Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - 24 hours in San Fransisco

>>How does the following sound for Friday night:
1. Cable car to Fishermans Wharf and Pier-39<<<

As I've said many times on this message board, I am not a fan of the Wharf area - too tacky. This is not the "real" San Francisco, IMHO

>>>
2. Visit Chinatown
3. Visit North Beach for Italian dinner
4. North Beach Jazz Clubs
5. Visit 45th floor bar on top of Marriotts for the views (and an Aussie drink or 12 of course)
6. Maybe hit Johnny Rockets or Mad Dog in the Fog in Haight (Irish pubs)
7. Hit the jet lagged pillow<<<

Good plan, although I don't know why you would want to visit Johnny Rockets - I think it's a burger joint.

>>On Saturday we are planning a day in SF and need to hire a car and drive to South Lake Tahoe later that afternoon. We have a subsequent long planned drive through Death Valley to Las Vegas (another story).
>>
How does this plan for Saturday sound:

1. Breakfast somewhere nice but short near hotel (please help us with which hotel we could choose)
2. Hire bikes and bike it across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito (is this 10 miles? How many hours?)
3. Grab a ferry back from Sausalito to SF
4. Hire car (we think preferably convertible) for the long trip through Death Valley
5. Drive down Lombard Street
6. Drive up to telegraph hill
7. Drive to twin peaks
8. Visit Coits Tower
>>>

Coit Tower is on top of Telegraph hill.

The views are best from Coit tower in the morning - the sun is in your face in the afternoon. Just the opposite for the Golden Gate bridge - the sun is in your face in the morning if you look back towards the City.

I think the bike/ferry thing will consume too much of your short day. You can do this in the car, and then add in what I think is the best view in the Bay area. So on Saturday, I would pick up the car first thing and do:

Early in the Morning (8:00 or so) pick up the car & head out east on the Bay Bridge (Hwy 80) towards Oakland. Stay in the left most lane, and when you start to approach Treasure Island/Yerba Buena Island, exit left towards Treasure Island (only left turn once on the Bridge, but pay attention – it’s easy to miss). Follow the road until you get a fantastic view of San Francisco from a flat area with a large grassy section. Park the car & take in the view. After the view, return the same way you came & take the Bay Bridge back to San Francisco. There are some great views from the Bridge (I used to come home from work this way every workday for about 5 years).

Once back in San Francisco, take the first right off the bridge (Fremont St exit). At the end of the off ramp, turn left on to Fremont St (it’s a one-way street to the left/northwest). From Fremont, take the first right onto Howard, and then the first right onto Beale. Follow Beale southeast until it hits Bryant, and turn left on to Bryant. In two short blocks, Bryant will dead end into the beautiful Embarcadero, which runs along the San Francisco Bay. Up until the ‘89 earthquake, a freeway was perched above this lovely section of the Embarcadero, and it was not an attractive drive at all. All that changed when the freeway was demolished and The City spent a lot of money/time to spruce up this area. It’s now one of the prettiest & most scenic drives in San Francisco.

Continue north along the Embarcadero, past the recently refurbished Ferry Building on the right, and the Embarcadero Center on the left (I worked there for 2 years). On Saturday morning, there is an active Farmers Market at the Ferry Building. Parking may be tough, but visit both the inside & outside market. If this was my excursion, I would have breakfast at the market – there are several restaurants inside the Ferry Building.

As you continue down the Embarcadero and approach the ultra touristy & tacky Pier 39 complex, turn left onto Bay St. Cross Kearny and then turn left on Stockton. Continue south for a few blocks on Stockton and turn left onto Lombard St (watch for the signs to Coit Tower). Follow Lombard up to Coit Tower where it dead ends. Find a place to park (difficult later in the day) and enjoy the views of the Bay and the City all around you. After viewing everything from the car park area, walk towards the tower and pass the tower (on your left) until you get a good view of the Financial District area. Notice the nice houses/apartments with the great views in front of you – wouldn’t you like to live there for a while? You can visit the tower with the 1930’s WPA murals, and then go up to the top for a little nicer view.

