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Planning to come to San Francisco for vacation, and will be in town for one week.
What are some things I should do while in town in San Francisco and the surrounding area?
Also, I am hearing mix messages about safety. Is San Francisco no longer a safe town? Anywhere specific I should stay away from?
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First, regarding safety:
◆ Every city has unsafe places. Keep your eyes and ears alert and be watchful. Listen and heed your ‘inner voice’. Visit new places in daylight. At night, be extra cautious. Talk to people especially concierge and hotel staff.
◆ Car break-ins are an epidemic. Leave nothing visible inside. Cover everything inside with a dark blanket. I do this wherever and whenever I travel.
◆ Read https://is.gd/unsafeSanFrancisco
Now, the single, first, and best thing for a newcomer and visitor to do when coming to San Francisco is a boat tour, and the best value is:
Red and White Fleet Bridge 2 Bridge Tour
It is a 90 minute tour for $48 that departs from Pier 43½. It is run year-round. It takes you under the GG Bridge, near to Alcatraz Island, and then under the Bay Bridge. It is well-narrated with history and information about San Francisco.
I moved here from Upstate New York and New England a little over forty years ago and of all the touristy things I have done over the years, this is what I recommend.
So many great ideas here already! The best being Golden Gate Park, the Presidio, Wine Country (either Sonoma or Napa Valley), and Muir Woods.
I would also add a couple of hidden gems: the Salesforce Transit Center gardens, and McLaren Park. The Salesforce gardens are the most stunning and unexpected urban botanical gardens I've ever seen. On an elevated roof above the downtown transit center, you are transported into an enormous multi acre park in the middle of the financial district, with rare and unusual plants from all over the world, including Mediterranean, desert, native, and palm gardens. Many places to sit and admire the view, plus there's a very cool water fountain feature that bubbles up and moves OMG accordance with the buses below.
Now McLaren Park is the easier, smaller cousin of GGPark, designed by the same landscape architect and with sometimes amazing views of the City skyline. It doesn't have the museums or other cultural attractions that GGP does, but for a pure park experience that's quite similar but not flooded with tourists, it's an interesting alternative.
Still, GGP has fantastic things to see and do. Also love the Dahlia garden near the conservatory of flowers, as well as the tree fern forest across the street.
Outside the city, the cute towns in Marin are all picturesque and unique -- Tiburon, Sausalito, Larkspur, Mill Valley are all great. Mill Valley is our favorite among them and at least a way to experience redwoods if Muir Woods is too daunting, as they town is surrounded by them, and the main city park, Old Mill Park, is a treasure, with peaceful redwood groves, a babbling creek, and the City library with its wall of windows looking right into the forest.
West Marin is also fantastic. Check out Pt Reyes National Seashore and its lighthouse, bucolic valleys, isolated peaceful coves, and rough Pacific beaches. The nearby towns have cute restaurants, VRBOs and B&Bs. The drive back down from there to Stinson Beach is especially beautiful, and a classic beach picnic there is a great way to enjoy the sunset.
The East Bay also has wonderful nature areas: Tilden Park, Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve (where you can see ancient lava), and Redwood Regional Park have beautiful hiking and walking trails, plus some cool science attractions such as the Chabot Science Center and Lawrence Hall of Science. Farther east, maybe too far of a drive to be practical, you can take guided walking tours of Mt Diablo State Park in the early fall to see tarantulas during mating season, and the nearby Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek is an internationally renowned treasure for enthusiasts of rare Mediterranean and Desert plants. It's the late-life work of a woman who planted a corner of her five acre property in retirement and became obsessed with traveling the world in search of rare plants with unique shapes and colors. She lived to be 108 years old so ended up doing this for more than forty years in retirement! It's more run by a conservancy and has pubic tours.
Other fun things to do in SF are the theater, symphony, opera, ballet, MOMA, Legion of Honor, and some smaller museums as well. We also love exploring Hayes Valley, which is a vibrant and eclectic neighborhood of old Edwardian buildings, unique independent shops and restaurants, and a central plaza where they neighborhood gathers and enjoys ice cream and coffee from repurposed shipping containers. A cool neighborhood for creative types. We also love Chestnut Street in the Marina District for its architectural charms, vibrancy, views and access to the Bay, and location next to the Palace of Fine Arts, even though many City natives find that neighborhood a bit uppity and prefer the gritty charms of other areas. But for a visitor, it's conveniently located and has some of the most charming architecture to see. The Palace of Fine Arts, though just a big structure with gardens around it, ranks very high with visitors.
Now if you come in the fall, the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival is another fun experience along the coast just south of the City. Worth checking out. Insider tip: go up to the gates by the Ritz Carlton Hotel and ask for public beach access. They'll let you in for free, and there's a parking lot to get to the grounds, which is on bluffs above the ocean. Stunning views and nature, and you can walk down to the rugged beach below. If you want, have a drink outside at a fire pit at the hotel, it's the best view around.
Also fun in Half Moon Bay: Sam's Anchor Bar, a fun and casual seafood grill with a patio above the ocean.
So many great ideas here already! The best being Golden Gate Park, the Presidio, Wine Country (either Sonoma or Napa Valley), and Muir Woods.
I would also add a couple of hidden gems: the Salesforce Transit Center gardens, and McLaren Park. The Salesforce gardens are the most stunning and unexpected urban botanical gardens I've ever seen. On an elevated roof above the downtown transit center, you are transported into an enormous multi acre park in the middle of the financial district, with rare and unusual plants from all over the world, including Mediterranean, desert, native, and palm gardens. Many places to sit and admire the view, plus there's a very cool water fountain feature that bubbles up and moves OMG accordance with the buses below.
