Located about 5 miles east of the Pacific Ocean in the beach town of Oceanside, California, Mission San Luis Rey de Francia sits on spacious and beautifully landscaped land. On a tour, you can visit the Historic Mission Church, remains of the Spanish soldiers’ barracks and lavanderia, the oldest pepper tree in California, and the oldest burial ground in North San Diego County. We spent a couple of hours here, enjoying a packed lunch, and taking time to create some watercolor paintings that the kids could take home as momentos of their time here.
Retreat garden 
A view of the quadrangle 
Soldiers’ barracks 
Lavanderia, or open air laundry 
Steps to the lavanderia, or open air laundry 
Oldest burial ground in North San Diego County still in operation today 
A view of the cupola that sits on top of the domes 
A view of the quadrangle 
A panoramic view of the quadrangle. The oldest living pepper tree in California can be seen in the background under the arch.
Water flowed out of the carved gargoyles in the lavanderia 
The original brick and lime kiln used in the construction of the mission 
Painting momentos using watercolors 
Disney used these doors as the main church doors during the filming of the “Zorro” TV series in 1957 
Entrance to the cemetery
Mission Highlights:
Mission San Luis Rey de Francia is number 18 of 21 Missions in California.
The mission was founded in 1798 by Padre Fermín Francisco de Lasuén, successor to Padre Junipero Serra and named after St. Louis IX, King of France.
The mission once had approximately 950,400 acres of land. Today, the Mission only has 56 acres.
Mission San Luis Rey the Francia is the largest of the 21 California missions. It is the only one adorned with a wooden dome and cupola that sits on top of the bigger dome.
Above the cemetery entrance, you’ll find skull and crossbones, which can also be found at other Franciscan cemeteries. In the 1950s, Walt Disney Studio replaced the cemetery gates for the filming of several television episodes of “Zorro” at San Luis Rey.
Order of Friars Minor, or OFM, is the name given to the Franciscan religious community that founded the missions. They still currently reside at Mission San Luis Rey today.
There were originally 8 bells at the mission. There are now only 4 bells.
The oldest living pepper tree in California can be found in the four-sided patio known as the Mission quadrangle.
The Luiseño people were the Native Americans who lived in this area.
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