View Attractions Related to: *Top San Diego Museums*
by TourGuideTimExplore San Diego’s Top Museums
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San Diego is usually best associated with its outdoor attractions that take advantage of the great year-round weather. What most tourists don’t realize is San Diego offers a plethora of great museums that are among the best of their kind in the country.
San Diego’s Natural History Museum is one of the oldest museums west of the Mississippi River and has benefited from the fact there is more fossil history representing the last seven million years found in San Diego’s desert than anywhere else.
Our Sports and Model Railroad Museums are the largest of their kind in the country.
The Timken Museum of Art, which houses the works of Old World Masters, is free to the public.
San Diego’s great climate has attracted the world’s best aviators and airplane manufacturers for over 100 years, leaving an aviation history that is unparalleled and represented at several local museums.
Our Fleet Science Center was home to the first IMAX Globe Theater in the country and is now the first to become home to the newest generation of IMAX Globes.
Come visit the unsung heroes of San Diego tourism. Open your eyes to new experiences by selecting each of the picture tabs above or review the summaries of the Most Popular below and explore the museums of San Diego.
Mormon Battalion Historic Museum
Location: Old Town (4 Miles North of Downtown San Diego)
Open Daily: 9AM – 9PM
Cost: Free
Features: One of the longest military marches in U.S. history is profiled in this new, state-of-the-art museum.
California Surf Museum
Location: Oceanside (38 Miles / 40 Minutes North of Downtown San Diego)
Open Daily: 10AM – 4PM. (8PM on Thursdays)
Cost: $5 ($3 for Students, Military, and Seniors 62+; Free for kids)
Features: State of California Surf Museum covering the History of Surfing in California; Skateboarding Memorabilia
Oceanside Museum of Art
Location: Oceanside (38 Miles / 40 Minutes North of Downtown San Diego)
Open Daily: 10AM – 4PM (Opens at 1PM on Sundays and Closed on Mondays)
Cost: $8 ($5 for Seniors 65+, Free for Students and Military Families with I.D.)
Features: Hosts Impressive Art Exhibitions in a Modern Facility added to an Irving Gill Designed Building; Music & Art Events
Mission San Luis Rey Museum
Location: Oceanside (42 Miles / 45 Minutes North of Downtown San Diego)
Open Daily: Entry Allowed 10AM – 4PM
Cost: $6 ($5 for Seniors 65+, $4 for Kids 6-18)
Features: Largest Mission in California; Historic Water Conservation System; Oil Paintings; Abraham Lincoln Signed Document
Marine Corps Mechanized Museum
Location: Oceanside (38 Miles / 40 Minutes North of Downtown San Diego)
Open Weekdays: 7:30AM – 4PM (1PM on Fridays); Closed on Weekends
Cost: Free; Must Show Driver’s License and have Proof of Car Insurance to enter Camp Pendleton
Features: Relics of Past Conflicts including Tanks, Missile Carriers, Howitzer, and other Combat Vehicles
San Pasqual Battlefield State Historic Park & Museum
Location: San Pasqual Valley (34 Miles / 40 Minutes Northeast of Downtown San Diego)
Open Weekends: 10AM – 5PM. (Closed Weekdays)
Cost: Free
Features: Bloodiest Battleground in the Mexican-American War. Also, the Most Controversial Battle Site in the War.
San Diego Archaeological Center
Location: San Pasqual Valley (35 Miles / 40 Minutes Northeast of Downtown San Diego)
Open Daily: 9AM – 4PM. (10AM-2PM on Saturdays. Closed on Sundays.)
Cost: $2 Donation / $5 per Family
Features: 10,000 Years Worth of Archaeological Artifacts Found in San Diego County.
San Diego Maritime Museum
Location: Downtown San Diego (North Embarcadero)
Open Daily: 9AM – 8PM (9PM during Summer)
Cost: $16 ($8 for Kids ages 3-12 and $13 for Students, Military, and Seniors 62+). Parking Costs Extra.
Features: Oldest Active Ship in the World; National Historic Landmarks; U.S. & Soviet Submarines; Nine Maritime Exhibitions, Ships used in the Movies Amistad & Master and Commander; Sailing Adventures.
San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum
Location: Downtown San Diego (North Embarcadero)
Open Daily: Entrance Allowed 10AM – 4PM (Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas)
Cost: $20 ($10 for Kids ages 6-12 and $17 for Seniors 62+). Parking Costs Extra.
Features: USS Midway – Longest Serving Aircraft Carrier in U.S. Naval History; Over 40 Exhibits, including Fighter Planes; Simulator Rides
San Diego Chinese Historical Museum
Location: Downtown San Diego (Marina District)
Open Daily: 10:30AM – 4PM (Opens at 12PM on Sundays); Closed on Mondays.
Cost: $2
Features: Chinese Artifacts left by those who came to San Diego in the mid-to-late 19th Century to work in Gold Mines, build Railroads, and fish for Tuna; Chinese Garden with Koi Pond; Exhibitions
William Heath Davis House
Location: Downtown San Diego (Gaslamp Quarter)
Open Daily: 10AM – 6PM (9AM – 3PM on Sundays); Closed on Mondays.
Cost: $5 ($4 for Seniors)
Features: Built in 1850, this was the Home where the idea of a “New San Diego” began. Learn about the vision for a new city held by William Heath Davis and the subsequent development by Alonzo Horton, who is known as the Founder of Downtown San Diego.
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