La Jolla Village

La Jolla Village offers shopping, dining, galleries, movie theaters, and live entertainment options. This eclectic mix of residential, commercial, and business attractions is just 20 minutes northwest of downtown along the San Diego coast. The surrounding area is marked by hilly terrain with great ocean views and easy access to beaches with soft sands and deep blue waters. It's the home of many institutes of higher education and is the home of the University of California, San Diego.

People come here for its arts community and outstanding shopping, whether it's expensive boutique shops, small shops focused on knick-knacks and kitsch, or big box stores with all the latest name brands. In fact, the village is marked and in many ways dominated by its local namesake shopping mall. From upscale dining to jewelry stores, nude beaches to art galleries, this town has something to appeal to many different types of travelers.

La Jolla Village - one of the highlights of 10 Best Things to Do in San Diego for Couples (Read all about San Diego here)

Highlights of La Jolla Village

La Jolla Village is marked by its expansive shopping and residential mall, La Jolla Village Square, which offers a vast collection of big-box retailers and its collection of over 30 stores and services, including two different movie theaters. Previously an enclosed shopping mall, now it's considered a power center with general retailers, specialty grocers, and discount stores.

Just a few steps downtown, however, you'll find a vibrant cultural community with art galleries like Peter Lik Gallery, Madison Gallery, and Martin Lawrence Galleries, and even take an art class. You can catch live shows and festivals like the Summerfest, Winterfest Gala, and other events or catch a show at the Comedy Store. Music and art come together at the Athenaeum Music and Arts Library. A popular way to see the community is with a walking tour of the local public art murals, the historic district, and even a tour of the Secret Gardens of La Jolla.

History of La Jolla

La Jolla was originally mapped as pueblo land during the Mexican period and became incorporated in 1850 when California became a state. It grew from there, and some of the hotels from those days still stand as historic landmarks. Many of the most notable historic buildings in the city were commissioned by journalist Ellen Browning Scripps during her time living here. These include the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. The Mount Soledad Cross was erected in 1913 and has been replaced twice, but it still stands as an important local historic landmark and memorial.

Through 1964, the U.S. Marine Corps maintained Camp Matthews here, and the University of California, San Diego opened here in 1960. It's been an art colony almost as long as it's existed, and that legacy continues today in its strong cultural community. La Jolla Village didn't become a shopping destination until the mid-20th century, but even today, it maintains that reputation, and people come from all over for the shopping here.

What to know about La Jolla Village

La Jolla Village is one portion of greater La Jolla, and to explore many of the attractions in the area, you'll leave the village proper. Besides the power center, the Village is a wonderfully quiet yet vibrant place to set up shop for your exploration of the greater La Jolla town. Much of the area is of the upscale variety, so keep that in mind when you're planning your travels.

The region is marked by a broadly diverse set of attractions, not all of which are family-friendly. Black's Beach, for example, tends to be expressly clothing-optional, so be sure to do your homework before taking the kids and consider heading for somewhere like Children's Pool Beach instead.

This article includes opinions of the Go Guides editorial team. Hotels.com compensates authors for their writing appearing on this site; such compensation may include travel and other costs.