Many popular museums, such as the San Diego Museum of Art, the San Diego Natural History Museum, the San Diego Museum of Man, plus the Museum of Photographic Arts are located in Balboa Park. The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) is located in an ocean front building in La Jolla and has a branch located at the Santa Fe Depot downtown. The Colombia district downtown is home to historic ship exhibits as well as the San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum featuring the USS Midway aircraft carrier.
San Diego has a growing art scene. "Kettner Nights" at the Art and Design District in Little Italy has art and design exhibitions throughout many retail design stores and galleries on selected Friday nights. "Ray at Night" at North Park host a variety of small scale art galleries on the second Saturday of each month. La Jolla and nearby Solana Beach also have a variety of art galleries.
The San Diego Symphony at Symphony Towers performs on a regular basis and is directed by Jahja Ling. The San Diego Opera at Civic Center Plaza was ranked by Opera America as one of the top 10 opera companies in the United States. Old Globe Theatre at Balboa Park produces about 15 plays and musicals annually.
Tourism has affected the city's culture, as San Diego houses many tourist attractions, such as Sea World San Diego, Belmont amusement park, San Diego Zoo, San Diego Wild Animal Park, and nearby Legoland. San Diego's Spanish influence can be seen in the many historic sites across the city, such as the Spanish missions and Balboa Park. Cuisine in San Diego is diverse, and there is an abundance of wood fired California-style pizzas, and Mexican and East Asian cuisine. Annual events in San Diego include Comic-Con, San Diego/Del Mar Fair, and the Street Scene Music Festival.
San Diego has always been a hotbed for surf and skateboard culture. Headquartered here are some of the industry's biggest names including Sector 9 Skateboards, TransWorld Media, and Rusty Surfboards. Some very well known surf spots include Swamis beach, and Windansea. The region even has its own chain of surf shops, Sun Diego. Pro surfers Rob Machado and Taylor Knox, pro skateboarder Tony Hawk, and pro snowboarder Shaun White call the San Diego area their home.
Las Vegas
Las Vegas is the city of bright lights, wedding chapels and casinos. Known to be one of the most entertaining cities in the world there is a lot more to be experienced in Las Vegas than just gambling.
The major attractions are often the casinos and Las Vegas obviously does not disappoint. The most famous of these hotels and casinos are found on The Strip spreading out towards the Downtown areas and Fremont Street. Surprisingly to most people Las Vegas has 85 parks, 10 of which are dog parks and 9 are skate parks. There is also a a Wetlands Park and a Preservation and Educational Park.
Wildlife feature in Las Vegas with a Shark Reef at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and a Zoo also within the city centre, there are also three Gardens; Ethel M's Botanical Gardens, Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens and The Gardens at the Las Vegas Spring Preserve.
Las Vegas is also home to a philharmonic orchestra and a ballet troupe alongside its live theatrical shows, dance acts and magicians. The growing population of the city has opened the door to new cultural and musical events. Springtime events such as jazz festivals and folkdance festivals regularly take place within the city throughout April and May and on the first Friday of every month there is a 'First Friday' celebration which exhibits local artists and musicians pieces in the 'Arts District' region of Downtown.
With nineteen musuems and seven libraries their is also something for those chasing the intellectual pursuits in life and if sport is what you are interested in then you have the options of boating, golf, hiking and rock climbing in the national parks nearby. Las Vegas itself has around 60 golf courses.
Five star hotels such as the Venetian and the Bellagio offer many cultural events right on The Strip including high class acrobatic acts and art museums. In Las Vegas there is definately something for everyone.