Headed to San Francisco - help make my trip awesome!

In My Humble Opinion
21

The entire city is only 7 miles wide so you can walk from the bay to the ocean in less than 3 hours if you don’t mind the hills. Most of the touristy areas are very close to each other. The ones that aren’t are Golden Gate Park and the associated museums, GG Bridge (not next to GG Park), the neighborhoods like the Haight, the Mission or the Castro, the zoo, beach and Cliff House. All are easy to get to on MUNI (either see the website or call 511 to find out how to get around- they are good about giving routes on the fly).

Most of the attractions are is the NE section of the city, within an area of 2 square miles. If you’re staying by the airport, take BART into the Powell station, then climb up to street level to take either a cable car to the wharf or the F street car the rest of the way out Market & around the Embarcadero. You can hop off the street car to check out anything on the way. MUNI costs only $2 with unlimited transfers within 1 1/2 hours (NOT applicable to cable cars or BART). If you want to go to GG Park or wherever, call 511 and tell them where you are and where you want to go.

Do you want a wine tour that goes into specifics of wine making or just a bunch of tastings? For the first, big wineries are better like Sebastiani in Sonoma. For the second, there are a million wineries. You can’t swing a cat in Sonoma or Napa without hitting about a dozen wineries.

22

It has been a few years since I have been in SF. I will +1 the recommendations to use BART/Muni as much as possible. Parking in SF is a giant PITA. Driving, less so, though the hills can be tricky with a stick shift. If you like interactive museums, the Exploratorium is, IIRC, the concept’s fountainhead. You’d better like dealing with lots of kids, though. If you’re baseball fans, AT&T Park is supposed to be a gorgeous place to take in a game.

As far as wine goes, my advice is to think of your favorite wineries, and see if you can go and visit them. Make appointments, if possible. You’ll see a lot more and it will be a much more interesting experience. If, however, you just want to go without making an appointment, I steer people to the tasting room at Beringer Vineyards and Robert Mondavi Winery Yes, they are corporate, and somewhat soulless compared to many other wineries. But, they make a very wide variety of wines, and they make them competently and well. They are also set up very efficiently, so you can get in, taste and get out. Beringer is also kitty corner to the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, a pretty well-known cooking school. They used to have a restaurant on property, run by the students, where you could have a somewhat inexpensive fine dining experience. Of course, if you want to go to Tra Vigne instead, that’s good too. Chateau Montelena is a nice experience as well, up in Calistoga. That’s near hot springs and spas with mud baths, if you’re into that sort of thing. A very good winery within the Bay Area itself, especially if you like Zinfandel, is Rosenblum Cellars in Alameda. (You may recognize some of the exteriors, as IIRC, “Mythbusters” is filmed near there.) That’s a bit shorter of a drive than the end of the Napa Valley. Sonoma is a bit (tiny bit) less touristy than the Napa Valley, which may or may not appeal to you. If you are going to do a lot of driving in the Wine Country, then get a good map/directions, spit a lot, and have plenty of water in the car. But tell us what sort of wines you like, and it’ll help narrow the field a bit.

As far as the Monterey Aquarium goes, it is indeed awesome, and a 2-3 hour drive from SF, unfortunately. Of course, if you go there, then you can go wander around Carmel-by-the-Sea too. And drive down to Big Sur…

23

I live in Napa and I used to work in tasting rooms. Here’s some advice.

Go to maybe ONE corporate winery. You will then have seen them all. (the corporate ones I mean) A lot of them are more like gift shops that offer tastings rather than the other way around. Spend more of your time on the small ones that will give a damn about you.

An awful lot of people overextend themselves in Napa Valley. Realistically you can’t visit many more than three wineries in a day and not have your tastebuds fatigue. That or you’ll get too drunk to enjoy anything much less drive. Don’t forget to eat lunch. That alone can take ninety minutes. DO go to Bouchon in Yountville. A great cheaper option is to eat at Guigni’s Deli in downtown St Helena. ( pronounced JOONEY) It’s old school Napa Valley like when I was a kid. Locals eat there. Say yes to Gugni Juice on your sandwich.

Avoid the touristy crap. The Wine Train will suck up half your day. Beringer, Mondavi, Sterling, Sattui, etc are mega busy places. Unless you’re a big fan of those wines, don’t bother.

Good ones: Judd’s Hill (my friend 's family runs it, but it’s good all the same, not just a shameless plug), Cakebread, Trefethen, Pine Ridge, Joseph Phelps, Silver Oak,Mumm (great view and sparkling wine). Do some research- you may need reservations.

