Share this tour
Offered languages
- English
Walk San Diego's famous Gaslamp Quarter and hear its real history learning about the crime, the scandal, and the ghost stories that outlived them.
You'll walk the old Stingaree with a group small group, through the blocks where gambling halls, brothels and bought-off cops ran the show. Then we get to who stayed behind: Room 309 at the Horton Grand, the 200-odd urns tucked inside the Davis-Horton House, the basement below the Balboa Theatre, and a speakeasy that used to be the city morgue.
Every story here is on the record. Look it up when you get home. In between stops there's the smaller stuff most guides skip, building to one last story at the oldest building downtown before we finish beneath the neon Gaslamp sign.
What's Included
Meeting and pickup
Your tour guide will be waiting by the Broadway Fountain — 900 4th Ave, San Diego, CA 92101 (corner of 4th & Broadway). Open, well-lit public square, easy to find after dark.
Your tour will end near the Gaslamp Quarter Sign, a very well lit and central area a couple blocks from where the tour started.
Itinerary
-
1Horton Plaza Park
Horton Plaza Park, anchored by the 1910 Broadway Fountain, is the open public square at the gateway to San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter — the well-lit meeting point where this haunted history ghost walk begins as the gas lamps come on.
20 minutes • Admission ticket free -
2Balboa Theatre
The Balboa Theatre is an ornate 1924 landmark in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter, beautifully restored as a downtown performing-arts venue. Night-shift workers have long reported disembodied voices in its basement dressing rooms — some too frightened to return.
20 minutes • Admission ticket free -
3
We will stop outside the exterior of Prohibition Lounge, a hidden Gaslamp Quarter speakeasy behind an unmarked "law office" door at 548 Fifth Avenue. Atmospheric and vintage today, the building served as San Diego's city morgue in the 1860s — and staff still sense they're not alone after closing.
20 minutes • Admission ticket not included -
4Horton Grand Hotel
The Horton Grand Hotel is a restored 1880s Victorian hotel and one of San Diego's most famously haunted buildings. Room 309 is said to be home to the ghost of gambler Roger Whittaker, with guests reporting shaking beds and wardrobe doors that open on their own.
20 minutes • Admission ticket free -
5Gaslamp Museum at the Davis-Horton House
We will stop outside The Davis-Horton House, the oldest building in downtown San Diego (1850) and a former hospital — where nearly 200 forgotten urns were found in the floorboards in 1984. Now the Gaslamp Museum, it's known for self-closing medicine drawers, a phantom cat, and Victorian-era apparitions.
20 minutes • Admission ticket not included -
6Gaslamp Quarter
The Gaslamp Quarter is the historic 16-block heart of downtown San Diego — Victorian architecture by day, and by night the notorious former "Stingaree" of crime, vice, and ghosts. The tour ends beneath its iconic neon archway, the district's most recognizable landmark.
20 minutes • Admission ticket free
Additional info
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
Additional info
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Unfortunately, we will not be entering any building
Tags
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Cancellation Policy
- For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
- Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
- This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.
- This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Your guide to the flawless travel experience
Popular Countries
Get our app