Once you are finished with Coit Tower, return to the Embarcadero via Lombard, Stockton, and Bay. Turn left onto the Embarcadero towards Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf. The Embarcadero kinda turns into Jefferson St (where The Wharf is located). Follow Jefferson past the Wharf until it hits Hyde St, and then turn left onto Hyde St. Quickly go over the Cable Car tracks where you will turn right onto Beach Street, directly in front of the Cable Car turnaround. Stay on Beach, and turn left onto Polk St. Continue south on Polk to Lombard St and turn left onto Lombard. Continue east on Lombard and after two blocks you will be on the crookedest St in San Francisco. If you see a line of cars as far west as Polk when you approach, go past Polk, turn left on Filbert, and then left again on Hyde until you reach Lombard. This way allows a right turn onto the crooked part of Lombard & is a little faster.

At the bottom of the crooked part, turn right on to Leavenworth, and proceed for a couple of blocks, and then turn right on to Union Street. Continue west on Union St. Cross Van Ness (busy street), and just past Gough St, you will enter the very pretty Union St. district. The “main section” of Union ends at about Steiner St. When we first visited this street in the very early 70s, we returned with a poster that said “If you lost your heart in San Francisco, you will probably find it on Union St”. Park the car, get out and explore. If it’s time for lunch, there are loads of possibilities. I like and Rose’s Café at 2298 Union (corner of Steiner). There is a simple sandwich shop on Union across the street from Rose’s, which might be the best bet if you’re trying to squeeze this drive into a “reasonable” day. At the intersection of Union & Fillmore, walk north a few blocks. At the corner of Fillmore & Greenwich there are three restaurant/bars – this is known as the “Bermuda Triangle” (young women go there & don’t return – 1970’s lore). Continue walking north past Lombard to Chestnut. Turn left (west), and walk down both sides of Chestnut. On Saturday & Sunday mornings, this area is hopping with 20 & 30 year olds out for a morning coffee, lunch, or a visit to the Gorilla Gym.

After visiting the very popular Union/Fillmore/Chestnut St area, if you want to see where the rich people live, continue west on Union & turn left on Davisadero, and then right on Broadway. Proceed west on Broadway until it dead ends. In the last two blocks of Broadway, two of the richest people in the US reside – Larry Ellison, and Gordon Getty. Ellison’s house is the strange/weird one on the north side of the street. There are great views of the bay from where Broadway dead-ends. Turn around on Broadway & head east on Broadway to Fillmore & turn right on to Fillmore. Hope your car’s transmission is working OK – during the Tour of San Francisco Bike Race in ’01, Lance Armstrong complained about the steepness of this Fillmore St hill, which he & others had to climb about 5 times.

The Fillmore St Shopping District is another one of our premier neighborhood shopping streets – and my wife’s favorite. The main section is between Jackson & Bush. Get out of the car and explore this area – more lunch possibilities here.

Continue driving south on Fillmore several blocks (it’s a little gritty after Sutter St), past the busy Geary St (you’ll overpass it) and turn right on to Fulton St. In one block you will be in the Alamo Square Historic District and the site of the famous “Postcard Row” that has been pictured in countless TV shows, place mats, and postcards. Continue west on Fulton with Alamo Square Park to your left. On the corner of Fulton & Scott is the Westerfield mansion -–one of the most photographed Victorian houses in The City. Turn left on to Scott, & there will be more Victorians on your right. Circle Alamo Square, turning left on to Hayes. As you proceed east on Hayes and just after you “crest” at Pierce, look slightly to your left and you will see Postcard Row – with a row of Queen Anne Victorian homes in the foreground, and downtown San Francisco in the background. Park the car ASAP (you may have to turn left on to Steiner to find a spot). Walk along the grass to where Pierce hits the park for the view – you’ll see lots of other people there also & tour busses are always close by.

In the 1970s, before the GGNRA was formed (see later text), a radio station had a “best view of San Francisco” contest. The view from Twin Peaks won. It’s a little tricky to get there, so pay attention. After Postcard Row, head west on either Hayes or Fulton, and south (left) on Divisadero. Divisadero will kinda flow left into Castro St (follow the traffic). Proceed south on Castro until you hit Market (big intersection), and turn right (west) & go up Market St. Shortly, Market St. changes into Portola St. Look for a Twin Peaks Blvd on your right and then turn right on to Twin Peaks Blvd. & keep following this street up to the “top of the world”. You’ll know when you have arrived at the view point. After the view, follow Twin Peaks Blvd North (not the way you came up – get a map). At 17th St. Twin Peaks will become Clayton. Shortly after crossing 17th, angle to the right on to Ashbury, and then turn right on to Frederick and then left on to Masonic. Proceed north on Masonic to Haight (there are some lovely Victorians along Masonic). Turn left on to Haight.

