In 1769, Spanish padre Junipero Serra – leader of the Sacred Expedition across California – founded Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá on a hilltop site above what is now Old Town State Historic Park.

The first of the 21 missions which spread northwards across California, the San Diego mission was soon moved to a more convenient location and now sits amid the suburban sprawl of Mission Valley, at 10818 San Diego Mission Road.

This is by no means the biggest nor the best of California’s missions, but do pay a call if you don’t have the opportunity to visit any of the others: the well-stocked museum and the simple chapel offer an arresting flavour of bygone times.