Actually, that title is a little misleading, since I’d like input more on what to do when traveling anywhere.
Here’s my deal:
Next weekend, I’m flying to San Francisco from Friday until Wednesday morning. I’m staying with my cousin and his wife. We have tickets to see the Phillies/Giants on Saturday, but I’m unsure about what I’m going to do the rest of my time there. My cousin and his wife are both in their earlier 30s–older than I am, at 23–and are both Harvard graduates. I’m not particularly close with either of them, so I figure that if I go out on my own at night and come back shitfaced, they’ll frown on that and I’ll look like a pathetic drunk to my entire family. I want to avoid this.
Yet, I don’t really know what to do. I don’t understand the point of traveling much, since the concept of “sight-seeing” and walking around to say, “Hey, that looks neat; I’m glad I saw it,” doesn’t interest me very much.
So, what does interest you? Beyond baseball & getting drunk? Especially since you’re one of them intellectual Harvard types…
San Francisco is a wonderful city & has a lot to offer. And it’s a great place for just walking around & looking at stuff–but you said you don’t like that.
Actually, the cousin and the wife are Harvard grads. The OP’s probably a Yalie…
But BB makes a good point. There’s plenty in SF beyond “sight-seeing”–do you like live shows? Museums? Shopping? But it sounds like you’re not interested in the things that make SF unique, in which case you can rest assured it’s got plenty of the same type of thing you can do in any generic big city (bars, clubs, etc.).
But no judgement - we all have different tastes :). Speaking of which, SF does have several sex clubs. No reason to stumble in drunk and alarm the hosts, when you could just stroll in after having meaningless sex with strangers :p. Not MY sort of thing, but if you aren’t interested in touring Alcatraz…
I find the comment that you don’t see the point of travelling much more than a little strange as well. There are lots of great places in the world to wander and San Francisco is one of them. The city itself is physically small like Boston is and completely walkable. I went there five years ago and did a looped, spontaneous walking tour on my own that took over ten hours and consisted of probably 20+ miles but I got a great feel for the place. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I ended up at the famous Crazy Horse strip club at one point and was very tempted to go in by the looks of the girls at the door but I didn’t and I regret it.
In short, Fisherman’s Wharf is nothing special and Alcatraz is fascinating but book early because they can book up. Wear warmish clothes because the city never gets truly warm all day and learn to appreciate places that are different from where you are from. If you have problems finding good things to do, there is a problem and it isn’t San Francisco. If you have lots of money or can find someone that does, San Francisco has some of the best food in the country if not the world.
Musee Mechanique
Coit Tower
Ferry Building
Legion of Honor (The Annie Leibovitz Exhibition ’ A Photographer’s Life’ is on display right now and I plan on catching it a couple of weeks from now.)
de Young
Sutro Baths & Camera Obscura
Yerba Buena Gardens
You might like the Metreon. Go play some video games or catch a movie in IMAX if you aren’t much into sightseeing.
Or see if there are any shows that might interest you, or bands playing at one of the local venues.
Shopping in the Haight is fun, and Amoeba Music is a must stop.
Being contemplative would be a real plus. Grab MuniMetro to the West Portal station. West Portal itself is a neat little commercial area; then wander west and south. The entrance to Stern Grove is off 19th Avenue and Wawona (or nearby). The slope going down is a little steep.
There’s a Doper who lists his address as the Outer Sunset, and he’d know more (I forget his SN).
I mention this area because I guarantee, you will be the only person there who doesn’t live there. The rest of the city is pretty cool too! The millions of Bay Area Dopers will chime in soon.
No we don’t. We call it “The City,” like everyone else.
That’s true, because they know that it isn’t really the cliche that Woody Allen made it out to be, but rather a bigger, more important city. Largest port and manufacturing base in the country, sixth busiest airport in the world, etc. San Francisco is parochial, in comparison. (I say this as someone who has lived in both cities.)
Still, San Francisco is a better place to visit in many ways: better transportation, better weather, better views, and you can make sourdough bread there.
Yeah, and the busyness of the airport and factories are certainly the first thing I look for when rating how much I like a city. Yessiree!
mshar253: tell me what you like to do and I’ll try to tell you the best place(s) here to do it. You like partying? technology? animals? comic books? lecture halls?
It used to be that you’d write to the Chamber of Commerce or the Visitor’s bureau for that city, and they’d send you a lot of brochures. Nowadays you get instant gratification via the Internet. Just use your search engine for “(city name) visitors” or “tourism” or “attractions” or whatever.
And, as others have noted, what you do depends on what you like. I can’t speak for others. A tour of baseball parks and bars would leave me bored but would be just the thing for others. Me, I like museums and whatever’s unique about the place (otherwise, why even go?) In San Francisco (which I haven’t been to in years) there’s:
The Exploratorium (hands-on science museum. Worth it for geeks like me)
Alcatraz
City Lights Bookstore (Jack Kerouac and that crowd)
Chinatown (the largest in the US)
Riding the Cable Cars
Coit Tower
Lombard Street (“The Crookedest Street in the YS”
Looking at Fisherman’s Wharf
Looking at Nob Hill
Looking out over the Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge
Is the Ripley’s Believe it or Not Museum still there?
The Exploratorium is for everybody, not just geeks. I believe Ripley’s is still there, but you have to weigh the price you want to pay for snake oil. The best snake oil around, because it’s so funny.
Ripley’s is still there. It was quite fun the one time, though I wouldn’t pay for it twice. I’m actually not all that gung-ho about the Exploratorium anymore. Theoretically it’s freakin’ awesome, but I remember being much more interested when I was younger than when I went more recently. At this age the exhibits aren’t suprising and there’s a blanket of little kids to dodge.
Still, might be good for someone who’s never seen a technology-based museum or the like. And great for kids.
The millions of Bay Area Dopers will chime in soon.