Hotel at a Glance: Hotel Iris

Hotel Iris is conveniently located in San Diego’s Mission Valley, about a 10-minute drive from the beach. Parking is free at the hotel, so you can easily bring your car and use it to explore the city and outlying areas. The famous San Diego Zoo is less than 3 miles away, and the Gaslamp Quarter—the city’s dining and shopping hub—is about 15 minutes away.

• Contemporary guest rooms feature eye-catching artwork and bold color schemes.
• In-room amenities: 51-inch HDTVs, free WiFi, microwaves, and mini fridges
• Pack light: Self-service laundry machines let you easily refresh your wardrobe.
• Wind down in the evening at the hotel’s pool and hot tub.

San Diego, California: Historical Attractions and Electric Nightlife in Southern California

San Diego’s sunny, comfortably warm weather and 70 miles of coastline have long attracted vacationing out-of-towners, but the city’s inland scene is no slouch, either. The Gaslamp Quarter is arguably the trendiest listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The area forms both the historic center of town and a hub of San Diego nightlife, with nearly 100 Victorian-era buildings occupied by high-end boutiques, jewelers, and gourmet restaurants.

A stroll through iconic Balboa Park takes you past 17 separate museums, as well as the world-famous and much beloved San Diego Zoo. There’s also the vibrant Spanish Village Art Center, a living gallery where local artists produce pottery, handblown glass, and oil paintings for sale.

Farther north, in Old Town—site of the first European settlement in California—shops in Mission-style stucco buildings sell colorful wrestling masks, woven baskets, and maracas. Nearby stands the Whaley House Museum, dubbed one of the Most Terrifying Places in America by the Travel Channel. Ghosts of former residents are said to inhabit the rooms, which are filled with Victorian furniture, eerie dolls, and squeegees for ectoplasm cleanup.

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