Balboa Park is the shining star of San Diego. We arrived early in the morning at 8:00am, still being on East Coast time, and had the whole place to ourselves for an hour and a half before anything really opened. We really enjoyed walking through the gardens (including the Alcazar garden, the rose garden, and the desert garden) and admiring the architecture, and walking along the short Palm Canyon Trail. After things got going/open, we visited the Japanese garden, which has a separate paid entry fee, and it was really stunning with the cherry blossoms in bloom (third week of March). The botanical building was a bit underwhelming, but it was great to just walk through the various plazas and squares and see so many nice things for free. Parking was ample at a number of different parking lots.

If you are over 65 yrs old, San Diego museums offer 50% off entrance fees in February. We were able to go into the museums at Balboa Park for a reasonable price. Our favorite museum was the Comic-Con museum. But there are plenty of others to choose from. We grabbed lunch at Panama 66 and their food was excellent.

After first visiting the USS Midway, I made the short journey to Balboa Park! This is located not far from the city centre and the zoo. I was there on Sundays and getting one of the free parking spaces was not exactly easy! The weather was fantastic and felt like half of San Diego moved to this impressive park! This is quite extensive and in the heart are very worth seeing colonial buildings and churches! In addition, you will find cafes and great seating that invite you to linger! I was thrilled! A "must see" in San Diego!

This was a fun place to visit, but I suggest planning on pay $$ to go to a museum or two. We did not do this and planned on just the free things, but it really wasn't worth it just for that. There is some pretty architecture to see and some fountains, etc. so I didn't feel like our time was wasted, but it would have been better if we had gone for another purpose. It was just that the cost of the museums was enough to make them not worth it for us because we have similar museums right by our home. If you're just looking for a nice place to take a stroll and see some pretty sights along the way, then this is the perfect place for you!

An excellent place to visit; I didn't imagine how big it is and what it encompasses. Unfortunately we could only go at night to meet him and we did not enjoy all that he offers but if at night he enjoys himself, by day he must be even more so. Many places, replicas of temples and ancient places, gardens, museums and even the zoo is in that area. Highly recommended.

I love Balboa Park! Every time my husband and I visit San Diego we try to visit the park to relax. The last time was in December. We had to see everything, groups of school kids, quinceañeras and wedding photo shoots, groups of nuns, orchestras, everything. I like that there are museums of many things. The only thing I don’t like so much is that if you like to walk and explore, the bathrooms are far away and if you are in a different area you have to walk enough to find one 😂😂😂 but outside of that, I love it!

Yes, this place is as good as all the reviews say. Beautiful architecture and buildings, gardens (admission fee for the Japanese version) , museums (some of them free), the Globe Theatre, walks, etc. We wandered around for hours in and between them all. We tried the restaurant and that was good too. We also went on the free tram around the grounds, but that largely seemed to be views of the car park (and a way for people to get from there!). The ladies in the info centre were cheerful and helpful. We thought it was amusing the church bells were playing a Backstreet Boys song. Bilboa Park is a true credit and ongoing legacy to the people of San Diego.

Visited 19/06/2023 A huge and beautiful park filled with different hidden gardens with blooming flowers, buildings with detailed architecture, and magnificent fountains. We had a sunny day to enjoy it and upon arriving the views were stunning. There were lots of little paths in many directions leading to new, exciting gardens. We even found an area where musicians were playing in a tranquil space. It is really worth a visit just to here, with multiple buildings to explore, gardens and fountains to enjoy. It's a really nice place to be away from the bustle of the city. It feels a lot bigger once you are in the Park, and there are museums to keep your occupied as well. Just a beautiful well-kept space.

There's so much to see in Balboa Park, and I just scratched the surface. The highlight for me was the Spanish Village Art Center, with artists demonstrating their craft and selling their wares. I also loved the Botanical Building, Lily Pond, Alcazar Garden (with adjacent museum) and just walking around to admire the buildings and grounds. I could have spect so much more time here!

Balboa park is one of my favorite parks overall. The architecture is just stunning. They have an art section too where the artists bring in there art. Which is alright. The botanical garden has been closed for sometime, looking forward for it to reopen.