24 Hours In: San Diego

Breakfast by the pool

08.00: Breakfast at your hotel, by the outdoor pool at the sleek and chic W (1) (001 619 231 8220; whotels.com) at 421 West B Street. Double rooms start at $278 (£164) per night without breakfast.

Whale of a morning

09.45: Board a whale-watching trip with San Diego Harbor Excursions (2) (001 619 234 4111; sdhe.com) and tour around the bay and out into the Pacific to see dolphins and rare gray whales. This costs $27 (£16) for a ride that lasts three-and-a-half hours, complete with commentary from a naturalist guide working for the Birch Aquarium (001 858 534 3474; aquarium. usdc.org) in La Jolla, for which you also get entry coupons on leaving the boat.

Try to catch a fish dish

13.15: Wander along the harbour, passing Navy Pier where military ships regularly dock and offer free tours. Take a look at the new museum home of the vast aircraft carrier Midway before stopping at Tuna Harbor. Lunch at the Fish Market (3) (001 619 232 3474; fishmarket.com), complete with sushi and wet fish counter, and a sunny deck serving fresh American fish staples such as clam chowder and Californian salad (avocado and fresh crab meat).

Take a stroll in the park

14.15: Stretch your legs with a walk in Balboa Park. This 1,400-acre square green space contains mature gardens, the Old Globe theatres and 13 of San Diego's best museums, many housed in elaborate Spanish-Moorish mansions constructed for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition. The big attraction here is San Diego Zoo (4) (001 619 234 3153; sandiego zoo.org), which is considered to be one of the country's best, with animal habitats organised into 10 climatic zones, from Arctic tundra to rainforest.

Now it's time to hit the beach

16.00: Just as the fierce Californian sun dies down, head for the elegant beaches around La Jolla (5), located north of the city, to embark on myriad water sports or go seal spotting at La Jolla's Seal Beach. Or simply take a walk along some of the most beautiful stretches of coastline that southern California has to offer. If you have some time left put the free entry coupon handed to you as you left this morning's boat excursion to good use and head for the nearby Birch Aquarium (6) (001 858 534 3474; aquarium.ucsd.edu). Here the public can get an idea of the research carried out the Scripps Institution of Oceanography of the University of San Diego through an array of marine displays, a museum and simulated ride.

Delightful sunset at 'The Del'

19.00: The Hotel Del Coronado (7), at 1500 Orange Avenue (001 619 435 6611; hoteldel.com) on the eponymous "island" in San Diego Bay is the place to have a cocktail and watch the sun set. "The Del" has played host to several red carpets' worth of celebrities and American presidents. If it looks familiar, that is because it was the backdrop for Some Like it Hot, starring Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis.

A taste of old Mexico

21.00: If you haven't tried Mexican fish tacos at the ubiquitous taqueria stands, or even if you have, the American Pacific-Mexican cuisine at the Indigo Grill (8) (001 619 234 6802; indigogrill. signonsandiego.com) at 1536 India Street is a rare treat. Don't miss their perfect version of the local fish taco dressed with fresh lime, along with honey-roast pork tortillas that will leave you California-dreaming for weeks afterwards.

Under a gaslamp after dark

23.00: Head to the Gaslamp District in downtown to bar-hop and listen to live music. Jimmy Loves (9) (001 619 595 0123; jimmyloves.com), at 672 Fifth Avenue, has bands changing on a nightly basis and puts on everything from blues to jazz, swing to reggae. If you can't get enough of the beach, see the fire pits (bonfires deep in the sand) in summer on Pacific Beach and Mission Bay.

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