San Francisco advice
 

My wife and I are headed to San Francisco in June for a week. We booked a hotel in the financial district across from the ferry building (hotel Vitale)- the hotel looks great and gets a great rating on Expedia- and seems like a great home base for the week. Am I correct in assuming this spot will provide easy transportation to the must see's in San Francisco? How is this area to stroll at night?
Also, we are hoping someone could help us out with some restaurant suggestions at a reasonable price in this area....
And lastly, i've been reading some of the other posts about the different neighborhoods (mission, nob hill, north beach, etc) and we're trying to find these in relation to where we're staying, but most maps just give addresses and dont label general areas. Thanks for any responses.

Your hotel will be across from the Embarcadero (bay front walk path) with all options of transportation (BART, streetcars/etc--check out sfmuni.com). The Ferry Building across the street is chock full of great restaurants from take-out to gourmet (Slanted Door). Your biggest decision will be deciding which one. Walking in the evening won't be terrible if you stick to the Embarcadero area (there's also the Embarcadero Center with even more restaurant choices). Here's a link to neighborhoods and a great website for visitors:http://sfgate.com/traveler/guide/

Do a search on Stu Dudley on the US forum & you'll find lots of answers to your questions.

An AAA map has the neighborhoods identified.

Take several SF City Guides walking tours - they're free.
www.sfcityguides.org

Stu Dudley

Thanks for the info, the website link was exactly what I was looking for!

We were recently in SF and has some excellent Dim Sum in SF's Chinatown at the House of Dim Sum. Very good food and great price in this tiny eatery. Perfect little stopover while touring in Chinatown ...
http://www.seetheglobe.com/modules/w...=6&lid=414

It's a great hotel! Fabulous location. Too many good restaurants right there...you could stay and never leave a .3 mile radius!

However....StuDudley is the main man for restaurant info.

In the Ferry Bldg don't miss Boulette's Larder!

We loved Hotel Vitale and its location. You'll enjoy the terraces on Hotel Vitale as well. Great view of the water and Bay Bridge. Bring your own wine and cheeses for your own 'happy hour'. Regarding safety, we never felt uncomfortable walking around at night.

Be sure to go to the Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings at the Ferry Building -- its a happenin' place! We enjoyed Mistral Rotisserie Provencale with wine from the wine shop. Outside tables for people watching and water view.

And if you're a chocolate fan or know of one, you must go to Recchetti in the ferry building. Very nice chocolates and worth every penny.

Fantastic location!

Across the street is one of our favorite restaurants - Boulevard. But, there are all sorts of restaurants within blocks and beyond.

Opentable.com is a terrific resource for restaurants, with links to menus and websites. You can reserve online there.

You will be within steps of MUNI lines with vintage streetcars, electric trolley buses, and the California line for the cable cars (which is never as busy, especially at the turnaround, as the other line).

Highly recommend a 7-day "passport" ($24) for unlimited rides. You can order in advance online (along with free visitor's kits with maps of the neighborhoods).

For neighborhoods, see http://www.mustseesanfrancisco.com/neighborhood-map.htm

A terrific way to thoroughly enjoy the neighborhoods is with the free walking tours http://www.sfcityguides.org/

The motorized trolley tours go over the Golden Gate bridge.

A magnificent place to stroll at night is Pier 7, with the vintage street lamps and the glorious views of the Bay Bridge and the Embarcadero, Coit Tower...

If you go to Coit Tower (a must see), be sure to walk down the stairs (steep, a long walk) to the Embarcadero. Quite the thrill!

Here is another city map with neighborhoods labeled. I printed it out in color yesterday. To to www.baycityguide.com.

ruckus:

Just started working on our trip to San Francisco so thank you poster ruckus for this thread and a HUGE thank you to all the great information shared by many others. Great information.

Sandy

Be careful with the baycityguide.com map of SF it is not to scale and therefore the distances outside of downtown can be deceiving.

If you are a baseball fan you right down the embarcadero from the new home of the Giants, whatever they call that place these days. You can even stand outside along the water and get an outfielders view of the game for free! thereyet

The Bay City Guide is in scale except for the section west of Divisadero, where it is in a different scale, 1 inch to 1.33 miles. This is noted on the map.

Vitale is not in the financial district, so the area will not "shut down" after 6. The ferry building has several good restaurants, but I like more Sinbad - less crowded, on the water, nice view, fits the "reasonable" request.

For a different experience try Equinox for dinner - the revolving restaurant, go there right before the sundown to watch it, and then the city lights.

Take a ferry to Sausalito.

Slanted Door in the ferry building (Vietnamese). I was there in April and had a very nice meal. If you cannot get a reservation, you can sit at the bar. I arrived when they opened (11am) and had an enjoyable early lunch.

Splurge? Go to Quince; you'll need to reserve.

If you want a great book on San Fran information - get " San Francisco for Dummies".. I buy a dummies book for everywhere I go..I love them. If you decide to do Alcatraz, I recommend to book in advance.