Straddling the Río Tijuana, now a canal, which empties into the Pacific Ocean, Tijuana encompasses a population of around 2.5 million (estimates range from 1.6 million to 3.5 million). Its urban sprawl covers deep canyons, hills, and plateaus in the northwest corner of Mexico.

Most visitors come for the shopping, dining, and clubbing, but the city also draws people who want to drink underage, buy prescription medications over the counter, and visit its legal red-light district.

History

It may be hard to imagine today, but Tijuana wasn’t always a border town. The Treaty of Hidalgo, signed in 1848, ceded Alta California to the United States and commenced Tijuana’s rapid transformation from an insignificant cattle ranching settlement to a center of tourism, industry, and immigration. It was officially founded as Tijuana in 1889. Many U.S. citizens first heard of the city in 1911, one year after the Mexican Revolution, when a group of revolutionaries briefly occupied the town.

When the Panama-California International Exposition took place in San Diego in 1916, Tijuana put itself on the global tourism map, drawing a number of attendees over to the border for a concurrent traditional Mexican fair. With its lineup of arts and crafts, local foods, hot springs, horse racing, and boxing matches, the city made a lasting impression.

The U.S. Prohibition era brought foreigners over the border in greater numbers to drink and gamble. In 1928 the historic Agua Caliente hotel, casino, and spa opened to entertain elite Hollywood types, and the resort quickly became an icon of the growing city. The party lasted until 1935, when then-president Cárdenas outlawed gambling and closed Mexico’s casinos, causing a severe recession.

By this point, however, the city was primed for growth through tourism and domestic immigration, and from 1940 to 1950 its population tripled from approximately 20,000 to more than 60,000, and then exploded by 600 percent between 1950 and 1970.

An era of industrial development fueled the next wave of growth, with international companies opening hundreds of manufacturing plants called maquiladoras, which take advantage of cheaper labor costs to produce goods for export. Without the infrastructure to handle such explosive growth, Tijuana faced severe housing shortages and pollution.

Collaboration between the United States and Mexico led to improvements through the end of the 20th century, and today the standard of living is much improved—to the point where tens of thousands of U.S. nationals have made Tijuana their permanent residence.

Present-day Tijuana is a multicultural, cosmopolitan city facing a host of socioeconomic challenges. Its 16 universities draw students from all over the country as well as overseas. As the fourth-largest city in Mexico (after Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey), it also has the busiest international border crossing in the world, through which 70 million people pass each year. Tijuana has one of the highest income per capita of any city in the country, but as a border zone, it also must cope with a sizable immigrant population (legal and illegal, foreign and national), widespread poverty, and deep-rooted organized crime.

At its heart, multicultural, cosmopolitan Tijuana remains a young city searching to find its place in the world. Even as it struggles to cope with systemic crime and poverty, this urban community finds itself at the forefront of global trends in music and art. If it can find a way to harness and nurture that creative, edgy spirit while restoring law and order, Tijuana could reemerge as an economic and cultural leader in the region.

Getting to Tijuana

By Air: Tijuana has an international airport in Mesa de Otay, about 10 kilometers northeast of downtown: Abelardo L. Rodríguez International Airport (TIJ, tel. 664/607-8200, http://tijuana.aeropuertosgap.com.mx). Several international and discount airlines offer service to and from Tijuana, including:

• Aeroméxico (Plaza Río Tijuana 12 A1, Paseo de los Héroes, tel. 664/638-8444 or 800/021-4010, toll-free U.S. tel. 800/237-6639, www.aeromexico.com)
• Mexicana (Edificio Fontana, Diego Rivera 1511 at Paseo de los Héroes, tel. 664/634-6566, airport tel. 664/682-4184 or 800/509-8960, toll-free U.S./Canada tel. 800/531-7921)
• Aero California (Plaza Río Tijuana C 20, Paseo de los Héroes, tel. 664/684-2876, toll-free U.S. tel. 800/237-6225)
• Aviacsa (Sánchez Taboada 4499, Plaza Guadalupe 6, tel. 664/622-5024, airport tel. 664/683-8202 or 800/711-6733, toll-free U.S. tel. 888/528-4227, www.aviacsa.com), based out of Monterrey
• Volaris (www.volaris.com.mx) is one of a handful of low-cost carriers that fly in and out of Tijuana—an increasingly appealing way to mitigate the rising cost of airfare from LAX. It opened for business in 2006, and the best part about flying with this airline is that it runs a shuttle from the San Diego train station to the Tijuana airport (US$15), so travelers don’t have to deal with driving themselves through the busy streets of Tijuana. From the shuttle pickup, it’s a 30-minute drive to the airport, including a short stop at the border. The planes are new, and most of your fellow passengers will be gringos in the know. This is a great way to get to La Paz and Los Cabos in Baja California Sur.

Airport Transportation: Taxi service between the airport and any destination within the city limits costs US$12 for up to five passengers and slightly less to the Central de Autobuses. Public buses signed “Centro” offer frequent connections to the downtown area (US$0.60 pp).

By Bus: Tijuana’s Central de Autobuses de Tijuana is located five kilometers east of the city on Lázaro Cárdenas at Boulevard Arroyo Alamar (tel. 664/621-2982). It has a restaurant, lonchería, telephone service, immigration office, and currency exchange. Transportes Norte de Sonora (TNS) and Autotransportes de Baja California (ABC, tel. 664/621-2668, www.abc.com.mx) offer connections east to Mexicali (US$9–12, nine buses/day) and the Mexican mainland. Transportes de Pacífico and Chihuahuenses offer more frequent connections to destinations on the mainland.

ABC’s ejecutivo buses depart for Ensenada every half hour 6 A.M.–midnight from the second Central de Autobuses (Madero and Calle 1). Regular buses (no air-conditioning) leave for Ensenada from Plaza Viva at the border. ABC offers both ejecutivo and regular bus service to San Felipe as well.

Autotransportes Aguila offers intercity service to points south, including El Rosario, Santa Rosalía, and La Paz.

Greyhound (toll-free U.S. tel. 800/231-2222) buses from San Diego and Los Angeles arrive at the Tres Estrellas de Oro terminal (México and Madero, tel. 664/688-0082), which also has frequent ABC buses to Tecate.

Mexicoach out of San Ysidro has its own station at the Terminal Turística Tijuana (Revolución btw Calles 6/7).

By Taxi: Taxi service from the border to downtown is about US$5 (flat rate); to Rosarito US$35 (one-way); and to Ensenada US$100.

By Car: Most visitors heading to Tijuana by car cross at San Ysidro. You don’t need a permit for your vehicle unless you plan to continue on to the mainland. You do need a validated tourist permit if you plan to go south of Maneadero or stay longer than 72 hours anywhere on the peninsula. A Mexican auto insurance policy is essential.

On Foot: A popular way to get to Tijuana from Southern California is to park at San Ysidro and walk across the border. The route is well marked and it takes about 15–20 minutes to get to Avenida Revolución this way. If you don’t want to drive to the border, you can take the Tijuana Trolley (www.sdmts.com, 5 A.M.–12:40 A.M. daily, US$2.50) from San Diego instead.