Neighborhood 48H guide
Little Italy: Where to Stay & What to Do in 48 Hours
The Saturday Mercato, India Street’s restaurants and Waterfront Park by the bay.
Little Italy is the walkable downtown neighborhood north of Broadway, packed with restaurants along India Street and home to the Little Italy Mercato farmers market. Waterfront Park is a few blocks west.
Photo gallery
Photo: Visitor7 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: User:Christopher Mann McKay · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
Why stay here
Restaurants everywhere, the bay a few blocks away and the airport minutes off.
Who it's for: Food lovers and couples.
Pros
- Restaurant-dense and walkable
- Farmers market twice a week
- Close to the airport
Cons
- Planes overhead
- Busy on weekends
- Parking is tight
48H in Little Italy
Market, park, steak.
09:00 – Little Italy Mercato
Farmers market on Saturdays (Date St) and Wednesdays.
12:00 – Waterfront Park
Lawns and fountains by the County Administration Center.
19:00 – Born & Raised
Steakhouse with a rooftop bar on India Street.
Named recommendations
Real places with links to their official site or a Maps place page. We do not invent hours, prices, or ratings.
Eat
Shop
Shop
Little Italy Mercato
W Date St
Year-round farmers market, Saturdays and Wednesdays.
Photo: User:Christopher Mann McKay · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons Official site / map →
Outdoors
Outdoors
Waterfront Park
1600 Pacific Hwy
County park with lawns, fountains and a playground on the bay.
Official site / map →
Where to stay
Specific named properties—not vague city-wide searches. Expedia stays use tracked Creator links; others open the hotel's official site.
Roam48 may earn a commission when you book a stay through Expedia or Vrbo links on this page, at no extra cost to you. All commercial stay links use rel="sponsored nofollow".
Hotel · Expedia
La Pensione Hotel
606 W Date St
Simple, good-value hotel on Date Street with Caffè Italia downstairs.
Check rates on Expedia →
Vacation rentals
Prefer an apartment or whole home in this neighborhood? Browse Vrbo listings for Little Italy.
The City of San Diego requires a short-term rental license, and Coronado and Del Mar have their own stricter rules. Look for the license number on the listing before you book.
Browse vacation rentals in Little Italy on Vrbo →Other ways to spend 48 hours in San Diego
- Gaslamp Quarter — The lit Gaslamp arch, a Padres game at Petco Park and the USS Midway on the waterfront.
- La Jolla — Sea lions and clear water at La Jolla Cove, George’s ocean terrace and the Birch Aquarium.
- Pacific Beach — Crystal Pier’s cottages, the boardwalk and breakfast at Kono’s.
- Mission Beach — The Giant Dipper at Belmont Park, the boardwalk and kayaks on Mission Bay.
- Coronado — The red-turreted Hotel del Coronado, a wide sandy beach and the ferry to downtown.
- Point Loma / Shelter Island — The Old Point Loma Lighthouse at Cabrillo, Point Loma Seafoods and skyline views from Shelter Island.
- Old Town — Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, the Whaley House and tortillas at Old Town Mexican Café.
- Ocean Beach — Hodad’s burgers, Sunset Cliffs at dusk and the Wednesday farmers market on Newport Avenue.
- Del Mar — Powerhouse Park above the beach, lunch at Jake’s and the Del Mar racetrack.