Estudillo Museum, Old Town State Historic Park.

Getty Images/Lonely Planet Images

Old Town San Diego State Historic Park

Top choice in San Diego

LoginSave

On the site of San Diego's first European settlement, Old Town consists of a cluster of restored or rebuilt historic 19th-century buildings filled with quaint exhibits, souvenir stores and cafes. A good place to start is at the visitor center in 1853 Robinson-Rose House; see the neat model of the pueblo in 1872 and pick up a self-guided tour pamphlet ($3). Staff also run free guided tours daily at 11am and 2pm.

The Robinson-Rose House opens onto the central plaza, the center of social activity. On the far side, the Casa de Estudillo is the most magnificent of the restored adobe mansions with a lovely garden and furnished period rooms. Another highlight is the Seeley Stable where you can marvel at old stage coaches, an ox-drawn cart and a massive two-wagon freighter. A fun stop is Racine & Laramie, which shows you what a tobacconist shop looked like in 1869.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Children's Pool

    Children's Pool

    7.93 MILES

    Built in the 1930s behind a wave-cutting seawall, La Jolla’s Children’s Pool was created as a family beach but has since been invaded by herds of seals…

  • Star of India at the Maritime Museum on the Embarcadero.

    Maritime Museum of San Diego

    2.72 MILES

    Next to the new Waterfront Park, this collection of 11 historic sailing ships, steam boats and submarines is easy to spot: just look for the 100ft-high…

  • Birch Aquarium At Scripps, La Jolla, California. (Photo by: Education Images/Citizens of the Planet/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

    Birch Aquarium at Scripps

    8.27 MILES

    This state-of-the-art aquarium is a wonderous underwater world home to 5000 fish. Visitors can watch sharks dart, kelp forests sway, and even meet a…

  • New Children’s Museum

    New Children’s Museum

    3.6 MILES

    This interactive children’s museum offers interactive art meant for kids. Installations are designed by artists, so tykes can learn principles of movement…

  • San Diego Main Library

    San Diego Main Library

    4.04 MILES

    A couple blocks east of Petco Park, the city's recent landmark is a beauty. Crowned by a steel-and-mesh dome, the futuristic, nine-story library features…

  • San Diego, AUG 2 2014 - Overcast view of the entrance of Sunny Jim Sea Cave; Shutterstock ID 2148197953; GL: 65050; netsuite: Online editorial; full: POI updates: San Diego; name: Ann Douglas Lott 2148197953

    Cave Store

    7.79 MILES

    Waves have carved a series of caves into the sandstone cliffs east of La Jolla Cove. The one below the Cave Store, a shop selling vintage curios, is 200…

  • Parque de la Amistad

    Parque de la Amistad

    15.79 MILES

    For a glimpse at what a wall between neighbors really looks like, find your way to binational Friendship Park. On the Mexico side of the wall in Playas de…

  • Pasaje Rodríguez

    Pasaje Rodríguez

    17.88 MILES

    This atmospheric arty alley reflects TJ's growing urban art scene. The walls are painted with vibrant graffiti-style murals – the perfect backdrop to the…

View more attractions

Nearby San Diego attractions

1. Casa de Carillo

0.1 MILES

Just north of Old Town, this house dates from about 1820 and is said to be the oldest house in San Diego. It is now the pro shop for the public 18-hole…

2. Whaley House

0.21 MILES

Two blocks from the Old Town perimeter sits the city’s oldest brick building (circa 1856), officially certified as haunted by the US Department of…

3. El Campo Santo

0.33 MILES

Continuing east, after San Diego Ave forks right at Conde St, you’ll find this cemetery which dates from 1849. It is the resting place of some 20 souls, a…

4. Presidio Hill

0.36 MILES

In 1769 Padre Junípero Serra and Gaspar de Portolá established the first Spanish settlement in California overlooking the valley of the San Diego River…

5. Junípero Serra Museum

0.42 MILES

This museum stands atop Presidio Hill, the site of California's first settlement and its first mission, known as Mission San Diego de Alcalá, founded here…

6. SeaWorld San Diego

1.74 MILES

Opened in San Diego in 1964, SeaWorld became one of California’s most popular theme parks. Visitors shuttle between aquatic-themed rides, animal…

7. Spruce Street Footbridge

2.14 MILES

As you head northward toward Hillcrest consider a detour across the 375ft Spruce St Footbridge. Note that the 1912 suspension bridge, built over a deep…

8. Hillcrest Gateway

2.18 MILES

The Hillcrest sign was first hung in 1940; a newer version was erected in 1984.

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting: 
    {
  "url": "usa/san-diego/attractions/old-town-san-diego-state-historic-park/a/poi-sig/383355/361857",
  "destination": "San-Diego",
  "continent": "North-America",
  "country": "USA",
  "region": "California",
  "city": "San-Diego",
  "position": "superzone"
}