Surrounded by turquoise waters, hidden coves, tawny-colored cliffs and with near-perfect weather, La Jolla surely seemed like a utopia to early Spanish settlers and the East Coast elites and artists who began building cottages there in the late 1800s. A future as a resort community seemed inevitable, but travelers who peel back La Jolla’s layers will find a destination with depth.
Where eccentrics and literati have thrived, one of Southern California’s most influential women’s clubs was established in La Jolla and headed by philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps in the early 1900s. Actor Gregory Peck in 1947 helped found the La Jolla Playhouse, where many Tony Award–winning productions have been launched. The history of the Athenaeum, a membership library with public access and a rare collection devoted entirely to music and arts, stretches back to 1894.
La Jolla remains an artsy enclave with impressive art and cultural institutions and San Diego’s most dynamic culinary scene. Here’s where to rest, see art and eat well.
Two Stylish Stays
La Jolla’s architectural gems include prewar villas, the brutalist masterpiece that is the Salk Institute and several buildings designed by California modernism pioneer Irving Gill.
Siblings Hailey and Max Waitt, who grew up in La Jolla, saw the potential in a Gill-designed residence and opened the boutique Orli La Jolla (from $250 per night) hotel in 2022.
Architects restored many of the original details, including an oak tree–shaded courtyard designed by famed San Diego botanist Kate Sessions, while incorporating luxurious touches. The design merges art deco shapes and color with contemporary furniture sporting a dark palette of sleek black stone, forest green marble, shimmering light fixtures and glossy dark wood floors. The 13 guest rooms and suites range from the spacious Wing to the Irving Gill Penthouse Suite with a patio and panoramic sea view. The Waitt siblings envisioned a boutique hotel but with the convenience and privacy of a homestay. The service is mainly contactless, with a code provided for entry, but there are plenty of perks included. Guests can help themselves to frothy kombucha and coffee in the lobby, crisp golden croissants each morning and activities like yoga and Pilates on the lawn of the Gill-designed La Jolla Woman’s Club next door, which are free for Orli guests.
Fresh off of a $26 million renovation, Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa (from $399 per night) has unveiled updated guest rooms and suites, an apiary and new restaurants, including a rustically elegant lobby bar and a posh poolside retreat. Once a horse stable, the hacienda-style property inspired designers to embrace its equestrian heritage. In the rooms, leather strap accents recall handmade saddlery and headboards have nailhead trim. Tile and marble bathrooms are accessible through sliding barn doors.
A Foodie Mecca
Top-notch chefs are flocking to La Jolla for its serene setting and sophisticated foodie crowd. At Paradisaea, a chef who has worked alongside Jean-Georges Vongerichten creates elevated coastal cuisine, like buttery yellowtail crudo with charred avocado and burnt citrus oil, and a Snake River Farms bone-in wagyu for two. In the midcentury “Piano Building,” Paradisaea’s green-and-salmon-hued interior with a horseshoe-shaped Navona travertine bar, midcentury Japanese lanterns and driftwood floors is tastefully tropical.
Paradisaea’s sister cafe, Dodo Bird Donuts, serves bone broths, espresso and perfectly glazed doughnuts. In La Jolla Village, Chef Cameron Ingle, who learned the art of pasta making working everywhere from family-run restaurants to the L.A. hot spot Bestia, is turning Marisi into more than a coastal Italian joint; here, handmade pasta like squid ink linguine with littleneck clams and short rib ragu are flavorful but never heavy. Sandpiper Wood Fired Grill & Oysters near La Jolla Shores draws the local crowd for fire-licked seafood and briny oysters.
At the new-wave French restaurant Le Coq, James Beard Foundation Best Chef California finalist Tara Monsod upgrades everyday French fare with Southern California ingredients. Dishes might include a salad of Lady Edison ham, fig and ume vinaigrette and duck breast with tamarind puree, kumquat and chicory.
With a glamorous new design, The Whaling Bar is La Jolla’s swankiest place to sip martinis once more. The storied watering hole, where longtime La Jolla resident Theodor Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss), novelist Raymond Chandler and Gregory Peck once bellied up to the bar, reopened at La Valencia after a decade-long closure earlier this year.
Art By The Ocean
At the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego La Jolla Campus, visitors can see works by Ellsworth Kelly, Yayoi Kasama and Robert Irwin as well as thought-provoking works including a group exhibition about health and medicine starting in September. The recently renovated and expanded structure is equally impressive. High-ceilinged galleries have floor-to-ceiling glass windows framing sea views, and there are multiple levels with terraces for breathing in the clean, salty air. La Jolla is also one of the best places in San Diego for street art. Sixteen poignant murals commissioned by Murals of La Jolla showcase how art is at its best when accessible to all.
