BrightonSEO

Places to eat and drink

Portside Pier
Overlooking the water on Harbor Drive, there are four great restaurants for you to choose from: Miguels, The Brigantine, Ketch, and Dockside.

For pre-dinner drinks (or post) there's a super bar on the rooftop called Topsail, and a coffee/gelato bar downstairs.

Costerra
Costerra is an upscale Mexican restaurant along Harbor Drive with stunning views of the skyline and the water. Next door to it is Island Prime, which has a delightful outdoor area along the water.

Babusa
This modern Sicilian restaurant in Little Italy is the place to go for celeb spotting - as well as excellent Italian cuisine. Other fun restaurants in the area include Herb and Wood and Nolita Hall. It's also not far from the conference venue.

Get outside in the city

San Diego Zoo
One of the best zoos in the world just got even better with the recent arrival of Yun Chuan and Xin Bao - a pair of giant pandas from China.

Balboa Park
Balboa Park is San Diego’s "ever-changing, always amazing, 1,200-acre backyard." Home to cool architecture, trails and gorgeous gardens it's a must-visit attraction - especially for those who like a wander.

Local speaker Jack Sherrett's top recommendation is:

"Sunset Cliffs. As the name suggests, it's the spot to catch a breathtaking sunset. Cabrillo National Monument located at the tip of Point Loma has breathtaking panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean, downtown San Diego against the backdrop of rolling hills behind it, Coronado & the silver strand, and all the way down to Mexico."

Take me to my beach

It wouldn't be brightonSEO without a beach, and San Diego is home to some of the most stunning stretches of shoreline in North America. If it's serious surfing you're after, you'd better head to Blacks; for more laidback waves and family fun, Cardiff by the Sea is where you want to be; Carlsbad is great for camping, while Coronado will deliver the quintessential San Diego postcard experience. La Jolla, with captivating coves and glorious reefs is known as "the jewel" for good reason.

If you want a personal recommendation, Hero Conf speaker Dustin Baly says:

"the best beach view is at the Torrey Pines Glider Port overlooking the sea covered Scripps Canyon. This dramatic seaside cliff landscape still takes my breadth away every time, and I surf here often. Afterwards, consider a visit to nearby Mustangs & Burros at Estancia for old world California flavor eats & drinks near the UCSD campus."

Find more via San Diego tourism.

Beyond the city

Hotel Del in Coronado
Rent bikes and ride along the beach there. Many shops, restaurants, live music, etc. During November they may even have the ice skating rink set up, but if not, there's still plenty to do there.

La Jolla Shores Cove
See the baby sea lions and walk the beach trails at La Jolla Shores Cove. Stop for a picnic in the park, check out the lovely little shops, or have a bite at one of its many restaurants. The outdoorsy type? You can even take a kayak tour through the caves!

San Diego's rich culture

San Diego is renowned across California and beyond as a city of arts and contemporary culture. Among its performance spaces is the recently opened Rady Shell at Jacobs Park, a stunning waterfront venue.

Galleries and museums include Balboa Park’s Mingei International Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, and the Timken Museum of Art.

As you'd expect from a city of this sort, you can find all manner of live music every day of the week. The Casbah in Midtown is a great spot to catch up-and-coming acts , while Soda Bar and SPACE have a similarly impressive calendar of shows.

Museums and Galleries

From art and science to history and contemporary culture, San Diego is home to all manner of museums and galleries to stimulate the synapses.

If that's the sort of thing you're after, you'll be heading to Balboa Park, which boasts 18 museums, which explains why it's known as "the Smithsonian of the West."

If you're coming to brightonSEO with kids you'll want to take them to The Fleet Science Centre, where its 100 interactive exhibits bring science to life.
The Centro Cultural de la Raza is a cultural arts center dedicated to creating, promoting, preserving and raising awareness of Chicano, Mexican, Indigenous and Latino art and culture.

The Museum of Photographic Arts is exactly what you think it is, likewise the Institute of Contemportary Art San Diego.

The bossman Kelvin Newman is keen for us to give a mention to the Comic Con museum, which features exhibits devoted to everything from superheroes to sci-fi franchises.

For more see San Diego.org

What's on during brightonSEO

There's all manner of events happening around the conference, and we've gathered just a few of them.

If you're feeling theatrical and festive, Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is on at the Old Globe, while for something more adult the La Jolla playhouse is putting on an adaptation of A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. Another one for the thespians is Living after midnight, a new play by the Trinity Theatre Company.

If music's more your thing, Grateful Dead tribute act the Electric Waste Band are playing at Winstons Beach Club. Or how about the Open Vinyl Night at the Thorn Brewing Co - play what you bring. At the other end of the spectrum, if you really wanna have fun you might want to catch Cyndi Lauper at the Aztec Bowl, while 10,000 Maniacs are on at the Belly Up Tavern on the same night.

Your comedy-ish options that week include Will Wood at Soda Bar, Lazy River Comedy at Long Story Irish Pub, and Broadway Unscripted at Mockingbird Improv, which promises to be a musical created before your very eyes.

If you're coming to town early and ale and cycling are your thing, why not check out Bikes & Beers - a multi-distance ride though San Diego. It starts at Alesmith Brewing and finishes there too, for a festival of rewarding craft beers, live music, and a charity raffle.

More to come!