It's the jewel of San Diego, and Balboa Park serves as the city's cultural and recreational playground. The sprawling park covers some 1,200 acres, encompassing everything from picnic greenbelts to canyons to remote habitats - and you would need more than a day to explore all reaches of the park. But if you want to get the most flavor out of the park, then you'll want to tour its heart, known as the El Prado area.
Beyond one of the main parking lots off President's Way is the Spreckles Organ Pavilion, which makes for a natural starting point: the venue houses one of the world's largest outdoor pipe organs containing 4,530 pipes. Free ogan concerts are performed on Sundays. The pavilion, with its rows of benches, also often plays host to rallies and speeches. It's also a good place to rest your feet at the end of your tour.
