San Diego wants you to indulge yourself. Whether you came to soak up the SoCal sunshine on Pacific Beach, attend one of the notorious Sunday pool parties, drink tequila cocktails in hundred-year-old bars or visit what Men's Journal called the beer capital of the USA, there's a bar for every day of the year in San Diego.

The city is California's second largest after Los Angeles, but is much calmer and safer than its neighbor, which makes it a tourist hotspot. Restaurants, hotel bars and cocktail cafés have the support of retired residents and cruise ship passengers. Meanwhile, the student crowd on Spring Break supports the city's superclubs and pool bars. Luckily, San Diego is bigger than the clichés.

Most drinking happens al fresco, thanks to the Mediterranean climate. Beach drinking is banned, but every bar has a roof top or streetside tables. Outdoor drinking is almost compulsory in every district. Around the Misson Beach and Pacific Beach area, the weekend starts on Thursday nights. The west end of Garnet Avenue buzzes with groups of surfers and young San Diegans.

For historic venues, visit the bars in the Gaslamp Quarter. Locals call this the New Town but it dates back to the 1860s and some places, like the Tivoli bar, still have period features. Most of the well-known bars and clubs are downtown but Mardi Gras and St Patrick's Day parades happen in the New Town. Away from central San Diego, in La Jolla and Coronado, the emphasis falls on good food and sea views rather than drinking 'til dawn.

Tijuana is just a short drive away and tequila cocktails stand out on San Diegan menus. MexiCali culture is also influences a number of brewpubs and micro-breweries. In North Park, independent pubs and inns line 30th Street. And if you explore this area for yourself, you'll come across the undiscovered bars where the hip art crowd hangs out.