Planning a trip to San Fran with my wife to celebrate her retirement. Staying in Union Square downtown. First trip. Know some of the obvious required must see landmarks ( GG bridge, Chinatown, Fishermans Wharf, Pier 39, Haight Ashbury, Coit Tower, Napa, Muir Woods, Alcatraz) along with planning a bus and boat tour but would appreciate any locals/ frequent SF travelers with advice or recommendations on some interesting different downtown city sights, walking tours, bars, restaurants etc. Thanks in advance for the help!
First trip to San Francisco - any locals/travelers with recommendations ?
- Thread starter Kybluedude
- Start date
* Go across the bridge to Sausalito and walk around the waterfront. Lots of good food & drink with great atmosphere and views.
* Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Awesome views and historical things.
* Muir Woods....also within the GGRA. Giant redwoods.
* Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Awesome views and historical things.
* Muir Woods....also within the GGRA. Giant redwoods.
I second Saucilito. So scenic and nice you'll never forget. Have cash. Tolls abound on Bay and GG bridges.
Chinatown? Absolutely. You'll freeze your *** off in the Bay and fry outside of area
My ex wife and I have done all 3 of those, but let me throw in a wrinkle. Get a tandem bike at fisherman's wharf and bike over the GG to Sausalito. Talk about an unexpected epic trip. Fortunately you can catch a ferry in Sausalito to get back across the bay, but man what a hard *** trip for a couple of folks who hadn't been on a bike in years. That excursion may have led to our divorce.
But hey, who else do you know that can say they have ridden a tandem bike over the Golden Gate Bridge?
Why the hell would you plan a trip like that?
Wife should smack the **** outta you for not picking Miami or Vegas.
If you are going up to Napa/Sonoma, do some research into which wineries to visit. Some do a great job in teaching the process of growing and bottling the wine. Others just want you to visit their tasting room where they pour their less expensive wines. Be willing to pay for a better tour or for tastings of their top shelf wines. Wine Spectator is a good place to get recommendations for tours, food and hotels in CA's wine country. The harvest is in the fall and the place turns into Disneyland. I would skip visiting during this time.
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I liked the invasion of the sea lions, but from what I'm told, they don't come around anymore
They're still there. Depends on the day and season.
My outdoor suggestions :
- a walk along marina green / crissy field
- bike ride across GG bridge then ferry ride back from Sausalito
- walk through Pacific Heights to GG Park
- walk through Presidio / Lands End
- day drinking at Dolores Park in the Mission
As others have suggested, one of SF's main draws is its proximity to other fantastic destinations. Sonoma/Napa, the Headlands (I highly recommend a hike from Mill Valley), Point Reyes area, Tomales Bay, Santa Cruz range on the peninsula, Anderson Valley, are all an hour away from the city. If you have more time to explore, Yosemite and Big Sur are both a 4 hour drive from the city.
If you're looking for watering holes in the city, let me know your preferences for drinking establishments (beer or wine bars, dive bars, lounges, sports bars, etc) and I can suggest some neighborhood and spots.
Couple of other points-
-Haight and the Ashbury area basically smells like weed. I hope you like the smell of weed because that's all you're going to get
-Make sure you go to Golden State Park. You'll see the remaining members of Grateful Dead running around naked . And make sure you buy drugs along the pathway. No worries, you'll get many choices. So go scoot, you rascal. Get on to San Fran
-Haight and the Ashbury area basically smells like weed. I hope you like the smell of weed because that's all you're going to get
-Make sure you go to Golden State Park. You'll see the remaining members of Grateful Dead running around naked . And make sure you buy drugs along the pathway. No worries, you'll get many choices. So go scoot, you rascal. Get on to San Fran
Appreciated. More of the local bar/ pub/ bar food type. Staying at Union Square if you have any thoughts in that area.
The Bay Area sucks. Way to expensive, to many homeless, to many freeloaders, and basically the scum of California usually end up getting free stuff from Gov. Brown. People are leaving California by the millions and being replaced by immigrants .
Tonys pizza is one of the best pizzas I've ever had. The fairy codmother is also dynamite for fish and chips. Its also the cheapest dinner you can get there. I also took a walking tour of the city and it was the best thing I did. It was a small group and super personable. It covers all the must see spots except the golden gate. Great value. Alcatraz was cool but a little overrated imo. I did the napa train dinner tour and it was cool.
What's so funny?! The idea that it's so expensive that everyone lives there for free?!
There is a smaller version of old faithful geyser up in the Napa area. Pretty neat.
Buy Alcatraz tickets well in advance.
Take a winter coat.
If you have time, go see the giant sequoias. Amazing.
Buy Alcatraz tickets well in advance.
Take a winter coat.
If you have time, go see the giant sequoias. Amazing.
Other suggestions.
Stay in an air bb in diamond heights. Great view of city. Try the local coffee. Blue bottle.
Ferry building on Saturday morning for farmers market.
Dim Sum on Sunday morning. Walk in GG park on Sunday. It's closed to cars on Sunday.
Hike in lands end. All the way to gg bridge.
Coastal drive down to Pacifica.
Muir Woods. Point Reyes for hikes.
Stay in an air bb in diamond heights. Great view of city. Try the local coffee. Blue bottle.
Ferry building on Saturday morning for farmers market.
Dim Sum on Sunday morning. Walk in GG park on Sunday. It's closed to cars on Sunday.
Hike in lands end. All the way to gg bridge.
Coastal drive down to Pacifica.
Muir Woods. Point Reyes for hikes.