Pandr's San Diego Mural Tour: 12 Can’t Miss Outdoor Murals
When spending a few days in any place, I like to look up the street art the city holds and, if there is a lot of it, use the art as landmarks and touch points for a DIY city tour. It’s a great way to not only see local art, but spend an afternoon in areas I wouldn’t normally think to visit.
With this in mind, I’ve gone ahead and done some legwork for a mural tour in my own city. San Diego’s walls are getting more and more colorful, and visiting these spots is a fun and immersive way to explore the city’s diverse neighborhoods. Each mural tells a unique story, offering the perfect backdrop for great social photos and a deeper appreciation of the local art scene. Plus, the adventure of hunting down each mural adds an element of excitement, making it a great activity for art lovers, travelers, and even locals.
Whether you’re a street art enthusiast or simply looking for Instagram-worthy spots, this self-guided tour of Pandr’s twelve must-see murals will lead you through some of San Diego’s most iconic and photogenic locations. Grab your camera, hit the streets, and get ready to pose (and tag us!)!
And the best part? If you visit them in the order below, you’ll be following the most efficient route to take you through our favorite parts of the city- and you’ll finish your day California style- at the beach!
Stop 1: Fish Mural
📍 1030 Broadway, San Diego, CA 92101
Why fish? This mural draws on the significance of marine life and ocean culture within and around the San Diego area. Home to one of the largest naval bases in the world, along with the USS Midway Museum and a strong military maritime history, the influence of the sea is what makes this southern California town what it is. Besides the surf culture that San Diego is known for, Organizations like Scripps Institution of Oceanography and SeaWorld San Diego are stationed here, working hard to promote ocean conservation. As a lifelong swimmer and now San Diego resident, I was also an ocean lifeguard on Nantucket (a small island off the coast of Massachusetts) in college, so this mural was important to me on a persona level. We thought a that colorful, underwater-themed mural would bring vibrancy to downtown, and I think we were right!
Nearby spots: Petco Park, East Village.
Stop 2: ASUS "Wow The World" Mural
📍 804 Market St, San Diego, CA 92101
A high-energy, tech-inspired mural with a powerful message. ASUS, a computer and tech manufacturing company, came up with this local mural partnership campaign in order to promote their new laptop release! The ASUS Vivobook was a big part of the inspiration of this project and while we painted, the ASUS team filmed and interviewed us about our passion for artistry and design.
Designed with the intention of creating a bright color pop that would grab the attention of everyone driving and walking past, this project also included a custom Vivobook laptop sleeves so we made sure to design the mural with that end goal in mind.
Stop 3: Smile, You’re in San Diego Mural
📍 109 W C St, San Diego, CA 92101
Smile! You’re in San Diego 🙂 As someone who grew up with six month, East Coast winters (I kid, but not really), I’m always happy about living in San Diego. The sun, the surf, the burritos… What's not to smile about?
This Instagram-worthy mural was commissioned as a part of San Diego Tourism’s advertising campaign back in 2018. Because of the neutral colors of the downtown landscape, we chose a bright color scheme to contrast. The vibrant, colorful backdrop covering over 1,100 sq ft leaves plenty of opportunity to pose for some great social content. Our painting process was filmed for a commercial that has aired all across the country… and because Pandr is a local mural company, we were prime candidates for this project. As one of our larger street art projects, this mural is second to our Coronado Brewing Co. mural in Bay Park, San Diego.
Nearby attractions: Gaslamp Quarter, Seaport Village.
Stop 4: Cortez Hill Intersection Mural
📍 Intersection of Cedar St & Third Ave, San Diego, CA
From iPad, to reality! Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to partner with @downtownsandiego multiple times to bring color to the different neighborhoods they oversee. In 2022, I designed a crosswalk mural for the Cortez neighborhood, and in 2024 they asked me to design matching banners. There are four alternating designs that highlight different icons from this unique neighborhood, blending street style art with the urban landscape of downtown San Diego. So cool to see these bringing some color to my day as I’m driving through the area!
