What are some of the must-see attractions of San Fransisco?
Some friends and I are going to spend 3-5 days there after that this summer and we have no conception where to budge, where to drink, what to see, etc. Thought perhaps someone would know more than we.
Answers:
Lombard Street, Fisherman's Wharf, The Embarcadero, Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island. All good places to start.
First let me right to be heard...take thaw out clothing. Summer in San Fran can be thoroughly cold! You can see people contained by wool sweaters and heavy jacket. As for what to see, check out the cable cars, the Hotel Corondo, Alcatraz, Fisherman's Wharf, and Giradelli's Chocolate!
People have made some moral recommendations Let me simply add a few comments.
I have a sneaking suspicion that Fisherman's Wharf is phoney. The fishing industry is long gone and the wharf is mostly just touristy restaurants and shops full of t-shirts. Pier 39 and Ghirardelli Square are at conflicting ends of Fisherman's Wharf, and they are cool shopping areas, but still, natives don't go in attendance.
Chinatown, though, is real. If you bear some time to explore you can find amazing things! There are very Chinese-looking building nearby, and I was disappointed to cram that these were designed by American architects to look Chinese and there's zilch like them contained by China. But the shops have some cool stuff! Right surrounded by the middle of Chinatown is a huge sushi bar! Very popular, even though not Chinese at adjectives.
Fort Point is a good place to start. It is where on earth San Francisco started. Its a fascinating out-of-date fort, like nought else on the West Coast. Plus you get wonderful view of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay. If you take the tour of Fort Point (I come up with it's even free!) you learn a great deal about how San Francisco be founded and what it was approaching in the precipitate days.
If you like art museums, the hot De Young museum in Golden Gate Park is pretty apposite. Also it has a tower near an observation room at the top beside an incredible 360 degree outlook. It's just above the tops of the buildings so you see the full city close-up. Everyone talks something like the view from Twin Peaks, and that's cool too, but it's far away from everything.
Golden Gate Park have a lake call Stow Lake. It is on a hill, a ring-shaped sea with an island within it. You can rent a rowboat or electric boat to go around the lagoon and that's fun. There are ducks and turtles and stuff in the tarn. The island in the pond is called Strawberry Hill and there's a footprints up to the top where . . you guessed it, there's another great display. There's a waterfall at one wrap up of the island that's kind of cool (it's fake).
SF have two great, famous pizza parlors. Georgio's on Clement St. and Thomasos on Kearny. Thomasso's is the oldest pizzeria on the west coast, going wager on to the 1930s.
Union Square is the old shopping district. You can spend an hour or two simply window-shopping and not spend any money! It is also the theater district and the hotel district. Walk into the Saint Francis Hotel and ask anyone where the chalice elevators are. They're FREE! They're a bit scary the first time, but you can other just turn around and obverse the other way, and later it's like any other elevator.
The tour of Alcatraz is interesting, but as others read out, you have to breed reservations long in finance.
There are certain streets I love to totter, just to look within windows & stuff. Clement Street used to be where on earth all the great ethnic restaurants are, but not so much anymore. There are some god used bookstores in that, though. Mission St. in the Mission District is approaching a walk through a foreign city--it used to be Mexican but immediately it's people from adjectives over. Union St. in the 'Cow Hollow' shopping district is terribly nice. And Chestnut St. in the Marina district have some nice restaurants, and it's close to the water, a pretty drive. Oh, and as expected Grant Avenue, the heart of Chinatown.
North Beach has some great Italian Restaurants, coffeehouses, and stores. It's thorny to park there but you could lift the bus.
If you're near the Cliff House, there's a Camera Obscura within that costs $1, a well-spent dollar. 8^) Also the drive along the coast is nice.
