Travel Tips - San Francisco

[Former Member]

Alright boys and girls, I have a favor to ask. I am planning (very last minute) a weekend trip to San Francisco. I've never been before, and was hoping for advice on things to do and places to see. I'll have my younger sister with me (she is 16), so that rules out the clubs and bars.

 

Any suggestions would be great! Thanks!

 

 

[Rilbur]

Alkatraz was fun, I've been there a few times.

 

Past that... I lived near there, but I don't remember enough to guide you to the cool spots, it's been too long.

[MikeL]

Fisherman's Wharf and Ghiradelli Square are big tourist attractions, both easily accessible by cable car. The cable car museum is also very interesting.

[Mark Arbour]

When you go into the City, take BART instead of driving. I would recommend getting off at Powell and strolling up to Union Square. There you can go one of two ways. Head over to Chinatown (great food, and fun shopping for absolute crap) or head over to the waterfront. Take the Powell/Hyde line so you end up by Ghiradelli Square. Sit on the right side of the cable car so when you get to Lombard Street you can look down (the crookedest street). The best thing to do is hang off the cable cars. It's fun.

 

Alcatraz is a must do. Rent the head phones...well worth it. The views of the City are amazing. And have to second the Cable Car museum too.

 

Another fun thing to do is hike to the top of Coit Tower (on Telegraph Hill) but only if you have time.

[Graeme]

The open-top double-decker bus tour isn't too bad, but you're probably better off going to specific places. The Fisherman's wharf area is definitely worth a visit. We had a look at the WWII armed merchantship and submarine that are docked there, and then to the arcade 'museum' nearby. A harbor boat trip is worth doing, if you can afford it.

 

Lombard Street is worth a photo or two (the crookedest street -- it appears in lots of movies set in San Francisco).

 

That's about all I can remember from our trip there, but then we had a different age group to cater for (getting our two boys away from the arcade 'museum' was a real challenge....)

[colinian]

Tickets to Alcatraz on the weekend are very difficult to get right now; the number of unreserved tickets is limited and the lines to get them are queued up around 8 a.m.

 

There was a section in this Sunday's SF Chronicle Datebook section about Freebies Around the Bay. Here are a few of their suggestions.

 

The Ferry Building is where you'll catch the ferry to Alcatraz. If you go on Saturday the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market will be open, and it's a lot of fun even if you're not going to buy anything to take home. There are a lot of food stalls in the market, and more inside the Ferry Building which are open every day.

 

If you and you sister like country, rockabilly, or bluegrass music there are free performances on Sundays at Thee Parkside on Potrero Hill, an all-ages spot. You can find out what's going to be playing at www.theeparkside.com (the "thee" spelling is correct).

 

If the weather is warm, a walk across the Golden Gate Bridge is spectacular. Take a bus from San Francisco to the parking area on the SF end of the bridge, then walk as far as you want. The walk back to the SF end of the bridge for the best views. More information including bus lines is at gocalifornia.about.com/cs/sanfrancisco/a/ggbridge.htm.

 

The Stern Grove Festival has free shows on Sundays. Go to www.sterngrove.org/ for who's going to be performing when you're in town and for bus information.

 

The Giants are out of town this weekend, but parts of AT&T Park where the Giants play are open, and it's a nice walk along the Embarcadero from downtown with views of the SF Bay and the Bay Bridge. Or, you can take a Muni Metro streetcar (maybe on the way back).

 

Fort Point, near the SF end of the Golden Gate Bridge, is an interesting historic old fort right next to the bridge and admission is free. More information is at www.nps.gov/fopo.

 

The San Francisco Theater Festival is being held at Yerba Buena Gardens, a short walk from the center of downtown SF and across the street from the Museum of Modern Art. Performances are free. There's a schedule and more information here.

 

Chinatown is a major tourist attraction. It's downtown on Grant Street heading north from Bush Street.

 

Does you sister like to shop? The SF downtown shopping district is one of the best in the U.S. It's free for you; for you sister, maybe not so free.

 

Now for a few things that are not free, but worthwhile.

 

A fun thing to do one evening is go to a Beach Blanket Babylon performance. It's a hilarious music review with pop and political spoofs where the performers wear gigantic hats made to look like what they're singing about. This is a San Francisco institution in an all-ages spot. Go to www.beachblanketbabylon.com/ for more information.

 

If you and your sister like museums, San Francisco has lots of them. Some are downtown including the Museum of Modern Art, the new Jewish Museum, the Cartoon Art Museum, and others. Google "San Francisco Museums" for lots of links.

 

The Exploratorium at the Palace of Fine Arts is a lot of fun; go to www.exploratorium.edu/ for more information.

 

The California Academy of Sciences is in a spectacular new building in Golden Gate Park, and includes the Steinhart Aquarium, Morrison Planetarium, the Kimball Natural History Museum, and a 4-story tall rainforest; go to www.calacademy.org/ for more information.

 

I think you and your sister will have fun in San Francisco.

 

Colin

[Mark Arbour]

Tickets to Alcatraz on the weekend are very difficult to get right now; the number of unreserved tickets is limited and the lines to get them are queued up around 8 a.m.

 

There was a section in this Sunday's SF Chronicle Datebook section about Freebies Around the Bay. Here are a few of their suggestions.

