# San Francisco recommendations needed for the kidlet **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** vacation-travel\ **Created:** [July 25, 2024, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-francisco-recommendations-needed-for-the-kidlet/1004765 "2024-07-25T05:37:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-francisco-recommendations-needed-for-the-kidlet/1004765/1 "2024-07-25T05:37:51Z")
OK, my eldest is 24, artistic, animation major graduate from film school, from the 'burbs, teaches a high school art program, a foodie, and will have a full day and night in SF all by themselves with a 3 star budget and a car. Safe hotel recommendation(s) with parking will be much appreciated. What to see with a heavy local art flavor? Should avoid major homeless challenges (this is a suburban and not a tough, hardened, intimidating 20 something), and relatively easy access by private car, public transportation or walking. So, something like Lombard Street is probably out. I am 40 years out of date on the City. So, my thoughts and feel free to critique, stack rank or add new ones are: 1. Coit Tower and the Diego Rivera mural 2. Painted Ladies 3. De Young Museum 4. Legion of Honor 5. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) 6. City Lights bookstore And any places to eat nearby a must-see recommendation is a two-fer! As always, thanks in advance. (BTW, appreciate all the answers in the related [Monterey Chioppino](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cioppino-recommendations-around-monterey-please/1004222) thread! ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-francisco-recommendations-needed-for-the-kidlet/1004765/2 "2024-07-25T07:23:59Z")
An out of the way option, which I did on one of my SF walks pre-Covid. Balmy Street, off 24th, is basically an alley lined with murals. It ends at 25th street and Garfield Square. [Here](https://www.precitaeyes.org/) is a web page about an Arts Center featuring the murals. Even my unartistic self thought the murals were cool. I didn’t take the tour, and didn’t do any research, so I suspect I missed a lot. Also on 24th is an excellent bagel place with great bialys, which supplies the restaurant in the Contemporary Jewish Museum. I went home with a full back pack. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-francisco-recommendations-needed-for-the-kidlet/1004765/3 "2024-07-25T07:48:14Z")
He might enjoy the [Cartoon Art Museum](https://www.cartoonart.org/). The [Asian Art Museum](https://asianart.org/) is a favorite of mine. The best way to see Coit Tower is to walk up. There’s a tiny parking lot at the base of the tower, and there’s almost always a line of cars waiting for spaces. You can walk up either from North Beach (the Italian district), or you can go up the Filbert Steps. The steps start at the base of the bay side of Telegraph Hill, at Filbert Street. It’s a bit of a climb (a healthy 24-year-old should handle it easily), but the views are fantastic. BTW, the mural inside Coit Tower is in the style of Diego Rivera, but it’s not an actual Rivera work. It was a joint effort by 25 different artists hired by the Public Works of Art Project, and supervised in part by an artist whom Rivera trained. Your son might also like [Musée Mécanique](https://museemecanique.com/), a museum full of antique arcade games and other mechanized amusements. Admission is free, though you have to pay to operate the machines. The [Ferry Building Marketplace](https://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/) is a must-visit for foodies. It’s full of high-end vendors and restaurants. Dandelion Chocolate is excellent, as is Blue Bottle Coffee. The best Chinese restaurants are not in Chinatown, but in the Richmond District. [Wen Chang Dumpling Restaurant](https://www.wenchangusa.com/), [Sichuan Tasty Restaurant](https://www.yelp.com/biz/sichuan-tasty-restaurant-san-francisco-5), and [Taisan Huakee Restaurant](https://www.taisanhuakeerestaurant.com/) are all good. San Francisco is where the Mission burrito was invented. Two highly-rated places are [La Taqueria](https://lataqueriasf.com/) and [El Farolito](https://elfarolitosf.com/). ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-francisco-recommendations-needed-for-the-kidlet/1004765/4 "2024-07-25T07:59:19Z")
One of the best things about San Francisco is San Francisco. Let the city be itself. On my only visit (and I hope to return), I ran across so many things I never expected. Pier 39 and the cable cars were a delight, but there was so much more to the city than just that. At the very least, drive across the Golden Gate Bridge in a convertible, with the top down. I did. Holy hannah, what a great ride! ---
**Author:** ![Stana\_Claus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stana_claus/32/13874_2.png) [@Stana\_Claus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stana_Claus)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-francisco-recommendations-needed-for-the-kidlet/1004765/5 "2024-07-25T13:01:30Z")
Perhaps the Palace of Fine Arts? My wife and I really enjoyed it when we were there. As for hotels with parking, they are few and far between. And the majority of those don’t include the parking in the quoted cost of the room. That said, we stayed at the Day’s Inn on Lombard Street (near the Marina District) which did have free parking available for their guests. It wasn’t necessarily the nicest hotel I’ve ever stayed at, but it was adequate for our needs and certainly wasn’t the worst place I ever stayed at either. And we felt safe walking to and from the restaurants and other places within walking distance, which we did quite a bit. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-francisco-recommendations-needed-for-the-kidlet/1004765/6 "2024-07-25T13:57:14Z")
[The Presidio](https://presidio.gov/) has a lot to offer, especially on a nice day. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-francisco-recommendations-needed-for-the-kidlet/1004765/7 "2024-07-25T13:59:50Z")
