This will be our last stop on our epic road trip. We will only have two full days, which I realize isn’t ideal, but I’d like some ideas to help make the most of it. We will be there on Saturday, July 3 and Sunday, the fourth.
Do you think their will be a 4th of July celebration, with Covid and all? If so, where do they usually have it?
What neighborhoods are best to avoid (especially at night)? I lived in NYC for many years and wouldn’t have a problem telling people where to stay away…
At the moment I have a hotel reservation in the Financial District. (It was a good deal.) I’m wondering if that area is more deserted in the evenings?
Is the Alcatraz tour worthwhile (especially given our time constraints)?
What are some other “don’t miss” spots we can hit in two days?
What kind of stuff do you like to do? Attractions range from Chinatown to trails near the Pacific that can make you feel like you’re in the middle of a forest. There is Japantown, with a nice bookstore and lots of restaurants.
There is a museum full of old time mechanical games, free admission and you can play them. I like the Ferry Building. There is some nice architecture. There are the Painted Ladies of Full House fame.
Unless you particularly like Alcatraz, I wouldn’t recommend it. I’ve done the tour twice, and it is interesting, but there are better things to do.
I have a set of flash cards with Walking Tours, 50 IIRC, and I did all but five or six before the Pandemic hit. I can dig some out if you say what kind of stuff interests you.
There is a big New Year’s Eve fireworks show that got canceled, but I don’t remember anything getting done for the Fourth (I’m in the burbs, not the city proper.) I suspect it would be cancelled if there was one.
I’ve lived here for 40 years and I still haven’t made it to Alcatraz. We tried to go when my sister was visiting but they were booked up well in advance, so it might be good to check into it now if you want to go.
Parts of the financial district may be pretty empty at night, but there are other districts nearby that won’t be. Still, take a taxi or something rather than walking, distances can look deceptively close on a map. And there are those pesky hills.
Neighborhoods I would avoid at night include the Tenderloin (parts of which are also called Lower Nob Hill, don’t be fooled), Civic Center especially Market between 6th Street and 10th Street, and the Western Addition (only pockets, Japan Center and Alamo Square are pretty OK). You might suffer from petty thievery up to robbery with violence in those places, but the latter is, I think, rare.
I won’t try to recommend any “can’t miss” spots, it really depends entirely on your interests. I would say consult a guide book, that’s as good as anything I could say
The usual 4th of July celebrations are fireworks in the bay, which most people try to view from the Embarcadero near the foot of the Bay Bridge. It used to be crowded, I have no idea about this year. We never go because the fog always comes in just before the fireworks go off (if not sooner) and makes the whole thing moot. There are lots of other firework shows around the Bay, and lots of private stuff going on too. If you go up on a hill where you have a good view of the city and the east bay, you can usually see several going on. .
I hope you enjoy your visit. My last bit of advice is don’t feel like you have to go to fancy eating places to get really good food. Go ethnic, there is a ton of it here, and a lot of it is very good indeed.
Thanks! We will coming off of 7 days doing some hiking and other things, so probably looking for more city stuff. My kids are 18, 15 and 12. The mechanical games museum sounds interesting. The kids will most likely be interested in cool views, odd shops and historical things.
Here is the Museum website https://museemecanique.com/
(No preview on this one.) I got a message that it is still closed, but by July I’m betting it will be open.
You will be close to the Ferry Building and the Embarcadero. Turn left facing the water and you can walk down the Embarcadero. It is a bit touristy, especially Fisherman’s Wharf, but there is a lot to see. The museum is there. There are a bunch of old ships you can tour, though I never have. Sea lions hang out.
You’ll go past the Exploratorium which is also closed now, but may reopen by then. I wasn’t super fond of it when I took my kid but a lot of people love it.
You can walk all the way down to Ghiradelli Square which has a bunch of restaurants and of course a chocolate shop - though no discounts there.
I’m fond of the Cable Car Museum
especially if you’ve been touristy and rode the cable cars before. It is where all the cables go, and it is interesting and free. And there is a little restaurant across the street (cash only!) which has fascinating mobiles made of old Ace double sf books. Won’t be the gastronomical highlight of your trip, but it was okay.
Of course there is Golden Gate Park with a nice botanical gardens (now charging admission) and windmills on the ocean side.
I’m from New York, and I find San Francisco a good walking city, but mind the hills. There are sidewalks with steps carved into them. The flash cards I mentioned were good at taking you down steep hills, not up them.
As for transit. BART hardly goes anywhere compared to NY subways. There is MUNI light rail and buses. The MUNI website is pretty good at giving you schedules and routes and showing where the nearest bus is.
BTW, if you like dim sum, try
in the Rincon center. You need to check how they handle the pandemic, one comment I saw said you order by app, not from the cart, but we used to go there every Christmas and the food is great, if not exactly cheap.
I haven’t been to the city since before the pandemic, so anything Roderick says takes precedence over anything I say.
I used to recommend Tommy’s Joynt, even though it’s not to everyone’s taste (an understatement). However, while the explosion-in-a-flea-market decor was still there last time I visited, the ambience lacked something: the counterman didn’t snarl at me once. Food was still good, and (relatively) cheap.
Second Japan Center over Chinatown.
The USS Pampanito is among the attractions currently closed, which is unfortunate if you happen to be interested in WWII. Not for claustrophobes, though.
I’ve done Alcatraz 3x over the years. Well worth it, even with your time constraints. Besides the unique history, you get nice views of the bay from the boat ride. But during normal times they were booking out months in advance. You may need to book early. It is a very popular tour. Like @Roderick_Femm, I too have lived here 40+ years.
If you’re a military history buff, the Marines’ Memorial Club & Hotel is a short walk to the west from the FiDi. Several floors have many historical displays. It’s free to visit.
What will be the highlights on your road trip? That will give us ideas of what you like to do and we can help more.
Also, if you ride the cable car be sure to ride the Powell & Hyde line and take it from Market Street, not the opposite direction. The views near the end of the line are fantastic and dramatic, especially on a clear day. Not the Powell & Mason line. Not the California Street line. Powell & Hyde.
Sit at the very front of the cable car, and on the right side so you can view down Lombard Street. You’ll get the best views from this vantage point. If when it’s your turn to get on and the front right is taken, wait for the next cable car. You’ll be at the front of the line and will get your choice of seats.
Sadly, the cable cars haven’t been running due to Covid, and are not scheduled to start up again until late fall.
A very pale substitute, the historic streetcars will start running up and down Market Street again, from the Embarcadero down to the Castro district, in May. These are from cities around the world, not just old SF streetcars. Those are the only surface streetcars left in that area, all the modern ones are underground.