Well that ought to last you a few days. 8^)
alcatraz, china town, ghiradelli square..
if you're into shopping walk to union square.
achieve a bowl of clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl over by fisherman's warf.
i love going to the ripley's believe it or not museum. it have a lot of really fun stuff.
walk to pier 34 it think ti call its niiiiice
Top on my schedule would be the Rice-a-Roni factory
Depends on your age...we took our relatives a few years ago. Cable cars were a consent to down, once you got rotten there be a loooong line to receive back on, fishermans wharf, pier 39, Alcatraz (if you are gonna do alcatraz, procure the tickets 2-3 weeks ahead of time), lombard street...these are the ones I remember the most
I live only outside of San Francisco, so I personally hatred the really touristy areas. They are basically alike as you will find in any other tourist city.
I recommend wandering past its sell-by date the beaten narrow road for some more adventurous outtings. Sure the cable cars are a must, but the Fisherman's Wharf can be avoided and you won't really be missing anything. The only purpose I would go in that would be to take one of the $10 fjord cruises that goes underneath the Golden Gate and by Alcatraz, a great 1 hour excursion.
If you like a more historical and rugged setting I recommend the Sutro Bath ruins, they are stimulating and the area is charming.
Market Street/The Financial District is full of interesting sights and sounds, the good and the fruitless of the city, I recommend wandering the area. A local hidden: Go to the Bank of America Tower (The tall yawning red building on Montgomery) and board the express elevator to the Carnelian Room on the 52nd floor. You can sit in the lounge and hold drinks (pricey ones of course) while enjoying a scenery of Coit Tower, Alcatraz, and the Golden Gate Bridge, and the famous Pyramid Center, from 800 foot above, it is the highest occupiable floor within the Financial District and much of San Francisco. The Pyramid is taller but the highest floor is lower.
For a more colorful nightlife check out SOMA (South of Market) for a range of bars and clubs.
Chinatown have some amazing food if you like Chinese. Check out Imperial Palace for Dim Sum cart and the most genuine Chinese outside of China.
If you're looking for a nice belief, check out Dolores Park in the Castro, getting within includes a walk through the crucial Castro District, and if you are comfortable with that, it is a colorful and historic hoof it, and the view from that park is my favorite one surrounded by the city. I don't recommend doing the beach within the summer, they say the coldest winter you will ever experience is a summer contained by San Francisco. Cold and windy, and the sea is waaay dangerous, cold, rip currents, great whites.
If you must do the tourist article on Pier 39, it is easily accessible by historic street vehicle and will be full of trinkets that you will find in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Nassau, any tourist destination. However the nouns has Boudin, Fisherman's Grotto, and a few other AMAZING restaurants.
Also contained by that vicinity is Ghirardelli Square, the first factory for that brand, where on earth you will find the best hot fudge sundaes on the west coast.
If you like Italian, check out North Beach (not in reality a beach front), it is only just beyond the pyramid from downtown centered on Columbus Ave. Plenty of cute cafes and things, lately stay on the main road. Barbary Coast (SFs red buoyant district) and some rather unpleasant areas will be found not far stale.
Interested in Japanese culture: check out Japantown, have some nice architecture and shops.
Mexican: The Mission District, avoid at night.
If you're a shopper be sure to check out Powell Station, it have access to the giant Westfield Mall and the world famous Union Square, where on earth you can catch a cable sports car to the wharf area. Just be equipped for crowds and lines.
