stjohnbound

After tons of research and tons more to go I have decided that a visit here would be perfect during our October visit. I've read that nothing compares to the Saturday market but Saturday is the day we are driving from Carmel to San Francisco for the remainder of our stay. Should we try and do the market when we arrive or is Sunday just as good? Thinking of dinner or snacks at Market Bar. We'll be staying at Hotel Monaco which is a little over a mile away so we'll probably walk there and maybe taxi back. Any comments??

viking

I think I went on a non-saturday and there were loads of permenent looking vendors. Try the free sliced fruit samples; some of the exotic ones are great. There is a cheese stand that looks good until you notice the people groping and zillions of flies landing on everything. If you see something tempting to make a picnic, grab it since it may be sold out by lunchtime.

Nice to combine it with a ferry roundtrip to somewhere even if you don't stay. Scenic ride from adjacent dock, and they give you free bus ticket transfers on return (you push a button for this at a machine when disembarking).

RebeccaNJ

yes, there is a very good rest. in the ferry building:the slanted door. you would need dinner reserv., but don't know about lunch. not sure if they serve it. it is "high end vietnamese", excellent fish and clay pot dishes. very popular, very trendy. ny times has done at least 2 articles on it this year.

djkbooks

Why not head straight for the Ferry Building when you arrive? It's easy to drive to on the Embarcadero and there's inexpensive (for San Francisco) parking right across the street.

Avoiding steep hills, it's more like a mile and a half from the Monaco to the Ferry Building. Though, from the Monaco you can go to Market and take the "F" streetcar which will take you right there.

There is a huge waterfront terrace with lots of benches for relaxing and watching the ferries come and go.

Have you seen

http://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/

A passport (1 Day $9, 3 Days $15) is valid for unlimited rides on the buses, streetcars, even the cable cars. Hotel Monaco is two blocks from the Union Square Powell/Hyde stop. Last Saturday night there were no crowds at all just past dark, so we rode back and forth several times - awesome!

SFImporter

Not to put down the Farmer's Market - but the Bay Area is so close to California's Central Valley that our neighborhood grocery stores sell fruits and vegetables just as good as any found at the Farmer's Market.

It is a good place for cheeses - and there's a nice gelato shop inside.

Otherwise I view a lot of the restaurants and food shops as overpriced.

It is a nice looking building with a lot of history - and the waterfront area in that area has really come a long way from what it used to be.

Enjoy your visit - there's lots to see!

Budman

I agree with SFImporter. I wouldn't go there to buy any fruits or vegetables, but it was a fun place to just walk around and view all the shops and outside tent stands -- several which had tasting sections.

We visited the Ferry Marketplace last May when it first opened. A lot of the shops inside the building itself were not completed or filled.

I certainly wouldn't recommend jumping thru hoops and going out of your way to go there if you have other things planned. The ferry also leaves from the same place if you wanted to take it to Sausalito.

laurelt

Sunday will be fine for the market. For excursions from the Ferry Bldg, you can ride the Muni along the bay, down to SBC Park - or it is about a 20 min. walk. Very scenic. If you want to go to fisherman's wharf, get on one of the antique streetcars called the F line.