Here’s a pet peeve of mine: don’t drive like a fool. Go the friggin’ speed limit. If you see something you want to look at, pull over and look. DON’T GET DRUNK AND DRIVE! Better yet, hire someone to drive for you or take turns driving so everyone can gawk safely. Figure out where you’re going, and get there properly and safely.

Another driving tip: Don’t try to turn left onto Hwy 29 (the main route in the valley) Turn right, then make another right to turn around. Traffic can be very heavy upvalley and it’s only two lanes. The same goes for Silverado Trail, the other main route. Don’t forget to use your turn signals. Look behind you and pull over if you’re heading up a parade of us locals.

Be aware that most tastings require that you pay a fee. The days of free tasting are disappearing.

No disrespect, but you made some errors. Santa Cruz is about an hour south of SF, and the Jelly Belly factory is in Fairfield, not Fairfax and is about 30 minutes east of the town of Napa. I wouldn’t bother. Not much to see out there except that and the Budweiser plant.

24

TerribleTako’s entire post is excellent, but I’d especially recommend the Ferry building while the farmer’s market is going on and some of the museums in Golden Gate park. The de Young is excellent, but the new Academy of Sciences is not to be missed.

We’re also big fans of walking from Market St. (where BART lets off) up through Chinatown and Little Italy. If you don’t mind some hill-climbing you can finish up at Coit tower, and then wind your way down to Pier 39 if you’d like. Little Italy has tons of beautiful little staircase walks that make for some of the nicest walking in the city.

On your walk, swing by the original Cable Car museum (1201 Mason St.) – admission is free and you can go downstairs and see the huge machinery that runs the cables. Hit City Lights bookstore in Little Italy, walk up to Washington Square Park to see the big cathedral where (I believe) Joe diMaggio and Marilyn Monroe posed on the steps when they got married, then swing up to Coit tower.

You’ll climb a lot of stairs and hills, but it’s a beautiful way to see the city. We drag visitors on this exact route as often as we can.

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The exhibits and the cool roof are all open, although the big terrarium thingy closed fairly early the time I went. Probably worth asking before you go.

In addition to molluscs and fish, they have really good grilled cheese sandwiches made with the sort of fancy-pants bread and cheese that are sold in the ferry building.

If the geyser near Calistoga is of interest, you may also be interested in the small, privately run petrified forest nearby. Neither are mind-blowing, but they are not far off the beaten path.

Seconding Monterey Bay Aquarium, no idea if you could or would work it in to your schedule.

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[brief hijack]Anyone ever stayed at the Fairmont Hotel there? I just got asked to do a presentation there and apparently that’s where I’m staying. Opinions?[/hijack]

27

Don’t wear shorts in San Francisco, especially if you’re going to be there after dark. It gets cold there. The tourist shops put racks of overpriced fleeces and sweatshirts out on the sidewalks when it gets dark, because they know there will be lots of clueless tourists in shorts buying them. Save the shorts for Napa and Sonoma. They’re inland, and warmer.

The weather there does not work the way it does back east. The temperature in New York is generally only a few degrees different from that for Washington DC, and all the surrounding areas are going to be at about the same temperature. California is not like that. It’s not terribly uncommon for it to be in the 60s and foggy in San Francisco, and in the 90s and sunny in Livermore (about 45 miles inland). Be sure to get your weather forecasts for the place where you will actually be. Santa Cruz’s weather isn’t going to be approximately like San Jose’s, even though they’re not that far apart. Places near the ocean tend to be cool and foggy, inland with some hills between you and the ocean is likely to be sunnier and warmer.

If you go to a beach, the water will be, at best, about 60 degrees Fahrenheit. You probably don’t want to go swimming. The surfers wear wetsuits.

Designate a driver when you’re visiting wineries. Or else go somewhere where you can walk to several wineries. Downtown Sonoma is good for this.

Avoid bridges and tunnels during rush hour. Avoid the MacArthur Maze (just on the Oakland side of the Bay Bridge) at all times. It’s confusing as hell and almost always congested. The San Mateo bridge is probably a better bet if you want to get to the East Bay.

Don’t try to park in San Francisco. It’s likely to be a frustrating and expensive experience. Take BART or Muni instead. There are BART maps at the airport. Get one when you land.

28

My favorite spots in and around San Francisco:

Cliff House – make reservations for a meal here. A bit expensive, but great views. Then hike out on the Coastal Trail and get a view of the GG Bridge most people miss.

Pt. Reyes – hike to the lighthouse if you can, then drive across the peninsula and check out the elephant seals.

