A week in San Francisco in late December
 

Hi All
We have an opportunity to spend a week in San Francisco, a free apartment, and use of a car for the week. Hard to pass up, but we will be on a tight budget non the less, and traveling with a 6 year old. Looking for suggestions on places to go that are free or very inexpensive. Also, what to expect for weather? I know San Fran is hard to dress for any time of year, but what will we likely see for weather around new years?

It will be chilly - highs in the mid50s at best (unless we get an atypically warm day or two, which is always possible here). To date this season we've had very little rain, but it is rainy season so be prepared for that.

San Francisco City Guides offers over 40 different free walks throughout the City. City Guides is sponsored by the SF public library.

www.sfcityguides.org

See one of my other posts for ideas
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35129049

Stu Dudley

Do take your child to the Exploritorium. You might like to drive over the Golden Gate bridge, and go one hour North to Healdsburg and visit this charming town. Have lunch, walk around the square...do some wine tasting and drive back to the city. In the city there are blue "sea gull" signs for the 49 mile drive around SF. You'll see the whole city that way.

When my son was 6 years old we had no money, so here are some of the things we did.

Go to Golden Gate Park. The Children's Playground is fun, and you can splurge on a ride on the Merry-Go-Round. http://www.sfpt.org/carousel.html At Stowe Lake, there are Paddle Boats http://www.lovetoeatandtravel.com/si..._stow_lake.htm that you pay for, but you get your money's worth in tiring out your little one. The Japanese Tea Garden is just a few dollars, and it is fun to get tea with little crackers and cookies. http://www.holymtn.com/garden/Galler...teagarden.html

We used to go to Japan Town a lot. It is in a mall and closed off street, so kids are protected from cars. There are inexpensive places for lunch, and you can buy sweet fish shaped waffles for a snack, and there are fun shops with transformers and Japanese toys for window shopping, and a huge Hello Kitty shop.

At 826 Valencia is a unique Pirate Store, run by novelist Dave Eggers. http://www.826valencia.org/store/

Cayuga Playground is a unique folk art park. http://sanfrancisco.about.com/od/sfp...g/Cayuga-Park/

The Yerba Buena Gardens and Sony Metreon are fun for running off energy, people watching, and enjoying outdoor art.

Giant's stadium is closed now, but there might be a off season tour, and the park nearby is fun.

Just riding the old fashioned street cars and walking along Market is an adventure.

Along the wharf are old ships and seals. It's a great city for adventuring all over neighborhoods, and you really don't have to spend money. North Beach, the Marina, Chinatown are fun to walk and explore, picking up local foods for lunch.

The Ferry Building has free samples, and it's fun to watch the ferries come and go.

Check out the newspapers or online for free events.

As for clothes, you can go anywhere with jeans or black pants, a solid t-shirt and sweater and jacket. It's usually rather cool no matter the season.