San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf
 

I hadn't been to Fisherman's Wharf in a while but my wife was attending a seminar at a nearby hotel last month so the kids and I hung around the Wharf, killing some time. I must say I thoroughly enjoyed the sites, the talent, the food, and the great atmosphere. It may be bit more touristy than some of the other neighborhoods in The City but it didn’t feel too congested. We wound up taking a trip over to Alcatraz and did one of those tape-recorder tours. Again, a touristy thing to do but hey tourists just seek out the most interesting and well-known attractions in a city, right? Oh, and if you go, don’t forget to check out the barking Sea-lions lounging about off Pier 39. Totally ntertaining AND free. We absolutely loved all the seafood available including an excellent seafood restaurant called Scoma’s. Highly recommended! There’s a great arcade on Pier 39 that the kid’s loved –couldn’t get them to leave -- and a merry-go-round nearby. Some really cool museums, delicious clam chowder in sourdough bread bowls…this place has it all!

Maybe I'm too suspicious--but a first time poster just to extoll the virtues of the Wharf.

I'm so glad you liked it, SteveGar1! I always take visitors there, for all the reasons you listed; Alcatraz is a must-do, IMO. It may not be an area locals hang out in, but it's lots of fun.

SAB, what are you on about? Are you implying this first-time poster has an ulterior motive, name it: he is evil and wants to lure unsuspecting tourists into a trap; or he somehow has a financial interest in an entire area and is shilling for it? What???

I understand suspecting the motives of someone who extols or trashes a specific business, but an area? You've gone mental.

Suspicious of what? I don't see an attempt to advertise anything here, unless you suspect SteveGar OWNS Fisherman's Wharf.

Funny, I was just checking to see if anyone had some advice/insight about The Wharf... not quite sure what this "suspicion" is all about but personally I appreciate the write up. Going to check out the wharf, alcatraz, etc. for sure when I'm there in a few weeks. so..Thanks Steve!

I get what SAB is on about.

But you just go on and enjoy that delicious clam chowder in the sourdough bowls. Yup.

And the Ripley's "Believe or Not" museum, and the Wax Museum (last time I passed by they had a Britany Spears wax figure outside) and the McDos, and the Hooters, and the T-shirt shops, and the cheap luggage stores, and the trinket shops.

Fun, fun, fun.....

Stu Dudley

SteveGar1, I agree with you that Fisherman's Wharf is fun ... It's not the main reason I'd go back to SF, but we enjoyed our time there, the clam chowder and the barking sea lions. There isn't a SF neighborhood we visited that I didn't like something about. :)

SteveGar1 ....Dudley does not approve of having fun at the Wharf.

So, I guess you made a mistake by having fun there.

It's not my kind of fun....it is obviously his kind of fun. We may disagree on music, art, politics, and religion also.

Stu Dudley

I think the wharf is fun. I don't think that anyone is missing anything in particular if the don't go there, but I always enjoyed it. When I lived in Marin, my husband and I, on a nice day, would often go into the wharf on a Sunday and just "mess around", or if not that, then Golden Gate Park.

Having said that, if someone asked me if it was a MUST do, I'd say no, especially if they had limited time in the City.

I agree with you Steve--I too think Fisherman's Wharf is fun. Sure it might be "touristy" but still, it's fun (and you can get free samples of chocolate at Ghirardelli's Chocolates:D)

Sigh!

Never has one area generated so much controversy! :)

I can think of at least a half dozen things that i like to do at Fisherman's Wharf and its environs.

FW isn't JUST the tacky shops and the Bushman. LOL!

Hi, artlover! Greetings from Bangkok!

"Never has one area generated so much controversy!"

Oh no? Guess you've never read all the posts anti or pro Times Square in New York City? Much the same type of argument, particularly between visitors and locals.

The bottom line is -- why WOULD locals want to do something so touristy, especially considering they've certainly done it already at least once? But why WOULDN'T tourists want to do something so touristy? Doesn't seem like such a complicated question at all to me.

Doesn't seem like a tough question to me either. Locals WOULDN'T go there. Tourists would, and I don't think thats so awful. To each his own.

The disturbing thing to me about the comments sometimes made in regard to Fisherman's Wharf is that they seem to infer that those who choose to visit the wharf (and end up enjoying it) are somehow themselves tacky, cheap and trinkety.

I took my "kids" (age 19 & 25) for Christmas and we stayed a couple of nights in Fisherman's Wharf. We had a blast. By the way we used the 'gosanfrancisco' card and many of the attractions were included, Alcatraz, hop on/off bus, Wax museum, a harbor cruise, etc.

patrick: I hardly ever go to Times Square in NYC, preferring Upper manhattan - Lincoln center and the Museums are more my pace, so don't know anything about the "controversies" on Times Square - and don't want to. Broadway shows just haven't become my cuppa.

As for the locals vs tourists distinction, you may have a point there. However, as resident of the Bay Area, I'll confess to liking certain things about Fisherman's Wharf.

1) As artlover had mentioned - the Chocolate Factory. I'm a CF junkie.

2) The Maritime Museum, particularly the ships that are docked there on the pier. It's the only Maritime Museum in the US with "live" ships and boats on display in the water.

