Going to San Francisco, need a to do list

[luke]

I'll be going to S.F. soon and was hoping some Bay Area locals could give me some pointers on where to go. Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks, Luke

[gogo]

I'm both lazy and a bit rushed right now, so for now I'm just going to link to this other thread: http://forums.viachicago.org/index.php?sho...mp;hl=francisco

 

Let us know how those suggestions sound to you, or if there was anything else you were interested in, and I'll tailor something just for you!

[OOO]

Just make sure you aren't allergic to high levels of smug in the atmosphere.

[gogo]

[luke]

Hey, I'm hoping to pack as much into the 4 days I'll be there, so I'm up for anything. I'd like to eat at some restaurants that aren't terribly expensive, maybe go to some cafe's. If Alcatraz is still open I'd like to go there. I know very little about the place so any help is greatly appreciated. One thing, it's nice to come on this board and not be berated for asking a simple question, or for help. It's really hostile out there on the web, so this message board is quite a breath of fresh air.

Thanks, Luke

[gogo]

Be sure to book your tickets in advance for Alcatraz: http://www.alcatrazcruises.com/index.aspx

 

And Angel Island is another nice day out on the bay: http://www.blueandgoldfleet.com/angelisland.htm

http://www.angelisland.org/immigr02.html

[myboyblue]

Japanese tea garden is a must.

[jahilia]

I'd second the Japanese Tea Garden, the Academy of Natural Sciences - if you're into that sort of thing. You could spend a whole day just in Golden Gate Park. The Presidio is also one of my favorite places - there's a great picnic spot right above Fort Point that has beautiful views of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay and Sausalito. If you're into hiking, check out Mt. Tamalpais, not too far from SF - there's some very cool trails there. If you get tired of the city, and are up for a day trip, Santa Cruz is about an hour south of SF, along one of the most beautiful streches of highway you've ever seen. We're usually about 20 degrees warmer than SF too.

 

One of my favorite restaurants in SF is Little Joe's on Broadway. Good, cheap food. It's also about half a block from City Lights Bookstore, Vesuvio's and Francis Ford Coppola's restaurant (the food there is pretty expensive, but there's wine tasting for a reasonable price). Also, if you haven't booked a hotel yet, I love the San Remo, it's really clean and the rates are great.

[gogo]

Also, if you haven't booked a hotel yet, I love the San Remo, it's really clean and the rates are great.

And such a great location!

 

The SF Chronicle has a visitor's guide which is pretty good (http://www.sfgate.com/traveler/guide/) and I see that this month one of my favorite recommendations, the Precita Eyes mural walk, is one of their picks.

 

If you're going to Golden Gate Park, you'll be in my neighborhood, the Inner Sunset. You'll enter the park at 9th Avenue to get to the Tea Garden, and right outside the park there is one of the best good/cheap eats neighborhoods in the city: http://www.sfgate.com/traveler/guide/sf/ne...nersunset.shtml

 

Check out those guides to the Mission, Hayes Valley, and Deco Ghetto, too. Interesting spots, and not too touristy.

[Analogman]

Be sure to check out The Folsom Street Fair.

[darkstar]

If you have the time drive (or walk) across the GG bridge. There are some killer spots on the Marin County side to hike around and sit on the cliffs adjacent to the bridge. You get a tremendous view of the SF skyline and all of the bay from there.

 

Also if you have time, drive up / hike Mount Tamalpais (spelling?) beautiful. Most of Marin County is really nice...of course that's only if you want to spend a day outside of the city itself.

 

All of the other suggestions from the other people are dead on...you won't go wrong doing any of those things

[cryptique]

I second Marin County. Mount Tamalpais is great, and I remember Point Reyes being beautiful.

 

Of course, I haven't been there in twenty-plus years.