. Balboa Park has verdant, well-maintained gardens throughout the entire ample space. It seemed like I stumbled upon another unique garden every few hundred feet.

Here are a few of the gardens I saw:

• Cactus Garden
• Australian Garden
• California Native Plant Garden
• Desert Garden
• Rose Garden
• Lily Pond
• Palm Canyon

Each was beautifully landscaped with walking trails, benches, and signage, so you know what you’re seeing. I felt like I was being transported to a new place in each one. I could have stood in the rose garden all afternoon. It smelled so good.

Balboa Park Botanical Builing

There’s also a Botanical Building built during the 1915 Exposition. It houses various bamboo, banana trees, palms and all sorts of flowing and flowing plants. In front of the Botanical Building is a large, long lily pond reflecting pool, and it’s a popular place for pictures. Several young women dressed in their Quinceanera finest posing for photos throughout the park, especially at the lily pond.

Cost to Enter Balboa Park Gardens

The Japanese Friendship Garden is the only garden in the park that requires an entrance fee. It costs $12, and tickets should be bought in advance to guarantee your spot. There is a QR code for quick and easy purchases at the gate, but I was too late on a busy Saturday to get a spot, so I didn’t see this garden.

Because the gardens are spaced all around 1,200 acres, it’s a great way to make your way around the entire park and see all the sites.

Architecture

The architecture of Balboa Park is spectacular. Most of it is a blend of Spanish Baroque combined with Spanish Colonial. Mostly, they’re a highly ornamented yet classic display of buildings.

A favorite spot for taking pictures is the Cabrillo Bridge. It was built in 1915 and was the first cantilevered, multiple-arched bridge in Southern California. It’s about 1,500 feet long and almost 125 feet high.

There are 10 outdoor performance spaces, stages and entertainment in public areas like the ornate vaulted Spreckels Organ Pavilion. It has over 5,000 organ pipes ranging from huge to pencil size, and it’s the biggest outdoor pipe organ in the world. There are performances each Sunday, and I was lucky to witness one.

House of Pacific Relations International Cottages

One of my favorite areas in Balboa Park is the international cottages. There, they have 34 historic cottages depicting different countries. Inside, they have volunteers representing the country and providing education and multicultural goodwill.

Each tiny house was different and included presenters, displays from the country, explanations of their history and culture and – my favorite part – some food items for sale. The United States was selling apple pie on the day I was there, and there was pierogi at the Poland house.

Shopping at Balboa Park

Street vendors are posted at tables throughout the sprawling complex selling clothing, jewelry, souvenirs, and other items. I bought a lovely baby onesie with hand-embroidered flowers as a gift and a batch of fresh-made churros that were out of this world for me.

Throughout the park, you’ll find gift shops and themed areas like the Spanish Village Art Center, where you can walk among Spanish-style buildings in a colorful courtyard made to look like an old village in Spain. When I was there, they featured Spanish glass blowing and had many artists conducting demonstrations and selling their wares.  

Balboa Park Museums

There are 17 museums and cultural institutions around the park house in that beautiful old architecture. Because I was there to walk and see the gardens, I didn’t go in any of them, but I bet it’s worth it just to go in the buildings. A few of the museums are:

• San Diego Natural History Museum ($22)
• Fleet Science Center ($24.95)
• Institute of Contemporary Art San Diego ($10)
• Museum of Photographic Arts (pay what you wish)
• San Diego Air & Space Museum ($23)
• San Diego History Center (varies)
• San Diego Automotive Museum ($14.50)

If you’re a resident with I.D., each Tuesday features a different museum you can enter for free.

If you Visit

It’s worth it to visit Balboa Park if you enjoy gardens, handcrafted items, history, architecture, museums or walking.

Balboa Park is free to enter and has free parking. There are electric car charging stations and a free tram-like streetcar to take you around the park if desired.

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