3) The art galleries - just to peek. :)

4) The shoreline just behind the Maritime Museum and below Fort Mason - so calming just to sit and watch the waves lap ashore.

5) Best of all, the little Catholic chapel dedicated to the Sailors and Fishermen lost at sea.

easy-t,

I also love the Maritime Museum. Especially the exhibit showing the teeny wooden boat that was sailed across the Pacific by a Japanese sailor in the '60s. But somehow I just don't consider that stretch of the shore as being part of Fisherman's Wharf. It's the hardcore stretch with all the other tacky diversions at which I hurl the ephithet Fisherman's Barf.

Gimme a break! Hyping Fisherman's Wharf, but not any particular joint? Read the OP again.

<b>&quot;...an excellent seafood restaurant called Scoma’s. Highly recommended!</b>

Indeed.

Hey, ladies, when did they open the Maritime that I've missed it????

Hyde st pier is a great place even if you don't care for ships.

Boudin Sourgough museum - I hope it's still open, fun and educational, and in the end you get to try different breads!

Fishermen's is not only the trinkets area!

This is from Maritime website:

&quot;The Bathhouse building and museum are currently closed and undergoing an extensive multiyear rehabilitation.&quot;

and they don't say how much longer :(

Faina: believe the sign on the main building says it'll open in 2009.

The rest of the Maritime Museum is open - the part that is in the Argonaut Hotel is little visited and it's a pity. The pier is part of the Museum and it is open along with most of the ships and boats.

dovima: Fisherman's b...! Good one! LOL!

I'll agree that that part is not worthwhile visiting for locals.

So - what's left?? Maritime Museum is closed like I thought it was. Where are all the old Musee Mechanics things? - I really enjoyed that - visited it many times with a pocket full of quarters. Ghirardelli is being turned into condos - I remember when it was mostly non-touristy shops. Last time we visited the Cannery a few years back, it was mostly offices. The only places of architectural interest there are the Cannery &amp; Ghirardelli - the Wharf boardwalk has some really ugly architure (my wife leads architecture tours of SF). Oakville Grocery was short lived - I guess it didn't survive on only tourist trade.

Crissy Field is a much better option to view the bay, play in the sand, and view the GG Bridge. The Coastal Trail is even better than Crissy, IMO.

Stu Dudley

ET,
Hope you're having a blast!!! Can't wait to read all about it.

First timer with an opinion here. I don't know why people have to pollute the world with so much negativity. Come on. It may not be everyone's cup of tea (what is?), but there are many fun things to do at the wharf--take a bay cruise, people watch, visit Hyde Street Pier, the USS Pampanito or Amusing America, watch sourdough bread being made, sea lion watch, go on a fishing charter, or just sit and enjoy the amazing views... The list goes on...hang out and chat with real fishermen, take in a comedy act, eat some great seafood while actually seeing and smelling at the sea, or launch off to visit Alcatraz or Angel Island, or ride a cable car. The wharf if totally unique. How many neighborhoods in the world have this many things to do, many of which you can't do anywhere else?

artlover: It's a TR already in progress. On the Asia forum, look for something like &quot;I feel fat&quot; (LOL! Can't even remember the title of my own thread. Is this not senility? :) )

winezilla: love your signon name!

What's life without a little diversity? :)

dovima, SAB, and Stu are among the most respected voices when they speak on the San Francisco - but there is always room for a differing opinion.

All I can suggest to a visitor to San Francisco is: go to Fisherman's Wharf and form your own opinion. :)

I love to buy the fish bread bowls at fishermans wharf. Only problem is the gulls follow me as I walk around eating. I can never find a place to sit.

Sometimes there is some really fine street entertainment there. I have seen some wonderful jazz and blues combos perform at the wharf.

Last time I was there I had this totally huge fresh crab sandwich on fresh sourdough bread. I bought this from one of the vendors. I am thinking about this now and geting hungry.

I think one problem is that lucky locals forget how pretty the Wharf looks to people who don't get to look at the gorgeous Pacific every day, or hear seagulls and sea lions, or smell fresh seafood, or wander the piers under the sun with a salt breeze in their hair imagining life on Alcatraz back in the day. I have seen it several times through the eyes of visitors, and because they never failed to enjoy it, I am fond of it myself. I mean, isn't it absurd to visit SF and not set foot on the Wharf, at least the first time?

I absolutely agree with your comments NewbE.

For those of us who have lived in the SF/Bay Area all of our lives Fisherman's Wharf does seems so touristy and not somewhere we want to spend any time in but with people from out of the area or in the case of SteveGar with children Fisherman's Wharf can be quite enjoyable.

FW is not the way it was decades ago, but what is? Nothing in SF is the way it use to be.

I would take my grandson's to FW when they were younger..I didn't want to but did so to please them. I always enjoyed their enthusiam for FW and YES including the Wax Museum.

I look at FW as I do ChinaTown, especially Grant. Again for youngsters or visitors from out of the area that is always fun and enjoyable for them also.

With my grandson's I did make sure that they visited a lot of other areas of SF also which they have always enjoyed for various and obvious reasons. The same with guests.

