Art Lover’s Tour: San Diego and La Jolla

We invite you to join us for this four-day La Jolla program exploring the art, architecture, and coastal beauty of Southern California’s most cultured seaside community.

Guests stay at the boutique Empress Hotel in “The Village,” ideally located for walking tours that trace La Jolla’s early 20th-century architecture, the Murals of La Jolla, and the Ellen Browning Scripps landmarks that shaped its artistic identity. At UC San Diego, the group discovers the Stuart Collection, an extraordinary campus-wide installation of site-specific works by artists such as Niki de Saint Phalle, Do Ho Suh, and Bruce Nauman. A guided visit to Balboa Park reveals its Spanish Colonial Revival architecture and cultural institutions including the San Diego Museum of Art, Mingei International Museum, and the Museum of Us. Our final day begins at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, where Director Kathryn Kanjo provides a private introduction to the museum’s acclaimed modern and postwar collections overlooking the Pacific. In the evening, enjoy a cocktail reception at a private home and a chance to admire their private collection of vibrant contemporary art.

Register by Sunday, March 15, 2026, to get your spot!

Tour Highlights

• The program is enriched by the presence of Memorial Art Gallery Director Sarah Jesse, who will accompany the group and engage meaningfully in the program’s discourse.
• Enjoy a walking tour of La Jolla once home to seaside cottages from the 1890’s when the city was marketed as an artists’ colony. Admire the Murals of La Jolla, a public art initiative that connects the village’s artistic past with site-specific works on building facades.
• Explore the Stuart Collection, a unique outdoor art installation that weaves contemporary art into the daily landscape of the La Jolla campus.
• Spend a day at Balboa Park, the renowned park packed full of museums and art and widely considered to be one of the best urban parks in the country.
• Accompanied by the museum’s director, visit the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, which rises on a bluff where glass, light, and ocean breeze converge to frame an extraordinary collection of art created from the 1950s onward.
• Enjoy visits to two homes to view their private art collections. Over cocktails, step behind the scenes of La Jolla’s cultural art community which is very much part of the neighborhood’s coastal calm.

Itinerary

Arrive in San Diego and transfer independently to the boutique Empress Hotel La Jolla, ideally situated in the heart of “The Village.” The afternoon begins with a welcome briefing followed by a guided walking tour introducing La Jolla’s seaside elegance and artistic heritage. Stroll along Girard Avenue and Prospect Street, once the heart of a bohemian artists’ colony, and visit landmarks such as The Bishop’s School and Ellen Browning Scripps Park. Along the way, discover the Murals of La Jolla, a public art initiative that brings contemporary works to building facades, and end at the La Jolla Historical Society’s Wisteria Cottage, where exhibits illuminate the area’s cultural evolution. The evening concludes with a welcome dinner and time to enjoy La Jolla’s lively coastal atmosphere.

Our second day focuses on the Stuart Collection, a remarkable outdoor art program at UC San Diego that weaves contemporary works into the natural and architectural landscape of the campus. From Niki de Saint Phalle’s colorful Sun God to Do Ho Suh’s precarious Fallen Star and Bruce Nauman’s flashing neon Vices and Virtues, each piece transforms an everyday space into an encounter with art and imagination. The collection reflects how creativity can shape public environments and invite reflection in unexpected places. Electric vehicles will transport the group around the large campus, with time to pause and appreciate selected installations. Lunch and the remainder of the afternoon are at leisure to explore La Jolla’s galleries, cafés, and oceanfront promenades. In the early evening, enjoy a visit to a private home to view their art collection.

On our third day, a short drive brings the group to San Diego’s famed Balboa Park, a 1,200-acre masterpiece of urban design that combines Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, lush gardens, and world-class museums. A local guide leads a 90-minute walking tour along El Prado, the park’s grand promenade lined with ornate pavilions and courtyards from the 1915 Panama–California Exposition. Pass the San Diego Museum of Art, Mingei International Museum, and Museum of Us—each offering its own perspective on creativity and culture—and explore the Spanish Village Art Center where artists still work in open studios. The remainder of the day is free to visit museums of personal interest or relax in the park’s shaded gardens before returning to La Jolla for an evening at leisure.

The final day celebrates La Jolla’s dynamic contemporary art scene. A short walk from the hotel leads to the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, dramatically perched above the Pacific. Director Kathryn Kanjo offers a private introduction to the museum’s expanded galleries and its collection of postwar and contemporary works that explore identity, place, and the region’s border-city context. The afternoon is left open for independent exploration or relaxation before an intimate evening visit to the home of a private collector. Over cocktails, enjoy conversation and a private viewing of the collection, a fitting close to a program that highlights the artistic spirit and coastal beauty of La Jolla.

Our ART LOVER’S tours are organized and sponsored by the MAG Council to benefit MAG and are open to all interested travelers.

For more information, email Katherine Cove at katherinekcove@gmail.com or Cynthia Arroyo at Cynthiaa@Distant-Horizons.com. For questions or assistance, please contact the MAG Council at magcouncil@mag.rochester.edu or 585.276.8910.

Anyone unable to attend a MAG Council Art Tour must make their request for a refund by contacting the MAG Council Office prior to the event registration deadline. For international/overnight tour refunds, the policy of the managing travel agency will take precedence.

If it is necessary for the MAG Council to cancel an Art Lover’s Tour, all payments made will be refunded in full.

The Memorial Art Gallery’s tour operator, Distant Horizons, is a California Seller of Travel (CST #2046776-40) and a participant in the California Travel Restitution Fund. Information regarding the rights of California residents to make a claim may be found at tcrcinfo.org. California law requires certain sellers of travel to have a trust account or bond. Distant Horizons has a trust account.