Serena

My daughter and I will be in San Francisco the end of February... My daughter will be attending meetings at the hotel. I would appreciate any suggestions for things that I can do while she is busy.. I love museums, shopping and the theater. We plan on seeing "Beach Blanket" if tickets are available. Other theater suggestions. It has been ten years since my last trip to San Francisco.. I have toured Sausalito. Are there any mansions or interesting homes open for tour there? I will not have a car at my disposable. Appreciate any suggestions.

jamon

you might already know this but we didnt while we were there. san fran has the most crooked street in america. it was really neat. just to let you know.have fun

J Correa

You will not need a car since SF is pretty small area-wise and the public transportation is good. The weather at the end of February could be anything from sunny and relatively warm to windy and rainy. Chances are though that if it is rainy, it wont rain the whole time you are there.

If you are interested in the history of the area and like to walk, check out City Guides - www.sfcityguides.org It's a non-profit organization that gives free walking tours of SF neighborhoods. They ask for a donation at the end to help keep their organization going. It's affiliated with the public library. A good rainy day tour is the Palace Hotel.

If the weather is nice, take a boat tour out on the bay - it's absolutely beautiful. If you are interested in a little hiking and some great views of the city, take a boat out to Angel Island. I think they have a motorized tour out there you can take too.

Golden Gate Park is great too. I love the Japanese Tea garden myself. Fort Point and the Precidio are interesting.

A fun thing to do of course is ride the Cable cars and also the old street cars on the F line which runs down Market st to the Embarcadero and then along the Embarcadero past all the piers. The streetcars are cars from abandoned lines from all over the world. A few weeks ago we were there and we rode on an old streetcar from Milan and one from New Orleans.

Patrick

I'm not sure what you mean by "if tickets are available" to Beach Blanket Babylon. They won't be when you get there. If you want to see it -- and you should -- then call ahead now and reserve your tickets.
By the way, there is no reserve seating (other than a few at the front of the balcony for a higher price), so even though you are guaranteed seats, you'll still need to arrive early and stand in line for the open seating to avoid being way in the back.

Faina

Check out www.theatrebayarea.org for theater information.

The Legion of Honor has not only fine painting and sculpture, but furniture and porcelain (don't miss the pocrelain room downstairs).

Anybody knows if Octagon house still opened for touring?

Serena

Thanks for all the information..ON previous trips I have done cable car, Golden Gate and boat trip. I would like to go to museums and home tours, if possible. Yes, I was aware that I needed to book seats ahead for Beach Blanket. Patrick, thanks for telling me about the lack of reserved seats. They offer seats in the 30-48 price range. Wonder what the difference might be , if not reserved..Since, I love theater, I hope there will be other productions to see while there.

Pam

Treat yourselves to dim sum at Ynak Sing in Rincon Annex. It's a very Sunday San Francisco thing to do. You can easily reach it by public transportation. If you like theater I suggest also looking at Berkeley Rep. It is a good theater with some great productions. It is an easy BART ride. They also have matinees on Sunday. The city has changed alot in ten years..alot! As a former SFer now an East Bay person I do love the city and do find some of the changes hard to deal with. I can't think of any mansions that are open other than the Hass-Lilenthal house. I agree..a car is not necessary.One other great change..if you can find your way to the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market on Saturday mornings. Its a sight to behold with lots of treats.

Susan

SF Ballet starts new season at end of January, you might want to check its website. SFMOMA is new since your last trip --I'm not overly fond of the collection but it is worth a trip to see building. The Legion of Honor has a Winslow Homer exhibition--I'm not sure how one gets there without car, but I'm sure there will be bus route. One thing about SF there is always some form of public transportation for every part of the city.

Abbey

Definitely do some of the CityGuide tours as mention above, they are fabulous, here is the web address of the tour info: http://www.walking-tours.com/cityguides/winter.html

The Haas - Lilienthal House is a Victorian house that is open for tours, here is the website for more information: http://www.sfheritage.org/house.html The house is at 2007 Franklin Street, (between Washington & Jackson) easily reached by bus (or cable car, depending on where you are coming from.

Also, you might want to look at what CityPass has to offer: http://citypass.net/cgi-bin/citypass...sco&rand=11801 they offer a "package deal" for many attractions and transportation for a reduced rate.


Have a wonderful trip!

Julie

San Francisco is a great city. Make sure you check out the museum at the Musconni (sp?) Center. Also, if you like churches--Grace Cathedral is beautiful.

Jen

My mom and I enjoyed the Victorian Home Walk Tour. Telephone (415)252-9485, www.victorianwalk.com. We met at the St. Francis in Union Square. The tour was about 2 hours for $20. Easy walk (very few hills) through neighbors with a very informative guide. It made for a very nice day.

pier-mauro (peter)

Serena, really too bad that you won't have a car... try and rent one for a visit to Filoli Gardens (and mansion)-http://www.filoli.org).
Make it a day or half-day trip from S.F.
It is some 40 miles south of the city, not that far from SFO airport -but in a beautiful, totally unspoilt green valley, very reminiscent of Tuscany. I was at Filoli a couple of years ago in late Mach and found the gardens there absolutely marvellous.
They have nothing to envy from the more celebrated gardens of Europe -if anything, they are actually more rich in flowers and colour! If you don't really want to rent a car try and see if there is any form of public transportation from S.F. -check with Filoli Gdn.s. Have a nice vacation, Pier-Mauro (Peter, Florence, Italy)

CAGal

While Filoli would be a great destination for spring, summer or fall, I don't think there'll be much blooming there at the end of February. I'd skip it this time around.

me

Buy a tour guide book from the local bookstore. You will not be disappointed!