The Exploratorium, of course! ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-francisco-recommendations-needed-for-the-kidlet/1004765/8 "2024-07-25T14:00:12Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > OK, my eldest is 24, artistic, animation major graduate from film school, In that case, he should go on the Alcatraz tour. It might inspire an artistic response. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-francisco-recommendations-needed-for-the-kidlet/1004765/9 "2024-07-25T15:06:06Z")
Seconding the Exploratorium (and adding trivia you can use to bore your friends and relatives 😉 : it was founded by Robert Oppenheimers brother after he was black listed) Also academy of sciences (opposite de Young) it’s worth doing the tour too (you get to see back rooms with all the specimens not on display) The walk around LandsnEnd from legion of Honor is amazing too, you can walk down to the beach from there it’s my favourite SF walk. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-francisco-recommendations-needed-for-the-kidlet/1004765/10 "2024-07-25T15:14:19Z")
Art wise you can see if one of the art walks are happening while you are there. Local artists exhibiting at pubs, etc: > **[HOME | Art Walk SF](https://www.artwalksf.com/)** > > Art Walk San Francisco is a monthly community event that features local artists, musicians and vendors in our favorite neighborhood businesses. Our goal is to bring life and joy back into our communities. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-francisco-recommendations-needed-for-the-kidlet/1004765/11 "2024-07-25T17:25:16Z")
No idea about parking in the area, but [Green Tortoise Hostel](https://www.greentortoisesf.com/) is clean and well-run and has a nice social vibe (and it looks like there are private room options if they don’t want to do shared dorms). The last time I stayed there was in 2019, but as a solo female traveler, I thought the neighborhood was fine. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-francisco-recommendations-needed-for-the-kidlet/1004765/12 "2024-07-26T01:57:01Z")
don’t forget to go to the Fox theatre in Castro–still has organ playing before films, and good food around ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-francisco-recommendations-needed-for-the-kidlet/1004765/13 "2024-07-26T03:15:01Z")
Appreciate all the replies and have shared with my kidlet. Forgot to mention upthread, that they are staying the first night at one of the hotels on Union Square, and day 2 involves dealing with some passport stuff translates probably into 1 museum. Turns out that they have finagled the night on their own to a friends aunt’s spare bedroom in Oakland (probably the Oakland Hills but I’m not sure). Not only that, but figured out that Jo’s Modern Thai is in Oakland, and has a Michelin star. Day 3 is a leisurely drive to Monterey to meet a couple buddies coming that day from LA. So, is there something recommended either between the Berkely/Oakland area and Monterey? And [cioppino at Phil’s Fish Market](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cioppino-recommendations-around-monterey-please/1004222) is about 99% given. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-francisco-recommendations-needed-for-the-kidlet/1004765/14 "2024-07-26T04:59:49Z")
> [@fedman1](#): > > don’t forget to go to the Fox theatre in Castro–still has organ playing before films, and good food around The Castro Theater is closed, and is being reconfigured into a music performance venue. The owners say they will show films there sometimes, but they’re eliminating the rake of the floor, which will make it a pretty poor place to see a movie. If you’re interested in the architecture of old movie palaces, I suggest the [Paramount Theater](https://www.paramountoakland.org/) in Oakland. You can take a [90 minute tour](https://www.paramountoakland.org/about/tours) on Saturdays for only $10. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-francisco-recommendations-needed-for-the-kidlet/1004765/15 "2024-07-26T05:16:44Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > Painted Ladies You can see them better on your computer. The Embarcadero and the Children’s Museum/Exploratorium. . Disney Museum. > [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > The [Ferry Building Marketplace](https://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/) is a must-visit for foodies. It’s full of high-end vendors and restaurants. Dandelion Chocolate is excellent, as is Blue Bottle Coffee. > [@beowulff](#): > > The Exploratorium, of course! . part of the Embarcadero. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-francisco-recommendations-needed-for-the-kidlet/1004765/16 "2024-07-26T05:43:19Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The Embarcadero and the Children’s Museum/Exploratorium. . Disney Museum. I’m not sure how the Exploratorium would do for a 24-year old. Great for kids, but still. The Disney Museum is in the Presidio, which is nice also but maybe not my first choice for a few day trip. The Disney Museum is high on the list only if you are really into Disney stuff. > [@China\_Guy](#): > > Turns out that they have finagled the night on their own to a friends aunt’s spare bedroom in Oakland (probably the Oakland Hills but I’m not sure). Oakland has a nice museum also, just down the street from the Lake Merritt BART station. I don’t remember how much art there is, I mostly looked at the history and nature sections. Is he planning to go to Monterey via US 101 or US 1? The latter is more scenic, but much slower. Don’t know any great places to eat on the way, but it is close enough to my house that there has never been a reason to stop. If he goes via Route 1, check for road closures. Hills sometimes fall down on the road. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2024, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-francisco-recommendations-needed-for-the-kidlet/1004765/17 "2024-07-28T19:05:38Z")
I haven’t been to the [Cartoon Art Museum](https://www.cartoonart.org/) since it moved. I need to make time for that.