Top events in San Diego this week

Where to go in San Diego: events, concerts, games and shows worth your night

San Diego is a beach city with a serious night: a ballpark in the middle of downtown, a district of bars and clubs around it, a theater company that sends musicals to Broadway, a symphony with a new outdoor hall on the bay, and a music scene in North Park and Ocean Beach that never needed Los Angeles. Below is where to go in San Diego for a night out, with addresses, and what tends to be on when.

Concerts and live music in San Diego

The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park (222 Marina Park Way, theshell.org), the San Diego Symphony’s outdoor hall on the bay, takes symphony and pop from spring to fall; the Observatory North Park (2891 University Avenue), a 1929 theater, and the House of Blues downtown the mid-sized tours; the Casbah in Little Italy, the Belly Up in Solana Beach and Soda Bar the new bands. Arena tours play Pechanga Arena in the Midway district and the stadium ones Snapdragon Stadium; the Humphreys Concerts by the Bay series on Shelter Island runs all summer.

San Diego nightlife: the Gaslamp Quarter, North Park, Little Italy and Pacific Beach

The Gaslamp Quarter downtown has the clubs and the ballpark crowds; North Park the bars, breweries and the Observatory; Little Italy the restaurants and the Casbah; Pacific Beach the beach bars; Hillcrest the queer scene. Bars close at 2 a.m. The trolley runs until about midnight.

Theater, opera and dance in San Diego

The Old Globe in Balboa Park and La Jolla Playhouse have sent more musicals to Broadway than any theaters outside New York; San Diego Opera plays the Civic Theater, and Broadway San Diego’s tours the same house. The American Comedy Co. in the Gaslamp is the stand-up room.

Sports in San Diego

The Padres at Petco Park from March to October, the best downtown ballpark in the country; San Diego FC at Snapdragon Stadium from February; San Diego State football on Saturdays; the Wave in the NWSL. The Gulls’ minor-league hockey plays Pechanga Arena in winter.

Museums and galleries in San Diego

Balboa Park holds seventeen museums: the San Diego Museum of Art, the Timken (free), the Museum of Photographic Arts. The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego reopened in La Jolla in 2022 on the cliffs; the Barrio Logan galleries open together on the second Saturday of the month. Comic-Con in July fills the convention center.

San Diego festivals and events by season

• Winter: the Holiday Bowl, the San Diego Bay Parade of Lights, and the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in January.
• Spring: Padres opening day, the San Diego Latino Film Festival in March, and the Rady Shell season opening.
• Summer: Comic-Con in July, the San Diego County Fair, Pride in July, Humphreys Concerts by the Bay, and the Del Mar racing season.
• Fall: KAABOO’s successors on the coast, the opera season opening, and Padres playoff runs.

Things to do in San Diego tonight and this weekend

The listings above are the live version of all this: every concert, show, game, club night and exhibition on in San Diego tonight, tomorrow and this weekend, with times, prices and tickets, updated every hour.