I am glad that you and your children had a fun time SteveGar. Good memories that I am sure you will all remember for a lifetime.
Your trip report made me smile..very similar to when my daughter was younger (how she and her friends were thrilled when Pier 39 opened up) and than later how her two sons enjoyed FW.

BTW, what is different about FW then &quot;Playland&quot; in SF decades ago? It was a great place for kids and teens was it not? My older relatives, SF residents &quot;hated&quot; it LOL, but we youngsters sure loved it and thank goodness for the adults that took us there.

Agree with NewbE. The Wharf is more then just a row of trinket shops and the Bushman :)

Disagree that FW is a &quot;neighborhood&quot;.

Playland was different then the way Fisherman's Wharf was different then. If Playland existed today I fear it would exhibit all the trashiness now that FW does now. It's almost a good thing that Playland disappeared before it could catch up to modern times.

For me, Playland was a rare treat - I was only allowed to go once a year, with a group from my school summer recreation program (can you imagine that now?). Playland had a combination of terror, funky grace and vulgarity that I don't think I was fully able to appreciate until much later and in retrospect.

If I could manipulate time and space I would have Playland back again - with a movie theater - playing film noir classics year round. To compensate, I think I'll head to the Castro and see some of their film noir series over the weekend.

I am glad that &quot;some&quot; of the SF locals do not visit touristy locations.. They seem quite snobish and boring, insisting that others stay away from the fun places they do not approve of.

These &quot;experts&quot; are only happy if visitors follow their orders of places to visit, following their posted set of itineraries. Any deviation the visitor makes on his/her own brings on an onslaught of criticism.

Well, if we want to visit San Francisco and enjoy places the experts do not approve of, that is just too bad. Live with it.

The thing I really love about SF is its unequaled diversity--of sights and sounds and cultures and foods and activities. I kinda bristle when I hear people say FW shouldn't be on top of people's to-do lists in the city. It absolutely should be. So should other neighborhoods that are way different and also totally unique. Getting a taste of all these is how to really experience San Francisco.

I guess I'm one of the &quot;snobish &amp; boring&quot;. I'll make sure I never respond to any of El_Swainer's questions about SF because I'll undoubtedley suggest something he/she won't enjoy. Click on my name &amp; see the post I did yesterday about things I like doing in the City &amp; make sure they are all on your &quot;do not do&quot; list.

To the other people who wonder why many locals don't go to the Wharf:

There is some truth to the suggestion that we don't get quite the &quot;bang&quot; that others do out of seeing the ocean &amp; bay because we see it all the time. However, when my wife &amp; I want to experience &quot;seeing and smelling at the sea&quot; we know better places to do this than the Wharf. When we want to stroll along the Bay, we usually go to Crissy Field. Walking westward along the pedestrian-only path, there is a fabulous un-obstructed view of the Golden Gate Bridge in front of you, there are un-obstructed views of the Bay, Belvedere Is, Angel Is, &amp; Alctraz to the right. Behind is an excellent view of the downtown skyline. To the left is grassland &amp; a park with picnic tables. There is a pier you can walk out on with killer views of the Bridge, Bay, &amp; City skyline. No trinket shops on this pier or on the path through Crissy Field. Along the way you encounter other people strolling, roller blading, pushing baby strollers, and walking dogs. There is a nice sandy beach where you can observe children playing in the sand, throw a blanket &amp; have a picnic, and throw tennis balls for your dog to retrieve (didn't know &quot;off leash&quot; was legal there). As you get to the extreme western end at Fort Point, you can watch people surfing below the Golden Gate Bridge. At the Fort itself, you can wander around this old Civil War fort, watch a demonstration on loading &amp; shooting a cannon, and climb up on top of the fort for even better views because you can also see the Golden Gate (entrance to the bay - which is different terraine than inside the bay). We were there just today &amp; lots of people were surfing and the waves were crashing on the rocks below us.

When we want to experience more rugged coast &amp; views, we will take the coastal trail with it's fantastic views of the Bridge, the Golden Gate, and the beautiful &amp; rugged cliffs going down to the water.

Stu Dudley

I'm willing to bet El_Swainer would enjoy Crissy Field, as we all do. It is truly wonderful! But, it's okay for him/her to like/love FW, too. They're apples and oranges.

&quot;I guess I'm one of the &quot;snobish &amp; boring&quot;. I'll make sure I never respond to any of El_Swainer's questions about SF because I'll undoubtedley suggest something he/she won't enjoy.&quot;

My fingers are itching to type something like &quot;and we thank you for that&quot;, but... who needs another argument?

I just have to mention that every time someone says &quot;Chrissy Field&quot; I smile. Years ago I saw the big female impersonator show at Finocchio's in SanFrancisco. It was hosted by a huge and incredibly ugly drag queen with the name &quot;Crissy Field&quot; and they introduced her as &quot;big enough for all of us to play on&quot;.
I haven't been able to look at the real Crissy Field without smiling since.

Neo, it will be difficult to get there unless you have a car.

Faina.

What don't you like about my past posts regarding San Francisco???

Stu Dudley