
San Diego began in July 1769, when Spain founded the Presidio of San Diego and Mission San Diego de Alcalá — the first of California's twenty-one missions.
By the mid-twentieth century San Diego's tuna fleet, crewed largely by Portuguese and Italian fishing families, made the city the tuna capital of the world.
Why People Visit San Diego
San Diego rewards visitors with a rare mix: deep early-California history, a working Navy harbor, great parks, and miles of Pacific coast under a famously mild sky. People come for Balboa Park and the bay, the beaches and Point Loma sunsets, and the story of the city where California began — historic, easygoing, unmistakably Californian.