Stop 5: Coronado Marriott Hotel Mural
📍 2000 2nd St, Coronado, CA 92118
Coronado: a must-visit for art lovers! This peninsula across the bay and directly west of downtown San Diego is home to Coronado Art Walk, multiple renowned art galleries, and of course - Hotel del Coronado, know for it’s impressive architecture, gorgeous interior and exterior design, and white sand beaches. This mural we painted at Coronado Marriott Hotel depicts the iconic Coronado bridge - a scenic 2.1-mile-long bridge that offers stunning views of the bay and skyline. This hidden gem can be found behind the hotel’s pool area.
Nearby attractions: Hotel del Coronado, Coronado Beach.
Stop 6: Garfield Elementary Mural
📍 4487 Oregon St, San Diego, CA 92116
A beautiful tribute to education and community engagement, this mural for Garfield Elementary, a local Title 1 school in North Park, was actually donated by the Pandr team as a way to give back to the community that has been so supportive of us! Working closely with the school’s principal and PTO to bring the project to life, it was truly an honor to design and install a mural that will inspire and bring light to the school’s community everyday.
Not only did we get to spend a few days chatting with faculty and students as we painted, but we go invited back to speak with 4th and 5th graders about what it means to be an artist and that, yes, you can make a living doing what you love!
I definitely remember when speakers would come in for assemblies at that age, and I hope I left an impression. The sweetest surprise? A stack of thank-you notes from the kids and a framed photo of them in front of the mural. 🥹 This is a special one!
Nearby spots: North Park’s coffee shops and boutiques.
Stop 7: Lululemon in Fashion Valley
📍7007 Friars Road, San Diego, CA 92108
Breathe deeply. San Diego. This mural for Lululemon uses all the cool and calming colors that make you want to say “ommm.”
Nearby spots: Balboa Park, Old Town San Diego State Park.
Stop 8: Estancia Hotel La Jolla
📍9700 N. Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037
This monarch mural is an explosion of warm and bright colors that capture all the sunny California vibes - and gives a nod to some of the plant biology research being done at the nearby Salk Institute.
Other nearby spots: Salk Institute, Black’s Beach, Torrey Pines.
Stop 9: Good Vibes Only Mural
📍 Flower Hill Promenade, 2720 Via De La Valle, Del Mar, CA 92014
GOOD VIBES ONLY!! We created this bright and cheerful piece that embodies positivity to create an instagram-worthy background for shots at the Flower Hill Promenade shopping center. Go for the mural, stay for the shopping (and don’t forget to tag us in your instagram photo ;)).
Nearby attractions: Del Mar beaches, shopping spots.
Stop 10: Ocean Beach Target Mural
📍 4864 Newport Ave, San Diego, CA 92107
One of Pandr’s biggest outdoor murals to date! This bold, coastal-inspired piece was commissioned to bring life to this local Target - and we think it certainly did the trick. This mural was painted in only four days, but we spent over a year working on and perfecting the design with Target and the city of San Diego. You may also see some of our designs inside the building!
In order to create something that truly paid homage to the history of Ocean Beach, we worked with an official Ocean Beach historian to ensure that every inch of the mural was curated to reflect this awesome town. The type face that we chose references the signage from the iconic Cornet Five-and-Dime that the new Target building was home to back in 1990. We also included rock formations from along the California coast, kelp, and the state fish, Garibaldi.
Nearby attractions: OB Pier, Sunset Cliffs.
Stop 11: Sun Outdoors San Diego Bay Mural
📍 825 E St, Chula Vista, CA 91910
This mural added some fun energy to Sun Outdoors Bay San Diego, a large-scale, resort-style campground with vacation rentals and top of the line RV’s that visitors or campers can call home base while enjoying some outdoor adventure in Chula Vista.
Nearby spots: Bayshore Bikeway, Chula Vista Marina.
Stop 12: Imperial Beach Pier Mural
📍 Imperial Beach, CA 91932
And finally we have our Imperial Beach Pier mural - a perfect finale to the mural tour with an ocean backdrop! This project called for a revitalization of the pier, something that had been needed for quite some time. The design process was extensive and we went through multiple rounds of revisions to create the perfect series of murals and signage to line the 1,491 feet of wooden planks.
Our main plan of attack for the pier was to beautify the lifeguard tower, restrooms, and side of the Tin Fish restaurant located at the very end. We love how this turned out and think it definitely adds some fun beachy energy to this popular San Diego spot!
Nearby spots: IB Pier, Tijuana Estuary.