The 16-block Victorian historic district downtown: Fifth Avenue cocktail rooms, hotel lounges, late-night taquerias and the Noble Experiment speakeasy hidden behind a wall of beer kegs.
La Puerta in San Diego is the Gaslamp Quarter Mexican kitchen on Fourth Avenue, the after-bar carne asada fries and Taco Tuesday institution that anchors.
Signature: Carne asada fries, Taco Tuesday, Margarita pitchers
Order: The carne asada fries to share; Taco Tuesday $3 tacos until close.
Tip: Open until 1am Fri-Sat, midnight other nights; the back patio runs heater-and-fan year-round.
Goldchild Coffee Roasters on Broadway in downtown San Diego, Jeff Rambo's small-batch single-origin roastery with a Brew Lab and Swedish cardamom buns.
Sources from: Ethiopia, Rwanda, India
How they serve: Espresso, Pour over, Whole bean retail
Noble Experiment speakeasy in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter, hidden behind a wall of beer kegs at Neighborhood, with a pre-Prohibition cocktail program from CH.
Signature drink: Bartender's Choice from a pre-Prohibition spirit cellar
Food: Cocktail snacks from Neighborhood next door
The Tipsy Crow on Fifth Avenue in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter, the 1874 Spencer Ogden building running three levels of cocktails from the main bar.
Signature drink: Pre-Prohibition cocktails on the main bar, draft beer downstairs
Food: Sliders, pretzels, bar food
So Diego's Brothels, Bites and Booze tour of San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter, a daily four-stop tasting crawl through the neighbourhood's post-Gold Rush history.
Sidewalk Food Tours' Gaslamp Quarter walking food tour in downtown San Diego, three hours and five tastings across Mexican, Greek, Thai and ice-cream stops.
IMPASTIAMO's pasta class in downtown San Diego is a 2.5-hour cook-and-share workshop with welcome drink, chef-led pasta lesson and a communal dinner.
Noble Experiment in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter, the keg-wall speakeasy where pre-Prohibition cocktails run until 2am behind the Neighborhood beer wall.
Try: Bartender's Choice cocktails, snacks from Neighborhood
The Tipsy Crow on Fifth Avenue in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter, three levels of cocktails, sliders and a downstairs dance floor open until 2am every night.
Try: Cocktails, sliders, late-night dance floor
Parq Nightclub on Broadway is the Gaslamp Quarter megaclub in San Diego, an open-format weekend room booking hip-hop, Latin and electronic headliners.
Tip: Open Friday and Saturday 22:00-02:00. Reserve a table through Discotech for guaranteed entry; line wraps the corner of Broadway after 23:00.
Onyx Room on Fifth Avenue in the Gaslamp Quarter is the basement San Diego nightclub running hip-hop and Latin rooms on Friday and Saturday under one ticket.
Tip: Open Friday and Saturday 21:00-02:00. Salsa, bachata and merengue in the Latin room; hip-hop and top hits next door. 21+.
Sevilla Nightclub in the basement of Cafe Sevilla on Fifth Avenue has run Latin nights in San Diego's Gaslamp since 1987, with salsa and bachata lessons.
Tip: Dance lessons start 21:00 most nights, the floor opens 22:00. Cover varies by night; Latin Saturdays sell out fast.
Bang SD on Fifth Avenue, formerly Bang Bang on Market, is the Gaslamp Quarter sushi-and-club hybrid in San Diego with a Ryan Gosling bathroom shrine.
Tip: Kitchen runs late; the dance floor opens 22:00 Friday and Saturday. Reserve tables through the venue site for bottle service.
Altitude Sky Lounge atop the San Diego Marriott Gaslamp Quarter, opened 2005, sits 22 floors above K Street with ballpark, harbor and downtown skyline views.
Tip: Open 17:00 daily, closes 00:00 weeknights and 01:00 weekends. 21+. The ballpark side fills first on Padres home nights.
Rustic Root's Wisteria Rooftop on Fifth Avenue is the open-air San Diego Gaslamp Quarter terrace built around cascading wisteria, with seasonal cocktails.
Tip: Rooftop runs spring through autumn; reserve through OpenTable for the patio. Weekday happy hour 16:00-18:00 at the bar.
Noble Experiment hides behind a wall of kegs inside Neighborhood on G Street in San Diego's East Village, a 28-seat speakeasy with a skull-papered wall.
Tip: Text the listed number for a same-day reservation slot. Walk-in waitlist before 22:00 weeknights. The Bartender's Choice is the house ritual.
The Tipsy Crow on Fifth Avenue occupies the 1874 Spencer-Ogden building in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter, three levels of bar, beer hall and basement dance.
Tip: Drink Exchange happy hour Monday to Saturday from open to 20:00 drops prices every five minutes. The Underground basement is the dance floor.