San Diego is a vibrant, metropolitan city with a laid-back, small-town feel, and no other San Diego neighborhood embraces this best-of-both-worlds spirit like downtown. Neatly packed into a single square-mile grid between the 5 freeway and the Harbor, downtown San Diego has it all: soaring skyscrapers bustling with big business, old turn-of-the-century buildings housing trendy new nightclubs, and peaceful parks perfect for a short stroll or a relaxing rest.

Visitors and residents alike can enjoy dining in Little Italy, shopping at Horton Plaza, taking in an opera at the Civic Center, exploring an aircraft carrier at the Harbor, and dancing in the Gaslamp Quarter, all in the space of a few dozen city blocks. Close to the international airport, cruise ship terminal, Balboa Park museums and world-renowned San Diego Zoo, downtown is a fine place to begin your visit to America's Finest City.

Downtown San Diego encompasses several distinctive communities of interest to visitors. The Business District, centered around the Civic Center at First Avenue and C Street, is the heart of local government and commerce. The Opera House and Golden Hall music venues are located here, as well as the offices of the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau. If you need to get directions, exchange currency, renew a visa or reschedule a plane flight, you'll find a wide array of travel-related services in the area.