Staying Near Balboa Park Makes for Carefree and <i> Car</i> -free Weekend

Picture the Los Angeles Zoo, the Exposition Park museums, the County Art Museum, the Hollywood Bowl and the Mark Taper Forum all moved to a central location in the middle of a verdant park. Then imagine a Victorian bed and breakfast within two blocks of the park.

The parallel isn’t exact, but that’s essentially what San Diegans have in Balboa Park and the Britt House, two blocks from the main western entrance to the park.

A weekend at the Britt offers cosmopolitan pleasures without urban--or automotive--anxieties.

Take the train to San Diego, a cab to Britt House, and walk everywhere else--no San Diego Freeway traffic jams, no car trouble, no guilt about polluting.

Built in 1887, the Britt House is a sight that might stop traffic--if there was much of it to stop (there isn’t on weekends). Its elaborate turret and color scheme are in stark contrast to the anonymous architecture that surrounds it.

A cozy parlor and a friendly hostess await guests. A grand staircase ascends past a two-story stained glass window to the upper rooms.

The room rates are $95 to $110; after stays in 3 of the 10 rooms, at $100 and $105, I recommend the higher price. The feeling of spaciousness is worth it.

A separate cottage is available for $110 in the back of the house, beyond the garden and an enormous camphor tree. The cottage has its own bathroom (with shower only), but otherwise the guests share four bathrooms (one with twin antique tubs, the rest with showers, robes included) in the big house.

Don’t miss tea, served in the parlor from 4 to 6 p.m. The spread here is more impressive than the breakfast you’ll be served in your room the next morning. Except for the Irish blend and herbal teas, the afternoon menu has never been the same on any of my three visits.

On one occasion, tea served as supper as well--why not, when you’re offered cucumber sandwiches, hummus on pita bread, carrot souffle, as well as extravagant desserts such as chocolate pecan or fresh strawberry pie?

On my other visits, the tea repast was more clearly dessert-dominated. But it still kept my appetite satisfied until after the theater that night.

The Simon Edison Centre, where the Old Globe Theater operates three stages during the summer and two during the rest of the year, is about a 15-minute walk east on Laurel, which becomes El Prado as it enters Balboa Park.

Once you’re in the park, the route is lined with strings of tiny lights as well as old-fashioned street lamps; I’ve never experienced the trepidation which might prevent me from walking into other parks at night. The street crosses a bridge over an arroyo (unfortunately with a freeway far below).

The after-dark scene right outside Old Globe is enchanting, as the floodlit campanile of the nearby neo-baroque Museum of Man dominates the skyline. The three stages vary greatly.

The Old Globe itself seats 581 and offers excellent sightlines throughout; the arena-style Cassius Carter Centre Stage seats 225 and is perfect for intimate shows, and the alfresco Lowell Davies Festival Stage seats 612 and offers giant eucalyptuses and a rustic canyon as a backdrop.

Further on in the park is the 4,200-seat Starlight Bowl, also alfresco, where musicals are presented during the summer. The main problem with the outdoor stages is the intermittent intrusions of airplane noise; at the Starlight, the actors freeze until the noise abates.

Steps beyond the Old Globe--and worth a whole Sunday--is the array of museums and galleries that line El Prado, most of them built for expositions in 1915 or 1935.

Selections range from the large-scale Museum of Art, Natural History Museum, Museum of Man, Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater (with IMAX films) and Science Center to smaller and more specialized museums devoted to photography, San Diego history, sports, the Putnam collection of paintings, model railroads, automobiles, Pacific culture and artists’ studios.

Gardens are nearby, including rare tropical and sub-tropical flora within the the 1915-16 redwood lath Botanical Building, which is separated from El Prado by a lily pond.

Just a few steps farther is the main entrance to the celebrated San Diego Zoo--worth a day by itself, if you’ve got the time.

The people-watching in Balboa Park is as impressive as the animal- and exhibit-watching. Certainly no wedding fan should miss Cafe del Rey Moro, in the center of El Prado, where you can almost always find a couple taking their vows in the terraced gardens.

The Cafe offers a rather pedestrian weekend buffet brunch for $9.50. Other light meals are available in the nearby Sculpture Gardens or several small museum cafes.

Or the Britt House will prepare a made-to-order picnic that serves two for $30 (reserve this when you reserve your room, so the caterer can shop before you arrive).

For post-theater dining, however, return to 5th Avenue, near Britt House, and stroll four short blocks south to Fifth and Hawthorn, a casual-chic little California-cuisine establishment where most of the opening night parties for the Old Globe are held.

The daily changing menu lists appetizers for $6-$7 and entrees for $13-$23, but don’t overlook the “light suppers,” smaller portions of three entrees served with fresh vegetable and pasta for $10.95. On a recent Saturday, my sea bass steamed with ginger, scallions and cilantro was a tasty, tangy nightcap.

For liquid nightcaps, try Mister A’s, atop a 12-story building. The interior is done in bordello design, but the view of the harbor and downtown San Diego is terrific, and a pianist serenades you into the night.

There should be no worries about drinking and driving, for Mister A’s is right across Maple Street from the Britt House. And you took the train, remember?