Local Life

CEL San Diego Downtown New Location

CEL Downtown in San Diego, housed in a historic building, provides modern facilities including themed classrooms and a student lounge, ensuring a comfortable and conducive learning environment.

CEL San Diego Downtown New LocationCEL San Diego Downtown New Location

San Diego Downtown

We’re located in Downtown San Diego, just minutes from the airport. San Diego's thriving urban center offers an abundance of options for accommodations, activities, dining, and cultural attractions that are all easily accessible by foot, bike, car, or public transportation. In the historic Gaslamp Quarter and beautiful Little Italy, where modern architecture and Victorian-Age buildings stand side-by-side, you'll discover eclectic galleries, chic boutiques, trendy nightclubs, rooftop bars, gastropubs, craft beer haunts, and fine dining restaurants lining the streets within walking distance from our new location! Transportation isn’t much of an issue either, as plenty of bus and trolley stops are located within minutes of our school. Learn more about life in San Diego while studying English.

Historic Building

We’re located in the Centre City Building, a historic building built in 1904. Originally 14 stories, it was the tallest building in Downtown San Diego from 1904 until 1931. It is conveniently located in the heart of Downtown San Diego between 2nd and 3rd Avenue on “A” Street, close to the civic trolley stop. We have cafés on the bottom floor offering a wide selection of teas and coffees as well as many different items students can snack or fill up on, depending on how hungry they are.

Our School

We’ve redesigned ourselves in our new space to be more modern and fun yet comfortable so that students can feel at ease when they enter the school. We’ve been thinking about every single detail to make it the most friendly, comfortable, fun, and modern school for our students. Find the Student Services or Admissions & Housing teams in their new open communal pod, where you can ask for assistance anytime. Our new location offers 12 classrooms with big windows through which natural light can shine through and brighten every classroom. Each room is named after special sights that are famous in the USA for sightseeing. Who knows, your class might be in Hawaii or Yellowstone? We’re the first language school to incorporate special decorative whiteboard walls that feature landscapes complementing the name of each classroom. Of course, every classroom is equipped with a smart TV, which makes learning English easy.

There’s a student kitchen where students can heat up food with state-of-the-art microwaves, two sinks to wash dishes if needed, a snack machine for a quick bite, a soda machine for when you’re thirsty, and a tea and coffee K-Cup machine where you can brew warm drinks on cold mornings. We have a new open student lounge with a large whiteboard wall dedicated to news and updates about school activities or changes students need to know about. Featured in the student lounge are also comfortable bean bags to lounge in, wide tables to do homework or play games on, computers that are free for students if needed, as well as a big TV and a projector for when we host movie nights.

So, that’s about all we can report as of right now. We’re sure more blog-worthy things will come soon, and you can bet we’ll write about it. But for now, we’d just like to enjoy our new space with you. Come one, come all! We would love to have new and old students stop by and visit. Summer is coming soon, so we would love to see your face when you drop by! Bring your friends. The more the merrier we say here at CEL. And if you’re looking to learn English in the USA, we’re ready to welcome you!

CEL San Diego School Building

Frequently Asked Questions

Patrick
Patrick
Himmelberg
CEO
Patrick
Local Life
Pacific Mornings or Mountain Afternoons? How Daily Rhythm Shapes Learning English in Vancouver and San Diego

Pacific Mornings or Mountain Afternoons? How Daily Rhythm Shapes Learning English in Vancouver and San Diego

A grounded comparison of Vancouver and San Diego showing how daily rhythm — not just courses — shapes language progress, confidence, and transferable skills.

Local Life
What Students Actually Do After Class in San Diego (It’s Not What You Think)

What Students Actually Do After Class in San Diego (It’s Not What You Think)

An insider look at what students actually do after class in San Diego—from shared housing and Taco Tuesday to local life—and why these everyday routines matter more for real English progress than most expect.

English
Six Common Mistakes Learners Make When Forming Conditionals

Six Common Mistakes Learners Make When Forming Conditionals

The utilization of conditionals presents a significant challenge to students, often resulting in errors such as the misuse of "will," "would," and "unless." Let us examine the six common mistakes made by learners in this regard.

English
What Do Ell Students Struggle With?

What Do Ell Students Struggle With?

The article highlights challenges for ELLs in public schools, suggesting solutions like reputable language schools and bilingual teachers, promoting the College of English Language for premium courses in Los Angeles.

Vie locale
Vivre comme une locale à San Diego grâce à CEL

Vivre comme une locale à San Diego grâce à CEL

Vivre un séjour linguistique à San Diego avec CEL, c’est apprendre l’anglais en s’imprégnant du quotidien local : marchés fermiers, yoga sur la plage, cafés animés et rencontres authentiques.

Séjour linguistique à l’étranger
Séjour linguistique USA – CEL simplifie votre aventure américaine

Séjour linguistique USA – CEL simplifie votre aventure américaine

CEL simplifie votre séjour linguistique USA : accompagnement complet, démarches faciles et immersion totale à San Diego et Santa Monica.

Lokales Leben
Sprachaufenthalt San Diego: Was Studierende nach dem Unterricht wirklich machen

Sprachaufenthalt San Diego: Was Studierende nach dem Unterricht wirklich machen

Was Studierende während eines Sprachaufenthalts in San Diego nach dem Unterricht wirklich tun – von Alltagsroutinen über Kontakt mit Einheimischen bis zur Wochenendplanung. Ein realistischer Blick darauf, wie Englisch im Alltag ganz selbstverständlich besser wird.

English
Five Tips For Boosting Your Writing Style

Five Tips For Boosting Your Writing Style

Improve your writing style with practice. Join us at the College of English Language in California to master English in a diverse environment.

2025-09-23
2025-09-23