 

The Ferry Building is where you'll catch the ferry to Alcatraz. If you go on Saturday the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market will be open, and it's a lot of fun even if you're not going to buy anything to take home. There are a lot of food stalls in the market, and more inside the Ferry Building which are open every day.

 

If you and you sister like country, rockabilly, or bluegrass music there are free performances on Sundays at Thee Parkside on Potrero Hill, an all-ages spot. You can find out what's going to be playing at www.theeparkside.com (the "thee" spelling is correct).

 

If the weather is warm, a walk across the Golden Gate Bridge is spectacular. Take a bus from San Francisco to the parking area on the SF end of the bridge, then walk as far as you want. The walk back to the SF end of the bridge for the best views. More information including bus lines is at gocalifornia.about.com/cs/sanfrancisco/a/ggbridge.htm.

 

The Stern Grove Festival has free shows on Sundays. Go to www.sterngrove.org/ for who's going to be performing when you're in town and for bus information.

 

The Giants are out of town this weekend, but parts of AT&T Park where the Giants play are open, and it's a nice walk along the Embarcadero from downtown with views of the SF Bay and the Bay Bridge. Or, you can take a Muni Metro streetcar (maybe on the way back).

 

Fort Point, near the SF end of the Golden Gate Bridge, is an interesting historic old fort right next to the bridge and admission is free. More information is at www.nps.gov/fopo.

 

The San Francisco Theater Festival is being held at Yerba Buena Gardens, a short walk from the center of downtown SF and across the street from the Museum of Modern Art. Performances are free. There's a schedule and more information here.

 

Chinatown is a major tourist attraction. It's downtown on Grant Street heading north from Bush Street.

 

Now for a few things that are not free, but worthwhile.

 

A fun thing to do one evening is go to a Beach Blanket Babylon performance. It's a hilarious music review with pop and political spoofs where the performers wear gigantic hats made to look like what they're singing about. This is a San Francisco institution in an all-ages spot. Go to www.beachblanketbabylon.com/ for more information.

 

If you and your sister like museums, San Francisco has lots of them. Some are downtown including the Museum of Modern Art, the new Jewish Museum, the Cartoon Art Museum, and others. Google "San Francisco Museums" for lots of links.

 

The Exploratorium at the Palace of Fine Arts is a lot of fun; go to www.exploratorium.edu/ for more information.

 

The California Academy of Sciences is in a spectacular new building in Golden Gate Park, and includes the Steinhart Aquarium, Morrison Planetarium, the Kimball Natural History Museum, and a 4-story tall rainforest; go to www.calacademy.org/ for more information.

 

I think you and your sister will have fun in San Francisco.

 

Colin

 

Wow Colin. Those are some great suggestions. Makes me want to visit the City. You get one huge gold star.

 

The last time I was there I went to the Modern Art Museum and really enjoyed that as well.

[Former Member]

Thanks for the suggestions guys!! Unfortunately the Alkatraz tickets are all sold out for this weekend. But, there are a ton of other things I want to see now! I wish I had more time so I could stay and see it all!

 

Oh and Colin, I might just have to kidnap and force you to be our tour guide!

[colinian]

Jessi (?),

 

I think you and your sister will have a great time in SF. The weather will be nice this weekend, but there might be fog in the morning. The highs will be in the mid-60's (typical SF summer weather). Enjoy!

 

We'll be hiking on Mt. Diablo this weekend. I need a break; I've been working all summer developing a web application for a client of the consulting company where I'm interning. The project is ready for beta testing, and the rest of this week is going to be stress city. If I don't get outdoors and get some exercise soon I'll go crazy. :wacko:

 

Colin

[Former Member]

Jessi (?),

 

I think you and your sister will have a great time in SF. The weather will be nice this weekend, but there might be fog in the morning. The highs will be in the mid-60's (typical SF summer weather). Enjoy!

 

We'll be hiking on Mt. Diablo this weekend. I need a break; I've been working all summer developing a web application for a client of the consulting company where I'm interning. The project is ready for beta testing, and the rest of this week is going to be stress city. If I don't get outdoors and get some exercise soon I'll go crazy.

 

Colin

We are headed out in the morning, and I am way excited!! I'm sure we'll have a great time.

 

Good luck with your project! More importantly, have a good stress free weekend!

 

Thanks again!

[colinian]

We are headed out in the morning, and I am way excited!! I'm sure we'll have a great time.

 

Good luck with your project! More importantly, have a good stress free weekend!

 

Thanks again!

 

Thanks for the good luck wish on my project. It's going very well. The beta test is being run and so far only a couple of minor screen formatting issues that took about 15 seconds to change. We didn't go hiking on Mt. Diablo, it was too hot (high 90's) and we're wimps. It was nice just hanging around the house and not doing anything much. The weather in SF was cool, the TV weatherperson Sunday night said it 40 degrees cooler in SF than in the area of the East Bay where Mt. Diablo is located. It was a lot cooler there today, in the low 80's, perfect for hiking. It's supposed to be the same through this coming weekend, so we're planning to go hiking on Saturday.

 

So, how was San Francisco? Or are you still there (here, from my POV)? It can be addictive! What did you do, and did you and your sister enjoy yourselves?

 

Colin

[Former Member]

Finally wrote a blog about, and put up a few pictures from my trip.

 

Thanks again everyone for all the suggestions! You guys are great!

[colinian]

Looks like you and your sister had a good time in the Bay Area. And how great that she got a spot on the Santa Clara University soccer team. That's way cool!

 

Colin