San Diego Balboa Park Historical Walking Tour

Enjoy a professionally escorted historical walking tour of Balboa Park in San Diego, California. Relax as your Tour Guide Extraordinaire from Another Side Tours makes sure you see all of the most interesting and historic spots without skipping a thing.
We take our guests to Balboa Park daily and we are the experts on this crown jewel in the heart of San Diego. Balboa Park is America’s largest urban cultural park, but it is so much more than that! Balboa Park is a national treasure and it is just a fascinating place with a rich history and it is here waiting to be explored by YOU!

Besides open areas and natural vegetation, the park contains a variety of cultural attractions including the Spanish Village Art Center, an assortment of museums, theaters, numerous beautiful gardens, shops and restaurants as well as being the home to The World Famous San Diego Zoo. Balboa Park was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1977 and we are sure that you will love it too.

Meeting Point

The Prado at Balboa Park

1549 El Prado, San Diego, CA 92101, USA

This Tour Starts At: El Prado Building (Where the Balboa Park Visitors Center and El Prado restaurant is located) Inside Courtyard where the fountain is located.

What to expect:

Duration: 2 hours

Balboa Park

1549 El Prado, , San Diego, 92101-1660, California

We take our guests to Balboa Park daily and we are the experts on this crown jewel in the heart of San Diego. Balboa Park is America’s largest urban cultural park, but it is so much more than that! Balboa Park is a national treasure and it is just a fascinating place with a rich history and it is here waiting to be explored by YOU!

1 hour

El Prado

San Diego, California

El Prado in Balboa Park is the central, long, and wide promenade that serves as the main thoroughfare, connecting various plazas and leading to numerous cultural institutions, museums, and gardens, all while showcasing Spanish Colonial Revival architecture.

10 minutes

Casa De Balboa

1649 El Prado, Balboa Park, San Diego, 92101-1662, California

The Casa de Balboa, located in Balboa Park in San Diego, is a historic building originally named the Commerce and Industries Building, now housing the San Diego History Center, Museum of Photographic Arts, and San Diego Model Railroad Museum, among others.

5 minutes

Botanical Building and Lily Pond

1550 El Prado, , San Diego, 92101-1660, California

A vibrant array of water lilies and lotus bloom along the shallow reflecting pond, originally constructed for the Panama-California Exposition in 1915.

3 minutes

Spanish Village Art Center

1770 Village Pl, Balboa Park, San Diego, 92101-1651, California

The Spanish Village Art Center is an art center in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. Anni von Westrum Baldaugh was among the artists who had studio space at the Spanish Village. Current tenants include the San Diego Mineral and Gem Society and the Southern California Association of Camera Clubs.

3 minutes

Alcazar Garden

El Prado at Park Boulevard, , San Diego, California

Alcazar Garden is a formal garden in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It is named for Alcazar Castle in Seville, Spain; its design is patterned after the castle's gardens.

3 minutes

Spreckels Organ Pavilion

1549 El Prado, Suite 10, San Diego, 92101-1660, California

The Spreckels Organ Pavilion in San Diego's Balboa Park is home to the world's largest outdoor pipe organ, featuring over 5,000 pipes and hosting free Sunday concerts. Marvel at the sight and sound of the amazing Spreckels Organ, which consists of more than 5,000 pipes ranging in length from 12 inches to 32 feet. Housed in an ornate vaulted structure with highly embellished gables, the 100-plus-year-old organ comes to life each Sunday during free weekly concerts.

3 minutes

California Tower

1350 El Prado, At the San Diego Museum of Man, San Diego, 92101-1616, California

The California Tower, a prominent San Diego landmark within Balboa Park, is a 198-foot, three-tiered structure with Spanish and Mexican architectural elements, and it's part of the California Building, which houses the Museum of Us (formerly the San Diego Museum of Man).

5 minutes

San Diego Museum of Art

1450 El Prado, Balboa Park, San Diego, 92102, California

The San Diego Museum of Art (SDMA), located in Balboa Park, is the region's oldest, largest, and most visited art museum, offering a diverse collection spanning various periods and cultures, including Spanish and Italian old masters, South Asian paintings, and American art.

3 minutes

Moreton Bay Fig Tree

1788 E Prado, Balboa Park, San Diego, 92101, California

The iconic Moreton Bay Fig tree in San Diego's Balboa Park, a champion tree in California, is a massive, evergreen fig tree (Ficus macrophylla) planted in 1914, and is estimated to be over 100 years old. It's one of the largest of its species in California, with a height of 78 feet, a crown width of 123 feet, and a trunk girth of 486 inches.

3 minutes

Desert Garden

Park Avenue and Village Place, Balboa Park, San Diego, 92101, California

The Balboa Desert Garden was established at the Park Blvd. location in 1976 and contains more than 1300 plants, including succulents and drought-resistant.

3 minutes

Japanese Friendship Garden and Museum

2215 Pan American Road E, San Diego, 92101-1656, California

The Japanese Friendship Garden (JFGM), also known as San-Kei-En, in San Diego's Balboa Park, is a 12-acre garden celebrating the friendship between San Diego and its sister city, Yokohama, featuring traditional Japanese garden design elements like koi ponds, stone lanterns, and a cherry blossom grove.

3 minutes

Zoro Garden

El Prado, San Diego, CA 92101, USA

Zoro Garden is a six-acre sunken garden in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It is located between the Fleet Science Center and Casa de Balboa. The name refers to the Persian mystic Zoroaster. The stone garden was originally built for the 1915–16 Panama–California Exposition.

5 minutes

Bea Evenson Fountain

1549 El Prado, San Diego, CA 92101, USA

Bea Evenson Fountain is an outdoor fountain in San Diego's Balboa Park, in the U.S. state of California.

5 minutes

Old Globe Theatre

1363 Old Globe Way, , San Diego, 92101-1696, California

The Old Globe Theatre in San Diego is a renowned regional theatre complex, California's oldest professional theatre, and San Diego's largest theatre organization, known for its diverse programming, commitment to both classic and contemporary works, and its beautiful location within Balboa Park.

5 minutes