Now McLaren Park is the easier, smaller cousin of GGPark, designed by the same landscape architect and with sometimes amazing views of the City skyline. It doesn't have the museums or other cultural attractions that GGP does, but for a pure park experience that's quite similar but not flooded with tourists, it's an interesting alternative.
Still, GGP has fantastic things to see and do. Also love the Dahlia garden near the conservatory of flowers, as well as the tree fern forest across the street.
Outside the city, the cute towns in Marin are all picturesque and unique -- Tiburon, Sausalito, Larkspur, Mill Valley are all great. Mill Valley is our favorite among them and at least a way to experience redwoods if Muir Woods is too daunting, as they town is surrounded by them, and the main city park, Old Mill Park, is a treasure, with peaceful redwood groves, a babbling creek, and the City library with its wall of windows looking right into the forest.
West Marin is also fantastic. Check out Pt Reyes National Seashore and its lighthouse, bucolic valleys, isolated peaceful coves, and rough Pacific beaches. The nearby towns have cute restaurants, VRBOs and B&Bs.
The transit center gardens sound amazing!
And Mill Valley's Old Mill Park is absolutely delightful! There's a walking trail along an old narrow-gauge RR bed that used to go all the way up Mt. Tam. This is nestled in a large redwood park on one side of town. There's a small Buddhist monastery in the middle of the park, off to one side of the trail.
And by all means--Pt. Reyes for spectacular views at the very least, if not a scenic hike. This can be combined with lunch in the village of Pt Reyes Station on the road to the national seashore. Plus we should mention, that the drive through Mill Valley and out to any beaches takes you through redwood forest. You're driving in the middle of this rarified forest! It's extraordinary.
You can do these Marin County attractions in a day, OP. Stop in Mill Valley in the morning on your way out toward Pt Reyes, walk through the Old Mill Park, taking your time to enjoy the quiet, shaded ambience of the redwoods, then continue on. Pt. Reyes Station is at the south end of Tomales Bay, which is where the San Andreas Fault (which caused the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake) runs out to sea, tearing the Pt. Reyes peninsula away from the mainland gradually over the centuries. (see map below) At the northwest end of Tomales Bay is an elk reserve. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Po...xaHE?entry=ttu
Pt. Reyes also has Drake's Beach, on Drake's Bay, where Sir Francis Drake landed in his exploration of the California coast in 1579. I have walked among Great Blue Herons on the trail to Drake's Bay! https://www.nps.gov/pore/learn/news/...dedication.htm
There's so much history in Marin and Sonoma Counties, including a Russian fort along Highway 1 north of Pt Reyes on the Sonoma Coast, from the days of Russian Alaska, created as a supply station for shipping food to the Alaska colony. You could easily spend a couple of days exploring Marin and Sonoma, or even 2 days exploring just Marin, perhaps overnighting in Inverness, on Tamales Bay.
Last edited by Ruth4Truth; 08-23-2023 at 09:53 AM..
In the East Bay, Oakland specifically, Oakland Museum of California is worth a visit. Art exhibits, exhibits of California history, gardens and a cafe. It is two blocks (somewhat gritty looking blocks) from the Lake Merritt BART station.
It used to be one of my favorite places, when I lived in the Bay Area. Usually deserted, especially on drippy days. But not any more, now you have to take a shuttle in.
I hate what's happened to California. Other places complain about Californians moving to their area, but we've been driven out by incomers from all over the world.
While we are in the subject of what places to visit and what to do in SF for a week. What is a great Italian, Chinese,-Chinatown , Japanese, American, Mexican and Deli Restaurant in or around Fisherman's wharf , Nob Hill , and Marina District . I am staying in Fisherman's wharf hotel area. Thank you everyone for all your information and details about SF things to do and safety of the area. Thanks in advance.
The “Mission district” (around Mission & 24th Street) has some great taquerias (small taco stands & restaurants) offering some of the city’s best Mexican cuisine. The “Mission burrito” is a quintessential favorite among locals and visitors alike. I would probably be careful venturing into this area at night.
For Japanese, San Francisco’s Japantown (around Geary Blvd. & Laguna Street) offer a great selection of Japanese restaurants.
In the East Bay, Oakland specifically, Oakland Museum of California is worth a visit. Art exhibits, exhibits of California history, gardens and a cafe. It is two blocks (somewhat gritty looking blocks) from the Lake Merritt BART station.
That area is not a good idea for locals, let alone tourists.
The “Mission district” (around Mission & 24th Street) has some great taquerias (small taco stands & restaurants) offering some of the city’s best Mexican cuisine. The “Mission burrito” is a quintessential favorite among locals and visitors alike. I would probably be careful venturing into this area at night.
Same here. Not a good idea, especially for tourists.
Quote:
For Japanese, San Francisco’s Japantown (around Geary Blvd. & Laguna Street) offer a great selection of Japanese restaurants.
While we are in the subject of what places to visit and what to do in SF for a week. What is a great Italian, Chinese,-Chinatown , Japanese, American, Mexican and Deli Restaurant in or around Fisherman's wharf , Nob Hill , and Marina District . I am staying in Fisherman's wharf hotel area. Thank you everyone for all your information and details about SF things to do and safety of the area. Thanks in advance.
Golden Boy Pizza on Green & Jasper is probably in the top 5 for pizza in SF.
Sotto Mare just a few feet west of Golden Boy Pizza is some of the best seafood.
Ignore anyone who says venture into the Tenderloin because there is "some" good food there. Just don't do it.
North Beach, just south of your location, has great food. This is where Golden Boy Pizza and Sotto Mare are located.
Are you renting a car? If so, take a day trip to Marin or Napa.
Maybe even to Santa Cruz.
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