I’ll be out in California on business next week. At the end of the week, my wife will be flying out to joing me for a couple of days. I’ll be picking her up at SFO around 3pm on Friday and we’ll be leaving by 9am on Sunday. So we have very limited time. I’ll have a rental car but I’m thinking about just turning it in at the airport Friday, and using public transportation for the few days we’ll be there. So I’m looking for both specific and generic advice from the Bay area Dopers.
Hotels? I’m looking in the average price range. This is just a quick getaway for us, so I’m not looking to spend a lot, but I also would like to be in the city someplace fairly non-creepy instead of out by the airport.
What to see/do in that one day? I’d like to get to Mir woods…but can I do that and still have part of a day to see things? How long does it take to get there?
Probably do Fisherman’s Wharf of course and stroll through Pier 39 ( I know…tourist trap…but it’s right there and takes like…what, 10 minutes?) I think I remember Lombard street being within fairly easy walking distance of the Wharf, but it’s been over 15 years since I was there last.
For hotels, find out where the Tenderloin District is, then go somewhere else.
I recently stayed at the Sir Francis Drake on Union Square. I liked it. Very central, right in the middle of stuff.
Muir woods in one day will be tough. You can go, get out of your car, smell the trees, then go back.
Public transit is a good idea. Parking rates and time spent parking could impact your fun.
Things to see:
North Beach
Haight Ashbury
Golden Gate
Union Square (especially if you like shopping)
Twin Peaks (great views on a clear day if you get a car… could take a cab I guess)
Palace of Fine Arts
Pier 39 is too touristy for me
Lombard Street is on top of a hill, so you might not want to walk it. There’s a cable car that takes you right there (up Powell Street?)
Coit Tower
Golden Gate Park (huge… nice drive if you do get a car)
Alcatraz
City Hall
You can’t do all this very well in 1 day and still enjoy it, IMHO. I’d stay somewhere near Union Square or North Beach, walk North Beach and have some lunch. You can hit Lombard St. from there pretty easily (short cab rides / cable car). Then pick 1 or 2 maybe 3 other things from the list and cab it.
There are a few more I can recommend, but they are in a higher than average price range. Uhh, yea, we stay in the city a lot.
I’d skip Muir Woods.
Check out Musee Mechanique on the Wharf.
The sea lions or whatever they are.
The Ferry Building
Coit Tower
Fort Point
Golden Gate Park
Lombard St.
Union Square
The Castro
Haight Ashbury scared the shit out of me. I went there with visions of peace, freedom, love, and tie-dyed hippieness dancing in my head. Instead I found a bunch of homeless miscreants begging for money and looking at me like I was fresh meat for the kill. It was really a bad experience. I’ve never felt so uncomfortable as a tourist. I spent 15 minutes walking around and then split with my money and life intact. (This was in 1993 or 1994.)
Fisherman’s Wharf on the other hand was great. I could have watched the sea lions all day.
Definite must see! Drive to the north side of the Golden Gate take the first exit and drive up to the WWII gun batteries on the Marin Headlands on the way to Fort Barry. Park at the first turn out above the bridge. BEST VIEW OF THE CITY. If you want you can keep driving out to Point Bonita and Fort Barry then on to the Marin Mammal Center. Drive over to Stinson Beach for lunch then you can try to find Bolinas then on to Muir woods. You will get back pretty late but it will be a great trip.
Fisherman’s wharf is disappointing mostly T-shirt shops but you can tour the US Pampanino a WWII Submarine and some beautiful old sailing ships.
Thr Sir Francis Drake is a great hotel but pretty pricey. The Holiday Inn in Chinatown is neat for the rooftop pool with a great view of the city.
We stayed at the King George Hotel near Union Square and really liked it. The rooms are small but the prices are extremely reasonable and the staff is awesome.
Alcatraz is a must-see, but try to get on the earliest boat possible. Less people.
You’ve got nearly a good week’s worth of sightseeing there.
Muir Woods, the Marin Headlands and the GG Bridge are quite easily a day trip on their own, and you will need a car.
There’s quite a bit within Golden Gate Park - it too could easily be a day to explore the Conservatory of Flowers, the Japanese Tea Garden, the DeYoung Museum, the windmills, the buffalo…
As Leaffan said, the Haight is a must-skip, unless you have a destination in mind. If you’re a music fan, Amoeba Records is worth the trip, for example, but the neighborhood itself sank past “sketchy” years ago.
