3 Best Sights in San Diego, California

Fifteen-minute ferries connect two locations along the Downtown San Diego waterfront with the Coronado Ferry Landing. Boats depart on the hour from the Broadway Pier on the Embarcadero and on the half hour from Coronado Ferry Landing to the Embarcadero during operating hours. Between the San Diego Convention Center and the Coronado Ferry Landing, service departs every 30 minutes during operating hours. Buy tickets at the Broadway Pier, 5th Avenue Landing, or Coronado Ferry Landing. To reach the heart of downtown Coronado from the Ferry Landing, you can rent a bike at the landing (or bring one with you), or catch the 904 shuttle bus that runs along Orange Avenue. Ferry service is operated by Flagship Cruises.

Considered the nation’s largest air show,  this annual event features aerial acts, military demonstrations, immersive experiences, and static displays. You can even tour vintage aircraft and get the experience of soaring high in one of the on-site simulators. The event is usually held in September or October.

The Mission-style Santa Fe Depot, which replaced the original 1887 station on this site when it opened in 1915 for the Panama–California International Exposition, serves Amtrak and Coaster passengers. A booth here has bus schedules, maps, and tourist brochures. Formerly an easily spotted area landmark, the graceful, tile-dome depot is now overshadowed by 1 America Plaza, the 34-story office tower across the street. At the base of this skyscraper, designed by architect Helmut Jahn, is a center linking the city's train and bus systems, as well as MTS's red trolleys, which run from the station all the way to the Mexico border. The building's signature crescent-shape, glass-and-steel canopy arches out over the trolley tracks.