Anyways feel free to tolerate me know if you have specific interests, I know the city pretty well=)
I lately went at hand to visit my sister -- you can read my blog if you resembling. Here are my recommendations. A baseball or sports spectator sport (The Oakland A's). Then another day, drive down to Santa Cruz via Route 1. It's a superb coastal trip and you can see the Pacific Ocean and the dramatic cliffs. There's a fun amusement park there. If you want to drive farther, Montery is nice too. Another year -- MUST SEE the Sonoma Valley wine country. I've heard Napa is more touristy and more expensive. Sonoma be a blast going to all the wineries. Start rash because they all close by 4:30pm. Then another morning, the Redwood Forest is cool to see. There's also Fisherman's Wharf, you can take a cable sports car ride to it and also see the Ghiradelli Square (famous for chocolates, yummy!), and you should go to Golden Gate Park to the Japanese Tea House. Also Baker Beach is cool and you can embezzle pics of the Golden Gate Bridge from there. There's also deeply of great clubs, bars and restaurants to gather round other people. There's art gallery, a Civic Center and so much more! Here's my blog address:
Hi,
If you and your friends like to bearing do the "Gold Coast Trail". It starts at the Old Mint off Market Street and 5th Street. The trail is flawed by Medallions that are in the sidewalk, adjectives you do is follow them. You cross Market and go up Powell Street to Union Square cross Union Square and you are on your instrument. This trail takes you through San Francisco to Chinatown, you'll stride right up to the Fortune Cookie Factory you'll see how they get the Fortunes surrounded by the cookies. Next you cross Portsmouth Square through part of the "Sin City" from subsidise in the sunshine and then into North Beach, across Washington Park and up to Coit Tower, construct sure you ride the elevator to the top, you'll get a great vision of the City and the Bay, look off to the West and you'll see Lombard Street. Next stop will be down to Pier 39, you're not done, the trail take you through Fisherman's Wharf and into Aquatic Park, you are close the end, the bring to a close is at the Cable Car park. This will take you going on for three and a half hours, but it's worth it. Next, enjoy a bite to eat around the Wharf if you resembling seafood this is one of the best areas. Next, hope you have a motor, take a drive down Lombard Street, you can take there by bus and step down, however, to drive down is a treat. Find your way rear legs to the Wharf, if you've not left pilfer the "F" line street coup¨¦ from the Wharf back downtown to Market Street. The "F" are adjectives old Antique Street Cars, they are rolling museums. Get bad the street car at the Embarcadero, at the Hyatt, shift inside this is and impressive hotel lobby. Back outside and payment for you ride on the California Street Cable Car. This ride will get you up the mound past Chinatown, find off at the Fairmont Hotel if yoou guys are hungry, checkout the Tonga Room. In this resteruant within rains adjectives the time. You'll hae a good time. Now you are still contained by the Fairmont. Ask for directions to the outside glass elevator. This is a fun ride tho the Crown room, you'll see another part of a set of the City from the top. If you go close to sunset and it's not a foggy afternoon you'll get a gret spectacle of the Golden Gate Bridge.
By now you involve a rest... Next day call on the Golden Gate Bridge. If you drive find your way to one of the parking lots and waddle out to the south tower, it should take something like 10 minutes, more great views of the Bay, City and Alcatraz. Try and find your agency down to Fort Point right below the bridge, it's a Civil War era structure.
Now you are ready for Golden Gate Park. you can gain there on 19th ave. It's a bit of a trick to use the drive beneath tunnel and go south bound bad the bridge, you gat do it. Stay in the right lane for the road to 19th. You'll get to the park and see the park as you cross Fulton Ave and it's a right curve on the park drive through. Take the subsequent right or the second right and you are in the park. Make sure you bring a map it will relieve out a lot. If you are geared up for lunch or dinner try the end of the park at Ocean Beach and the Beach Challet, great view of the ocean and amazingly good food and drinks. Now you can drive up stern through the park to Height Ashbery, not much left of the feeble school hiipe villege, however, you can still gain a feel for the outdated school place. Find Masonic turn right and principal up to twin peaks, this will confer you another view of the City and the Bay. For a place to see that will be impressively colorful try the Castro, from Twin Peaks head down to upper Market Street, turn downhill toward the Bay and beforehand loon you'll see the big rainbow flag and you are there. Great places to guzzle and hand out.
Enjoy.
See Jersey Boys!! But grasp tickets NOW.
Shop in Union Square, step across the golden gate, pop in sausalito and muir woods, take the transfer out to alcatraz, get free chocolate at the inspired ghirardelli factory, walk down lombard street, drop by the cable car history museum, chinatown, fisherman's wharf is a principal tourist trap but still go within the original sourdough bakery place, and dance to Alamo Park to see the houses from Full House!
Eat at: Scala's, The Daily Grill, Sears(for breakfast-- get french toast), and ALLEGRO ROMANO<<< a MUST.
Have so much fun!!
Related Questions:
