sf7307

Suzie, I should have qualified my statement -- those are the things most tourists would do --- I was bored silly on that same school trip! Frankly, old town doesn't thrill me either.

janisj

Sacramento actually is more than a 1 day town - our friend sf7307 is jaded because she lives near San Francisco

The Crocker museum is amazing and worth at least 2 or 3 hours (plus lunch in its cafe). The State Railroad museum takes a minimum of 2 hours - and twice that if you take one of the short excursion train rides.

If by any chance you happen to be in town on the second Saturday of the month the entire midtown section is one huge evening art/food celebration. Every gallery (there are MANY) and restaurant has special events/menus/etc.

You can take light rail out to Folsom for a day trip. The goldrush era Sutter street historic district plus an outlet mall makes for a full day.

There is a wonderful dining scene - w/ probably 50+ excellent restaurants between K street downtown and all of mid-town.

There are lots of good hotels but fewer Marriotts. As for Marriotts inside the city -- there is a Courtyard but it isn't in a great location.

The ONLY one I would book is the Residence Inn @ 1121 15th Street. A terrific location right in the center of things.

sf7307

janisj, I live IN San Francisco now!

(Note that even with everything Janis mentioned, it adds up to 2 days and one evening, and that includes outlet mall shopping )

janisj

Those plus the Capitol, the American River Parkway (30 miles of hiking/biking trails/nature reserve), Old Sacramento-we are up to three days

janisj

oops--missed the >>and one evening,

MichelleY

If you keep a car, you can head out of town a little ways. The foothills, wine tasting, explore the Delta. Do I hear a Fodorite GTG? Lots more possibilities with a car, otherwise a day or two is plenty.

Suzie

I vote with keeping the car and heading out of town.

tomfuller

The "locals" missed the Leyland Stanford Mansion and the old Governors mansion. I believe that Jerry's father was the last to occupy that mansion for a full term. The Reagan family spent a few months there.
Are you arriving in SAC by train or are you flying into SMF?
You can get from the airport to downtown Sacramento on the YOLO bus and rent a car downtown when you want it.
What is your destination on the Zephyr?

jamie99

I've been there 10-12 times, have relatives nearby and my late husband had to travel there on business a lot. We stayed at least 3 times at a Residence Inn in Natomas or maybe South Natomas, very nice with free full breakfast and light snacks M-THU. The actual Marriott is in nearby Rancho Cordoba (or was).

I liked visiting the wineries in Amador County and around Placerville. We also visited Gold Country for several days one winter, really nice, would be better in summer cause lots of stuff was closed in January, like panning for gold and stage coach rides at Colombia Park, also really liked Nevada City.

roger_cook

Thanks janisj, the Residence was heading my list as it seems the most central - will we be able to catch buses to the places you mention?
Thanks to everyone else who has added to the list of possibilities. I have copied and pasted suggestions into a file.

I am confident that we will be able to fill our 4 days in the city. There is also the serendipity factor, chance encounters with people who have interesting things to say, stories to tell - a feature of all of our previous trips to the States.

tomfuller, we are flying into SFO [we land on the 2nd Saturday in August janisj, but we might catch the dessert!], renting a car and, as I guess you can tell from my original post, dumping it at Sacramento airport as soon as we can. The purpose of my post was to test the wisdom of this and I am getting the feeling that, with a little planning and some local knowledge, we can do this. We are going all the way in the Zephyr, Tom. We have driven coast to coast previously and this time someone else can drive!

So, based at the Residence, how will we do?

BarbAnn

I like MichelleY's suggestion of a Fodor GTG.

There is also the California Automobile Museum near Old Sac on Front Street

I would probably drive from San Francisco to Placerville (historic gold town) on Hwy 50 then make my way back to Sacramento to turn the car in. That way you can see some of the El Dorado wineries and the gold country.

MichelleY

You will find lots of people with interesting things to say in downtown Sacramento. You should keep the car and explore the outer areas of the region, especially if you spend 4 days. I think you will enjoy your time more if you do. Let us know your plans if you are interested in a GTG.

tomfuller

If you can figure a way by public transit to get from SFO with luggage to EMY you can ride one of the many Capitol Corridor trains to Sacramento. Baggage storage is available at the station or you can check a bag all the way to Chicago.
Old Sacramento and the California Railroad Museum are within walking distance of the Amtrak station even though they now unload a little father from the station.
Both the inside and grounds of the Capitol are worth seeing.
Enjoy the Glenwood Canyon. You will be going through SLC in darkness and won't see much there.
If you ever wanted to see Aspen, this would be the time to see it by getting off in Glenwood Springs. RFTA bus has a good service from GSC to Aspen (41 miles).

roger_cook

GTG? Sorry but I’m out of the loop on these text abbreviations – it’s an age thing. I only recently discovered that LOL does not mean “Lots of love”. Imaging texting “Sorry to learn your cat was run over. LOL!” [I didn't, that's a joke!]
Vineyards: We have been to these in Napa & Sonoma valleys, Virginia, France, New Zealand and even the UK. Unless a local winery is making something unique out of, say kitten’s tears, we’ll pass on this.
Similarly with gold rush towns. We have been into mines in Silverton CO, Columbia CA, and Birmingham UK. We have explored Bodie CA. It really is the capital city of California that we want to explore. Internal transport advice [from the Residence] would be most welcomed.

BarbAnn

GTG means "get together". In other words we (Fodorites) would all meet for lunch or dinner.

I do not use the bus in Sacramento as I live nearby. However the Sacramento Regional Transportation's website is : http://www.sacrt.com/

Another idea is that in August our local triple A baseball team (they are the farm team for the Oakland A's) will be playing at Raley's Field next to Old Sac.

tomfuller

There is a light rail system in and around Sacramento for the places you don't want to walk to. http://www.sacrt.com/lightrail.stm
There are a couple of places in the city to rent a car without going to the airport.
My favorite HI Hostel is a Victorian mansion at the corner of 10th & H Streets across from City Hall. The River City suite has it's own bathroom. All the other private rooms and dorms have a bath down the hall. The kitchen and dining room are great places to meet new people.