You are now in the Haight Ashbury district (locals call it “the Haight”). Proceed west along Haight & enjoy the sights & people. Haight will dead end into Golden Gate Park. Turn right on Stanyan, and continue in the right hand lane slightly past the entrance to GG park (no left turn allowed into park). Just past the “no left turn sign”, turn right on a cloverleaf road that circles into the park. Drive down JFK drive through Golden Gate Park. Notice the wonderful Conservatory of Flowers on your right that was opened up in Sept ’03 after years of restoration. Continue on JFK drive (look for the Buffaloes just after Spreckels lake) until you hit the ocean. Turn right on the Great Highway, and continue as it passes the Cliff House & becomes Geary Blvd at about 39th St. Continue east on Geary & turn left on to 36th St. Proceed north on 36th two blocks until it ends at Lincoln Park & then turn right on to Clement St. If it’s clear, you can see the Bank of America Bldg. in the distance.

Turn left on 34th St. and enter Lincoln Park. Continue on to the Palace of the Legion of Honor. This is one of our major art exhibition places (along with some other uses). It was built by Alma de Bretteville Spreckels, who married into the Spreckels fortune (sugar), built the museum, and donated it to The City. A few years ago it displayed the Toulouse-Lautrec exhibit, last year the Degas exhibit, and also has the largest collection of Rodin statues outside of Paris.

After passing the Legion, take the right (only way you can go) on to El Camino Del Mar. Get the camera ready for some fantastic views of the Golden Gate. I always take guests on this route. You will be driving along a golf course. Just before you leave the course and enter a residential area, park the car & walk to the viewing platform down to your left – you’ll see it from the road. Return to the car & continue along El Camino Del Mar. You will enter the Seacliff Area which (I suspect) has the most expensive homes in the City. Robin Williams lives there – look for a dinosaur topiary peeking over a hedge on his home (it’s not on the immediate waterfront). When entering Seacliff, keep left whenever you can – especially paying attention to a “Y” onto Seacliff Ave. Just after this Y, turn left on to a dead end & perhaps have a look at China Beach & the fantastic views from there. Continue along Seacliff Rd as it snakes around and exits the Seacliff area at 25th St. Turn left (east) off 25th on to Lincoln. Proceed north on Lincoln for some more exceptional views of the Golden Gate and the Bridge.

Lincoln will eventually twist around, and go under the Golden Gate Bridge. Immediately after it goes under the bridge, look on your left for a sign to the Golden Gate Bridge. Follow this up and cross the Golden Gate Bridge.

Head north across the Golden Gate Bridge. Just past the bridge, take the Alexander Av. exit towards Sausalito. When you get to the stop at the end of the freeway off ramp, turn left & go under Hwy 101. Proceed like you are going back across the bridge to SF, but take the road to the right that goes up-hill, just before actually getting on 101. There will be a sign that says you are entering the Golden Gate National Recreational (GGNRA) area. Continue up on this road – it’s called Conzelman on the map. You will see what are (in my opinion) the best views of San Francisco – The GG Bridge in the foreground & The City behind it. This was formerly a military area that is still laced with bunkers, gun turrets, underground tunnels etc. It was opened up in the ‘70s. The views of The City, the Bridge, and the Golden Gate are breathtaking. You can see down the San Mateo Coast from up here. Go all the way to the top until you hit a much smaller one-way road. On the way up, get out & enjoy the sights. Kids will love the bunkers & gun turrets. At the top where the main road ends, there is the largest gun turret, where you can climb up to for an almost 360 degree view. This view is best in the evening when the sun is in a position to light up the bridge & highlight downtown.

Return the way you came up to this area. Once you get to the junction just past the tunnel under 101, head straight to Sausalito. Just follow your nose (bearing right whenever possible), until you end up on Bridgeway – the main road along the bay in Sausalito. Drive along Bridgeway, enjoying the views back to the City. Continue North on Bridgeway until it joins 101.

Look at your California map and decide of you want to get to Lake Tahoe via San Rafael, or back through the City and over the Bay Bridge. If you did not take the Bay Bridge to Treasure Island excursion this morning, you should note that if you go eastbound over the bridge, you will be on the lower deck and the views will not be that great. I would probably choose the 101 to San Rafael route, since you will get some more bay views that way.

Stu Dudley