San Diego

There is a place in southern California, close to the Mexican border, which embodies the American dream of sun and surf. San Diego may not have LA's movie glamour or San Francisco's quaintness but it's a laid-back, friendly, smog-free place - and its fabulous coastline is enough to put any beach boy (or girl) into instant chill-out mode.

If the 5-km stretch from Mission Bay, a lagoon dedicated to watersports, up to Pacific Beach is 'the' place to hang out, Imperial Beach, Coronado, Point Loma and Ocean Beach are where savvy surfers go to ride the waves. Imperial Beach also hosts the hugely popular US Open Sandcastle Competition every summer.

When you've had your fill of sun, sea and sandcastles, head downtown for plenty of cosmopolitan shopping, dining and beach-free entertainment. Early in the evening the Gaslamp Quarter is great for people-watching: the flophouses and gambling joints of what was once San Diego's 'sin city' have been spruced up and turned into trendy bars, restaurants and galleries.

Cross San Diego Bay - by ferry or via a spectacular 3-km bridge - and you'll find yourself in the very respectable, slightly old-fashioned suburb of Coronado, famous for the quirky Hotel del Coronado - a hotchpotch of towers, cupolas, turrets and balconies, where the future king Edward VIII had his fateful introduction to the glamorous Mrs Simpson.

Balboa Park is the city's huge green lung, dotted with museums, theatres, umpteen sports facilities and, on its northern edge, the world-renowned San Diego Zoo, where tigers and gorillas live in their own controlled rainforest environments.

The scene is somewhat different at SeaWorld in Mission Bay: here it's whales, sharks and dolphins that are the stars of the show in specially choreographed performances.