Downtown San Diego is the central business district of San Diego, which is the largest city in San Diego County, with more than 4,000 businesses in seven districts. The downtown area is home to the San Diego Convention Center, the San Diego Symphony, the San Diego Opera, and Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres, a professional baseball team. Downtown is where most city, county, state, and federal government offices are located.

San Diego Bay is located to the west and southwest; Bankers Hill, Middletown and Balboa Park are to the north, and Logan heights is to the southeast. San Diego International Airport is located immediately northwest.

Districts within Downtown San Diego include: Columbia, Core District, Cortez Hill, East Village, Gaslamp Quarter, Little Italy, and Marina.

Historical landmarks include the Gas Lamp Quarter Historic District, Balboa Theatre, Star of India, Pantoja Park, U.S. Grant Hotel, and the U.S. Courthouse.

The Gaslamp Quarter is the original Spanish settlement of San Diego. Listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places, it contains 94 historic buildings, most of which, were built during the Victorian Era from 1837 to 1901. Most are used as restaurants, shops, and entertainment venues. Locals refer to the area as "the Gaslamp" Historic buildings include the Horton Grand Hotel, the Grand Pacific Hotel, the Yuma Building, the Bijou Theater, the William Penn Hotel, Louis Bank of Commerce, the Keating Building, the Watts-Robinson Building and the Woolworth Building.

Embarcadero

The Embarcadero is the San Diego cruise ship terminal and is home to the museum ships USS Midway, Star of India, and seven other historic vessels. The Embarcadero, or boarding place, is in Downtown San Diego at the Port of San Diego. The Embarcadero is also the location of numerous restaurants and shops.