Balboa Park – A Great Cultural Experience In San Diego.
February 1, 2008 by Travel Guide Greg
Filed under San Diego
Balboa Park is the largest cultural park facility in San Diego. This park is made up of 15 museums, performing arts facilities, garden areas and the San Diego Zoo. You can always find some form of entertainment going on here whether it is a play, musical, concert or museum exhibits.
Here is a great video showing some of the culture and arts available within Balboa Park:
One of the museums in the Park, the San Diego Natural History Museum, was created in 1874. This museum is known for its research and is the oldest facility located in Southern California. The Marston House museum is part of the National Register of Historic Places. This museum is surrounded by acres of gardens.
Then there is the San Diego Museum of Art which was created in the year 1926. This museum has an assortment of European art, 19-20th century American art, Asian art and Latin American art.Within Balboa Park, each facility operates their own unique tours however, at the Visitors Center, you can opt for a 60-minute audio tour of the overall park. There is an audio made for both children and adults containing information on the architecture, the history of the Park, and other information of interest.
Balboa Park has both indoor and outdoor activities for the children. There are museums located in the Park that have something of interest for the kids. They include: The San Diego History Museum, San Diego Hall of Champions, San Diego Air & Space Museum, San Diego Automotive Museum, the San Diego Model Railroad Museum and we can’t forget the San Diego Zoo.
In the year 2000, San Diego’s millennium celebration was held at Balboa Park. Then in 2001, the San Diego Natural History Museum reopened after a massive rebuilding and expansion of 90,000 square feet. In 2003, Balboa Park received the honor of one of the best parks in the world and in 2004, the Inez Grant Memorial Rose Garden was honored as one of the top 12 rose gardens in the world. The new Veterans Memorial Garden opened in November of 2005, taking up an entire acre of the park.
As you can see, when visiting San Diego, Balboa Park is a must see place for a great cultural and entertaining experience