Take a look at the Convention and Vistitors’ Bureau website: http://www.onlyinsanfrancisco.com/
You can get “passports” for MUNI, giving unlimited access to SF’s transit, including the cable cars. Conveniently, they’re sold at baggage claim at SFO.
If you’re thinking about doing Alcatraz, book early at their website. It’s not too difficult to book a time now, but in the summer, it’s often impssible to get tickets by just walking up to the window and hoping to go that day.
For the time you’ve got–lose the car. Walk & use public transport. Consider a cab if you get tired; it’s a small city. Save the road trips for a later, longer visit. Don’t waste a minute looking for a parking place. (And Alcatraz seemed a grim, expensive trip unless you’re really into penology. If you just want to get on the Bay, consider a ferry ride.) Places I enjoyed:
Coit Tower–for the view & the 30’s murals.
City Lights Books–for the hipness. (& the tons of interesting books on all subjects.)
The Mission Dolores–for a cemetary full of stories…
And I’m sure there are old SDMB threads about a major consideration–**where to eat! **
I stayed with a relative in San Francisco, so I can’t help you with hotels. But there are plenty of suggestions here. Find one convenient to your favorite sites.
The Muir Woods and the Marin Headlands are both great - but together they’ll take a day, and you’ll need a car. I agree that you’ll do better without one, at least for a first trip.
I enjoyed Alcatraz, but that also will take up most of a day. Definitely do the Ferry Building if you’re into food. Lots of good stuff to eat there. SF MOMA is not particularly weird, but I grew up with NY MOMA. Golden Gate park is a good choice (though you’ll need a bus or a cab) especially if you like flowers. There are lots of good used bookstores scattered around also.
As for hotels, if you want something a bit different and romantic try the Archbishop’s Mansion. It isn’t cheap, but it is right across the street from Alamo Park and the famous “Painted Ladies” - the houses you’ve seen pictures of and which are in the opening of Full House. Walking distance to Japantown. It’s kind of a B&B, and very cool. I’ve stayed at a couple of other hotels, including the Mark Hopkins right after 9/11 when it was pretty cheap, but this is the most interesting.
You can easily do it in 2-2 1/2 hours, especially if you catch an early ferry. I think we left at 8 or 9am and were back by noon. The ferry returning to the pier leaves about every half hour.
I found Alcatraz fascinating - probably the best audio tour I’ve ever experienced. It’s something I would say not to miss, but I’m a museum nerd.
Not cheap. Also, not open. It’s being renovated. It’s a very cool building though. (I’ve never stayed there, but I’ve driven past it and I’ve looked into staying there on a few occasions.)
We used to stay at the Marine Memorial Club, which is dead center downtown. Just in case you or spousal unit is a veteran. Nice rooms, good breakfast buffet.
• Muir Woods National Monument, although I don’t know how you would get there without a car.
• Alcatraz Island
• Walk across Golden Gate Bridge (much better than driving across)
• A Wok Wiz tour of Chinatown
• Beach Blanket Babylon
• Ride the Powell-Hyde cable car, the more dramatic of the two lines.
• Catch a classic movie at the Castro Theatre, preceded by a pipe organ performance.
• Dinner at one of the Italian restaurants in North Beach.
Thank you for all the responses. There must be something going on that next week, because all but one of the hotels listed by psycat90 (thank you btw) are booked. So I’m going to have to keep looking. Alcatraz is one of those ‘must see’ things that I usually rebell at. Hell, I lived at Mare Island for a year went to the city every other weekend (payday ya know) and never once went to Alcatraz. We’ll see what the wife wants to do. But right now it’s looking like GG park and a Wok Wiz tour maybe. I looked at the Castro Theater, but they’re not showing anything that I’m even remotely interested in for the two nights we’ll be in town. I’m going to ask her about Beach Blanket Babylon tonight and see what she thinks.
Or, you could try what I do nowadays - a vacation rental. Check out VRBO or Craigslist. Just found an apartment for this coming weekend that’s stumbling distance from where we’ll be hanging out most of the night for 90 bucks/night.
FYI, the Paramount Theater in Oakland also shows classic movies, starting with a newsreel, a cartoon, a big wheel where you could win prizes based on your ticket stub, and has a Mighty Wurlitzer. It’s only a few blocks from the BART. They may not have anything on when you’re there, though. Palo Alto also has a classic movie schedule, but would be hard for you to get to.
