San Francisco

[jstbcuz]

THinking of a trip to DL for 3 days then heading up to San Fran for 5 or 6 days. Looking for suggestions on what is not to miss while there or on the way. Golden Gate Bridge is a must, Fishermans Wharf, maybe Alcatraz.

Also what is a good part of town to stay in? Any recommedations here would be awesome too.

[OKW Lover]

Haven't been, but if you are a Disney nut, the Disney Family Museum is in SF.

[araes2102]

This thread has great ideas (especially mine if I do say so myself )!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2780262

[GrandBob]

Most people stay in the Fisherman's Wharf area, which is pretty central to Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown, and North Beach (Italian area).

Another good place is the Union Square area, which is more central to the theater district, shopping, and financial district.

One of the cheaper areas to stay is out on Lombard street (neighborhood of Cow Hollow and beyond). That's where you'll find cheaper (note, not cheap) accomodations, mostly motels. Recommended if you're driving, as most of these motels do NOT charge for parking. Almost all other hotels/motels do charge for parking, and it can be high.

Lots and lots of things to see and do. Don't forget Golden Gate Park, with all its museums, outdoor displays of flowers, and the Conservatory. If you're driving, drive up to the top of Twin Peaks at night - the views are amazing! Also, when you go to the GG Bridge, go over it and immediately exit for the scenic overlook - great views of the city!

But for even better views, check out my post #7 and #8 in this thread:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2511788

-Bob

[KCmike]

If you can swing it you should see Yosemite National Park. Heaven on Earth in my opinion. It's at least 3+ hours East of SF though.

[groovygirl927]

I love SF. I have only gone twice but my daughter goes to school there. When I went I got the city pass. there are many different musuems that you can get in with it but the best part is your city pass is a bus pass (the bus system is pretty easy to figure out) We went everywhere on the bus. We road the bus to the goldne gate bridge then walked across.

Love chinatown. Our second trip there we went there twice just to eat. We also went to golden gate park. the pier. We road the cable cars to Chinatown but used the bus more (cable cars can have long wait at times) We went to fishermans warf and pier 39. We found an inexpensive place to eat down there (I can't remember what it was called) but it is a walk up window to order and has some benches to sit on outside) There clam chowder in a bread bowl and there fish and chips were very good.

Two things I haven't done and want to do is go to Walt Disney museum and Alcatraz. Didn't go to walt Disney Museum because we couldn't fit it in and Alcatraz books up fast. book tour before you go.

When do you plan on going I can ask my daughter she spends a lot of weekends exploring the city

[thealfi]

I'm a resident of San Francisco!
You should definitely visit the Walt Disney Family Museum. It's in the Presidio area. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but what they have in the museum is amazing, especially for Disney fans.

Visit the California Academy of Sciences; it's a great place for children and adults. The zoo is also pretty fun. I would also recommend visiting Chinatown for some delicious food (I think it's yummy ).

While you're in the area, you could visit Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, and Great America in Santa Clara. They're just a short distance away from SF.

[skiingfast]

If you want to know what to see, there is an offer that may interest you or at least be a simple guide to the top attractions.
http://www.citypass.com/san-francisco

That Aquarium isn't a great one but interests a lot of people.

[GrazingGoat1966]

A couple of suggestions from your original post. On your way up there, try to take in Hearst Castle just North of San Simeon. Fascinating place but you probably need to set aside the best part of half a day by the time you do the tour and film.....but it's so worth it. In San Fran, we always stay at the Columbus Motor Inn. Check it out online. Free parking (which is rare in SF) and only about half a dozen blocks from Fisherman's wharf. Pretty safe and has a takeaway and a bar/restaurant right over the road. San Fran is one of the World's great cities. Enjoy your trip!!

[mamacatnv]

We visit San Francisco 3-5x's a year. We always stay in the Marina Dist. (Cow Hollow) we stay at the Travellodge Golden Gate on the corner of Lombard and Steiner. Cheap, clean and free parking. Not luxurious by any means but close to the main bus lines, lots of shops and cafe's and a really nice neighborhood.

I also suggest a CityPass, not only does it give you a good deal for several attractions it also includes unlimited Muni and Cable Cars for 7 days.