GETTING AROUND
San Francisco is only seven miles long by seven miles wide, but it is topographically varied. Google Maps has a terrific feature that allows you to view a terrain overlay. To enable this feature when looking at any Google Map, click the “More” box between “Traffic” and “Map” and select “Terrain”. Many maps of the city have topographical notes as well. Also, the neighborhoods tend to be aptly named: Telegraph Hill, Russian Hill, and Nob Hill are situated on or near hills, as are Bernal Heights, Pacific Heights, and Diamond Heights. Similarly, Hayes Valley and Noe Valley are indeed valleys.
Dress in layers! There are many microclimates in the Bay Area; no matter where you end up, it will likely be a layer of clothing colder or warmer than where you started. And then there’s the beautiful fog! October is typically a warm and sunny month, averaging about 61 degrees Fahrenheit or 16 degrees Celsius.
If you can manage it, don’t rent a car, at least not for your entire trip. Getting around the city (and even outside the city, if you’re willing to be patient) is quite simple on public transit. Plus, even locals can get frustrated with the parking experience, so why put yourself through that on your vacation? Though if you venture outside the city much for day trips, a rental car will be a necessity.
There are two main transit systems in the city itself: BART and Muni. Muni is the public transit system of the City and County of San Francisco, and contains buses, streetcars, and light-rail vehicles (referred to as Muni Metro in this Wikipedia article, but locals usually just call them “trains” or by their line names, like “the N-Judah”). BART is a heavy-rail, rapid-transit system that connects San Francisco with portions of the East Bay and Peninsula. BART and Muni trains overlap in 4 downtown stations, from east to west: Embarcadero (Ferry Building and the Bay), Montgomery (Financial District), Powell (Union Square shopping and theatre district), and Civic Center (City Hall, Library, Asian Art Museum).
BART also has other SF stops, which can be handy to get between two points quickly, but Muni covers more ground within the city limits.
You can buy a short-term transit pass called a Muni Passport, which is a good deal, since at $2 a ride the cost can add up.
Muni transfers also double as “proof of payment”, so make sure to keep yours for the duration of your trip, even if you do not intend to transfer. The transfers are good for 90 minutes.
BART travel is managed by small blue-and-white tickets with magnetic strips. You will need to insert your ticket in the fare gates when you enter, and again when you leave. The tickets work like debit cards, so you put money on at any station and it is deducted by the fare gates you leave through.
Use the 511.org Trip Planner to plan your public transit adventure.
SIGHTS
There are some wonderful museums in San Francisco. One of our favorites is the de Young, which is in Golden Gate Park, so you can do two things at once! The collection is eclectic and well-curated, and the grounds are lovely.
Also in the Golden Gate Park is the newly-reopened California Academy of Sciences, a fun stop for budding young scientists and fans of albino alligators.
The Legion of Honor is another favorite, with an impressive collection in a gorgeous Beaux-Arts space. It is close enough to the Park to be paired with a visit to the de Young, but if you are a hardcore museum-goer, that’d be your day: half at the de Young and half at the Legion of Honor.
Please, whatever you do, spend a moment in Golden Gate Park. There is so much to do that you could spend a whole vacation exploring it. The arboretum and the Japanese tea garden are particularly excellent.
In Civic Center, you’ll find the Main Library and right next to it, the Old Main, which is now the Asian Art Museum, and quite a treat. SFMoMA is worth a stop if you love modern art. We have not yet been to the Museum of the African Diaspora but we hear nothing but great things about it.
OK, moving on to other subjects … the iconic Golden Gate Bridge is fun to walk or bike across. It will be crowded no matter when you go, but most crowded on weekends.
Also in the category of iconic San Francisco sights, we have Alcatraz, Coit Tower, Fisherman’s Wharf, and Pier 39.
We have not yet been to the Musee Mecanique, but so many people we know say it is terrific. How can it not be? It is “one of the world’s largest privately owned collections of mechanically operated musical instruments and antique arcade machines.”
