Travel from Airport:
Super Shuttle
after Baggage Claim go out to the Shared Ride Van area
on the Upper Level and find the blue uniformed attendant – best value if you
reserve in advance
Accommodation:
Rental accommodation is very nice, particularly in
areas such as Potrero Hill, as you can get a real feel for the local neighbourhoods
but the city is only a bus ride away
We stayed at:
If you want a central hotel, parents stayed at
Holiday Inn Golden Gateway, 1500
Van Ness Avenue, near California Street in Polk Gulch
very handy for cable car in both directions (N/S and
E/W) and great views
Travel Card:
Clipper Card
Like the London Oyster card,
you can load it up with credit.
Cards are issued at the BART desk in SFO airport, on
the Departures level in the International Terminal. They cost $3.
If you are in the city for a while, you can get a $66
MUNI pass that is valid on buses, trams and cable cars for a month. For shorter
visits there are tourist passes up to $29 for 7 days (prices correct Jan 2014).
BART is extra, but only useful if going to Berkeley or
Oakland, of you want extra flexibility travelling from one end of the city to
the other.
Food:
Tonga Room, Fairmont Hotel,
950 Mason Street
Amazing Tongan tiki bar in basement, with Happy Hour
cocktails, excellent buffet, and its own special micro-climate!
Pinecrest Diner, 401 Geary
Street at Pine Street
24 hour service, the best diner in town, fantastic
breakfasts
Cheesecake Factory, 8th floor
of Macy’s, 251 Geary Street near Union Square
great views, great cheesecake
Nordstrom rooftop café, 865
Market Street
Amazing views up the cable-car streets, food not too
pricey
Burritos:
Chipotle, 525 Market Street
and 211 Sutter Street and 50 California Street and …
Pancho Villa Taqueria, 3071
16th Street, between Mission and Valencia
authentically Mexican, we were the only tourists in
there!
other Taqueiras are
available!
La Taqueira, 2889 Mission
Street
El Toro Taqueira, 598
Valencia Street
Taqueira Cancun, 16th/Mission
and Mission/Valencia
Mission Dolores:
Tartine bakery, 600 Guerrero
Street at 18th Street
Bi-Rite organic bakery &
deli, 3639 18th Street
Potrero Hill
Whole Foods Market, 450 Rhode
Island Street at 17th Street
Goat Hill Pizza, 300
Connecticut Street
Berkeley
Chez Panisse, 1517 Shattuck
Avenue, BART Downtown
café and restaurant,
reservations recommended
Shopping:
Japantown, Post Street
between Pacific Heights and the Fillmore
a subterranean mall with every kind of Japanese shop
you can imagine
Amoeba Records, 1855 Haight
Street, Haight Ashbury, and 2455 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley
the largest and best, with some great second-hand
finds as well
Boat Trips:
see Alcatraz & Angel
Island below
see Sausalito below
Sightseeing:
Westin St Francis, Union
Square
free glass lifts to the 32nd floor for views of downtown
Museum of Modern Art, 151
Third Street between Mission and Howard
Fort Point, South end of
Golden Gate Bridge
run by Parks Service, Fort Point has great
architecture, and views taking you right up to the Golden Gate bridge
Ghirardelli Chocolate
Factory, 900 North Point Street
in a renovated warehouse district, with shop, café and
tasting factory, a must for all chocaholics!
Alcatraz
As the must-see attraction in
San Francisco, it is vital you books months in advance. The Parks Service runs
the island, but you need a place on a boat. There are many scam sites for this,
and you should only use the official company: http://www.alcatrazcruises.com/
It is nice to book a trip that also visits other
islands in the area, we took a boat to Angel Island, price included a tram
tour.
Coit Tower
take a #39 bus from Fisherman’s Wharf, the hill up to
the tower is very steep!
Cliff House, 1090 Point
Lobos, near Lincoln Park
Sutro’s restaurant, historic building, ruined pool;
there is a cheaper diner at top of hill
Cable Car Museum, 1201 Mason
Street
you’ve never seen a museum quite like this – it
actually has the cable that pulls the cars running through the middle of the museum!
Lombard Street, the
“windiest” street in SF, between Hyde and Leavenworth
alternative steep street: Vermont
Street between 20th and 22nd, in Potrero Hill
Golden Gate Park
de Young Museum, 50 Hagiwara
Tea Garden Drive
Japanese Tea Garden cafe
Fisherman’s Wharf
A tourist trap, with overpriced eateries, noisy sea
lions, but it is the best place to get Boudin bakery sourdough with clam
chowder
Golden Gate Bridge
hire a bike, or walk, and go
across bridge to Sausalito (45 minute walk) – you get to a lovely little town
with galleries, shops and delis
boats back to the city are
run by several companies:
Blue & Gold Fleet, http://www.blueandgoldfleet.com/ferry-services/
Golden Gate Ferry, http://goldengateferry.org/schedules/Sausalito.php
Red & White Fleet, http://www.redandwhite.com/directions_pier435.asp
Be careful when buying your
ticket in case one of the other boats comes first! Amazing views of Golden Gate
on return journey
Dashiell Hammett, home of:
891 Post Street #401, San
Francisco
San Francisco Public Library,
Main Branch, 100 Larkin Street, near Civic Center
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