Musee Mechanique – great place to spend an hour or so (and then you can grab some clam chowder at Fisherman’s Wharf next door)

Crissy Fields – more great views of the GG Bridge. You can also see the spot where James Stewart rescued Kim Novak in “Vertigo”.

The Exploratorium – science museum with crude but fascinating exhibits, all of which are very interactive

Coit Tower – panoramic views of the city, and if you walk there, you might see the wild parrots of Telegraph Hill. Driving is another good option. I drove last time and just had to wait 20 minutes or so for a parking place to open up.

I have to add The Marine Mammal Center, because my brother has volunteered there for 20 years now. They do good work, and offer tours and such. Or you could volunteer on a Friday night and help my brother pin down sick or injured seals and sea lions as he feeds them or gives them their med. Actually, you can do that any time, but Friday nights are his shift.

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Huh. I think I know your brother. Small world! :slight_smile:

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Be sure to wear flowers in your hair.

31

Jumpbass:

Yes, my mistakes - I should have looked at my scrapbook before posting, instead of just Googling “Mystery Spot California”. The “mystery spot” I was thinking of that’s north of San Francisco (which made it part of the same day’s drive for me that included the drive-through tree, geyser and jelly bean factory) is Confusion Hill in Piercy.

32

Apologies, the Cable Car Museum isn’t the one that’s near the Ferry Building, it’s the SF Railway Museum. The Cable Car Museum is next to Chinatown. I wouldn’t make a special trip to the SF Railway Museum, but it’s a block or two from the Ferry Building if you want to kill some time.

As everyone else mentioned, the touristy areas are fairly close together although the hills can be killer. Chinatown is somewhat south of Fisherman’s Wharf and I think both are served by the same trolley line which originates at the Powell station in the Downtown area. The trolley line is right outside the BART line, so you can’t miss it. If you want to walk to Chinatown instead, it’s doable since it’s a fairly short distance, but I would suggest that you avoid Powell St. unless your calves desperately need a workout. That street is ridiculously hilly.

I understand your desire to see Fisherman’s Wharf. Some things you just want to see for yourself and experience. It’s fun to just walk around for an hour or two if you have some time and it’s a nice day. The clam chowder there is overpriced and terrible in my opinion though. If you want good clam chowder, there’s lots of other places in SF that makes it much better. Fisherman’s Wharf is close to the Alcatraz cruise’s pier as well, so you can combine them into one trip if you’re doing both.

If you have a smart phone with google maps, it might make your life easier since google maps has all the BART and light rail lines noted and I think you can get schedules and prices on there. And I’m sure you know this already, but if you don’t have a smartphone, you could always map out your public transit options on Google Maps in advance or just get a AAA map of SF.

Yes, you still get to see the exhibits, there’s just usually some live music and you have the option to buy food and drinks.

The beauty of the Ferry Building is that even if you don’t like what the restaurant is serving, just walk ten steps and there’s another restaurant or shop to serve your needs. :slight_smile: If you look at their menu though, I think they have other options as well.

33

Can you be a little more specific about the route? Where to start, what roads, etc? It sounds like exactly what we want to do, to take in the city.

I’m really torn - I only have a couple days in SF and there’s too much to see! The museums all sound fabulous and all the just-outside-of-town excursions sound great too, but there’s no way I can squeeze everything in! I should have taken two weeks vacation.

34

Since Giraffe hasn’t answered yet, here are a couple of possibilities.

map 1 Starting from Market & Powell, walking up to Chinatown, on to North Beach (Little Italy), to Coit Tower, down to Pier 39, and down Fishermans Wharf to Ghiradelli Square. Be sure to get an Irish Coffee at the Buena Vista by Ghiradelli Square, then catch the cable car back to Market & Powell.

Alternately, there’s map 2, which start out from a different spot. Starting from the Embarcadero station, it takes you to the Ferry Building first, then through Chinatown, etc. Finishing with a cable car ride and back to Market & Powell.

Maybe Giraffe will stop in soon.

35

Thanks a bunch!

I’m leaving now and won’t be online all week, so I won’t be checking in again till after I’m back! WHY did we get such an early flight??

36

Darn, looks like I didn’t see this in time to be helpful, but on the off chance you see it I’ll say what I was thinking of is pretty close to Sandra’s map 1. The Powell St. BART station is a good starting point. My thinking was that you’d have a map of the city in hand, so you could just head in the direction of things – it’s a beautiful walk by multiple routes, to be sure.

I look forward to hearing how things went on your return. Have fun! :slight_smile:

37

work up an appetite during the day and have a steak dinner at harris’ restaurant. a martini before the meal would be nice.