One of the neatest hidden gems is the Mechanics’ Institute Library in the Financial District. The Mechanics’ Institute is a not-for-profit open to the public for membership. If you are a chess player, this may be an interesting place for you to visit, because it houses the oldest chess club in the United States. The Mechanics’ Institute Library has free tours to the public every Wednesday at noon.
Perhaps the best way to see San Francisco is on a free walking tour hosted by SF City Guides. Halsted has met some of the docents as they research their subjects in the library, and they are knowledgeable, warm, and friendly.
It is worth mentioning that you can take a ferry to Marin County from the Ferry Building (where Market Street ends at the Embarcadero). There are ferries to both Sausalito and Larkspur. Marin County itself would require another page. Suffice it to say that there are many things there including redwoods, beaches, headlands, a small mountain, and Darren’s most awesome game store, Gamescape North, in San Rafael. It is the best game store ever, and no, we are not biased in the least.
FOOD
Where to begin? Eating is one of our favorite things to do, so we have a LOT to say on this topic. Our top recommendations for uniquely Californian cuisine (or at least fusion) restaurants in San Francisco are, in no particular order save for #1:
- Citizen Cake, Pacific Heights [currently closed for renovations]
- Bar Crudo, Western Addition
- Slanted Door, Financial District
- Alembic, Haight
- Maverick, Mission
- Range, Mission
- Rue Lepic, Nob Hill
- Foreign Cinema, Mission
- Slow Club, Potrero Hill
- Pisces California Cuisine, Sunset
For other cuisines, here are our top choices in each category we feel we can speak with some authority on:
- Asian
- Thai: Thep Phanom, Haight
- Vietnamese, traditional: Anh Hong, Tenderloin (Seven Courses of Beef)
- Vietnamese, French: Le Colonial, Nob Hill
- Vietnamese, in between: Cordon Bleu, Nob Hill
- Vietnamese, pho: Pho Vietnam, Nob Hill
- Chinese: Eliza’s, Pacific Heights
- Japanese, sushi: Zushi Puzzle, Pacific Heights
- Japanese, yakitori: Hana Zen, Union Square
- Indian/Pakistani: Shalimar, Nob Hill
- Nepalese: Little Nepal, Bernal Heights
- Burmese: Burma Superstar, Richmond
European
Italian: A16, Marina; Delarosa, Marina
French: Rue Lepic, Nob Hill
German: Suppenkuche, Hayes Valley
Spanish: Andalu, Mission
Catalan: B44, Financial District
Other
Seafood: Bar Crudo, Western Addition; Hog Island Oyster Company, Financial District; Swan Oyster Depot, Nob Hill
Latin-American: Maya, SoMa
Mexican: Papalote, Western Addition … or one of the many, many taquerias throughout the city!
Soul/Comfort Food: Q, Richmond; Farmerbrown, Tenderloin
Vegan: There are many, but I have no experience with them, so I direct you to Urbanspoon’s list of vegan-friendly restaurants.
Whenever possible, we make reservations online to ensure a place for us at any table!
SHOPPING
Our favorite shops are:
ADS Hats, Mission, and Goorin Brothers, Haight — Our favorite hat stores in San Francisco.
Fluevog, Haight, and Camper, Union Square — Our favorite shoe stores in San Francisco.
Flax Art & Design, Upper Market — for fountain pens, stationery, and all things crafty.
Borderlands Books, Mission — all the science fiction and fantasy books, used and new, you could ever wish to read.
Green Arcade, Upper Market — books and goods focused on green issues like the environment and sustainability.
Flight 001, Hayes Valley — the coolest travel goods store ever.
Cocoa Bella, Fillmore — chocolate boutique, featuring local chocolatiers as well as international ones.
Ferry Building Marketplace, Downtown — local and organic treats, plus the Farmers’ Market on Saturday mornings.