Hi all
am going to visit sf next week 1 of jun to 4 of jun and i was wondering if locals can give me some info about what to see and do while am there..
I want to see a lot and try to mix in culture and food culture
San Francisco is one of the best cities in the world. Go to Golden Gate park. The civic center for museums and symphony/opera. Avoid Tenderloin at night. Union square for shopping. Chinese vegetarian food in Chinatown is good, especially in small restaurants. Castro area for gay scene. City Lights books for eclectic reading. San Francisco is so good that American rednecks, American religionists and other ultra-conservative types would rather not acknowledge its existence. Walk the golden gate. Take a Hume in Muir woods. Get on the Bart subway to go to Oakland and Berkeley and if you do so don't mention the name trump; they won't like you if you do. I forgot to mention the Mission district if you want to get latino food, Mexican, Salvadorean, etc. --------------------------------------- added after 71 hours
All excellent advice. I lived there for 37 years (1979 to 2016), but alas it's not what it once was. But then, what is?
I'll add: Take in a couple of movies at the Castro Theatre, San Francisco's landmark movie palace. They show old movies in repertory with a different double feature every evening and an organist playing their grand old theatre organ between movies. You don't say when you are going, but San Francisco Opera is doing The Ring this summer. I'm taking this in June 12-18, my first trip back. If you're going next spring, that's ballet season. San Francisco Ballet is America's oldest professional ballet company. And they are very good. Take the ferry across the bay to Sausalito. Stand on the open air back deck and feed bread to the seagulls. They'll fly down and eat from your hand.
Two MAJOR faux pas are to refer to the cable cars as trollies and to refer to San Francisco as Frisco. By far, the best nickname is simply "The City".
In a nutshell, it became too crowded, to congested and too expensive.
Due to the huge run-up in the value of San Francisco real estate, our mortgage was not very big compared to the value of our house. But our mortgage payment was our largest single monthly expense. So we sold our house, paid off the mortgage, paid cash for our condo in Portland and had a lot of money left over. Now we have no mortgage payment, no yard work and no exterior maintenance.
But perhaps most importantly, San Francisco seems to have lost its pride of place that drew me there in 1979. Portland has that quality. In spades. Portlanders love their city and it shows.
Did you know that San Francisco Ballet was the first American ballet company to stage a full length production of The Nutcracker? And, yes, they do it every December.
Pier 39 is a bit of a tourist trap, but worth a walk. Has some great photo opportunities. Leo mentioned some of the best options. I would only add north point if you're there on a clear day. You can see the entire city and it is a breathtaking view. Also hit the Ghirardelli factory down the Embarcadero from pier 39 for a sweet treat. Best hot chocolate in California and the ice cream is great too.
I'm afraid I don't remember names. See, I usually try to discover the small restaurants, off Grant Ave., on the side streets. There used to be a very good, but vegetarian restaurant, frequented by Buddhist monks. I liked the tofu sheets with Chinese greens there. Alas, I don't remember where it is.
There are thousands of restaurants in the S.F. area. A great many are absolutely fantastic, but there are also not so good 'tourist traps' and other 'disappointments'.
I would like to suggest reading some of the menus in this excellent little book:
IF YOU LIKE TO GET DICK SAN FRANCISCO HAS HOT HORNY MEN WHO WILL FUCK AND FILL YOUR ASS. SWAP AND BRING A FRIEND TOO
i LIKE TO STAY AT BECKS MOTOR LODGE RIGHT NEXT TO CASTRO HAS DIRECT ACCESS TO ROOMS FROM STREET AND PARKING. YOU CAN GO ONLINE AND INVITE OR STAY UP- LATE AND YOU WILL SEE MEN WALKING PAST YOUR ROOM. IF YOU WANT JUST OPEN CURTAIN OR DOOR AND MAKE A BIT OF FUN WITH A BJ OR HAVE A FEW GUYS FILL U UP, LOTS OF OPTIONS AND YES GREAT FOOD TOO!
The area is incredible and not just San Francisco itself-the cities near it are amazing, and I don't mean just Oakland. There are several. That area is HEAVEN and so is San Diego. California is paradise.
I have booked a ticket to Alcatraz i did that same day i booked my flight to sf and i will visit the Aquarium and fishing mans warf area is going to be awesome time
Rice A Roni? It was advertised as "The San Francisco Treat"
Trivia: Most people who leave Iceland for North America come to Canada not the US. Winnipeg Manitoba and Reykjavik are slster cities and Iceland has a consulate in Winnipeg.
Canada has the largest Icelandic population outside of Iceland aaaaaaaand....... my grade 8 biology teacher was from Iceland!
Well pier 39 is a nice area to start. Many different eating establishments around the area. China town. You can pick up pamphlets just about anywhere. But since you are on this site. The Castro district.
Enjoy your stay.
--------------------------------------- added after 71 hours
Correction: Hume = hike
I'll add: Take in a couple of movies at the Castro Theatre, San Francisco's landmark movie palace. They show old movies in repertory with a different double feature every evening and an organist playing their grand old theatre organ between movies. You don't say when you are going, but San Francisco Opera is doing The Ring this summer. I'm taking this in June 12-18, my first trip back. If you're going next spring, that's ballet season. San Francisco Ballet is America's oldest professional ballet company. And they are very good. Take the ferry across the bay to Sausalito. Stand on the open air back deck and feed bread to the seagulls. They'll fly down and eat from your hand.
Two MAJOR faux pas are to refer to the cable cars as trollies and to refer to San Francisco as Frisco. By far, the best nickname is simply "The City".
Due to the huge run-up in the value of San Francisco real estate, our mortgage was not very big compared to the value of our house. But our mortgage payment was our largest single monthly expense. So we sold our house, paid off the mortgage, paid cash for our condo in Portland and had a lot of money left over. Now we have no mortgage payment, no yard work and no exterior maintenance.
But perhaps most importantly, San Francisco seems to have lost its pride of place that drew me there in 1979. Portland has that quality. In spades. Portlanders love their city and it shows.
See my Blog for a further discussion of this.
I would like to suggest reading some of the menus in this excellent little book:
only registered users can see external links
i LIKE TO STAY AT BECKS MOTOR LODGE RIGHT NEXT TO CASTRO HAS DIRECT ACCESS TO ROOMS FROM STREET AND PARKING. YOU CAN GO ONLINE AND INVITE OR STAY UP- LATE AND YOU WILL SEE MEN WALKING PAST YOUR ROOM. IF YOU WANT JUST OPEN CURTAIN OR DOOR AND MAKE A BIT OF FUN WITH A BJ OR HAVE A FEW GUYS FILL U UP, LOTS OF OPTIONS AND YES GREAT FOOD TOO!
The area is incredible and not just San Francisco itself-the cities near it are amazing, and I don't mean just Oakland. There are several. That area is HEAVEN and so is San Diego. California is paradise.
Trivia: Most people who leave Iceland for North America come to Canada not the US. Winnipeg Manitoba and Reykjavik are slster cities and Iceland has a consulate in Winnipeg.
Canada has the largest Icelandic population outside of Iceland aaaaaaaand....... my grade 8 biology teacher was from Iceland!
Have a great trip!!
Enjoy your stay.
When you return and catch up with "jet lag", please tell us all about your journey!
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