I have been living in San Diego for almost four months now and it is without doubt one of my favorite cities in the world so far. I have been traveling a lot, and San Diego just has a little of everything. Nice weather, wonderful beaches, the perfect Cali vibe and beautiful people. Living in San Diego is like living in a fairytale that never ends. If you want, you can experience a new area every week and there is always something to do. If you are ever bored in San Diego, it really is your own fault.
You can read a lot of books and websites about what to see and what to do while you are in San Diego, but I will now give you a list of my favorite places and things that you can’t miss while you are visiting America’s Finest City. As I told you in one of my previous columns, my absolute favorite area of San Diego is Ocean Beach. Reserve a whole day in your travel calendar, and if it is possible, make it a Wednesday. Take a walk down Newport Avenue and get in a real Cali mood by walking side by side with all the palm trees. Grab a delicious Acai Bowl from O.B. Smoothie Bar & Sub Express for lunch, and relax on the beach in beautiful surroundings. If you can make it to Ocean Beach on a Wednesday, you have to go to the Ocean Beach Farmers Market. Walk down the colorful, cozy and inspiring market, eat dinner from one of the food booths, while feeling the hippie vibe watching slackliners, fire artists and people doing acro yoga. Even though I am not a hippie at all, the Farmers Market kind of makes me wish I was. Another thing you have to try while you are in San Diego is Taco Tuesday. Taco Tuesday is pretty much about eating tacos, drinking margaritas and hanging out with your friends. All the different restaurants have special offers for Taco Tuesday, and my favorite place is El Prez in Pacific Beach. Here you can enjoy the best tacos in San Diego while sitting on their rooftop and watching the beautiful Californian sunset. Do I need to say more? San Diego is a beach community and doing some kind of watersport or beach sport is a must when you are visiting – surfing, paddleboarding, jet skiing, water skiing or beach volleyball. I think my favorites so far are surfing at sunset in Mission Beach, afternoon paddleboarding in Mission Bay, and playing beach volleyball with friends at South Mission Beach. It would be a lie to say that San Diego is a bike friendly community, and using your bike as your way to get around the city is not really ideal. However, I still think one of the things you have to do while you are here is to rent a bike and ride it all the way from Crown Point Park around Mission Bay to Tourmaline Beach. I promise it will be one of the most beautiful bike rides you will ever experience and it doesn’t get more California like. Since San Diego is a beach community, you also must visit all the beautiful beaches. My favorite beaches are La Jolla Shores, Coronado Beach, Torrey Pines Beach and Pacific Beach. You can almost visit a new beach everyday while you are visiting and they all have a different vibe. Maybe this is because I am a girl, but another thing you can’t miss while visiting San Diego is walking around Mission Bay at night. Watching all the beautiful lights and the moon reflecting in the bay is an experience itself, and it almost doesn’t get more romantic. And last but not least, you have to watch the sunset at Sunset Cliffs Natural Park. I have always loved sunsets and have been tracing sunsets all over the world, but one of my favorites places to watch the sunset is at Sunset Cliffs. I don’t even know how to describe it; you just have to watch it. My time in San Diego is unfortunately coming to an end, but I am flying home to Denmark with a backpack filled with amazing experiences, beautiful photos and memories that I will never forget. And I will recommend everybody to visit San Diego at least one time before they die. Mathilde Rousseau Bjerregaard is from Aarhus, Denmark. She is an editorial intern with San Diego Community Newspaper Group. Contact her at [email protected].