Couple of days in San Francisco to kill...

[lgb240]

I'm heading to SanFrancisco this week - will have a couple of free days to kill.

Can anyone suggest places to see, things to do,ect. I basically have Thursday and next Monday open.

Any thoughts would be appreciated....thanks in advance,

lgb240

[sammyg2]

Is there any chance you can get out of it?

[Steve Carlton]

Alcatraz. Twilight tour, if you can. Baywolf restaurant in Oakland.

[bivenator]

Don't sit on the sidewalk.

[red-beard]

They are having a sewer problem. You could help them out by going below for a couple of day...

[rcooled]

I'll second the Alcatraz tour...even the daylight ones are definitely worth doing. Stay away...far away...from Fisherman's Wharf. It's a first-class rip off loaded with crummy resturants, junky little shops selling crap to tourists and parking garages with rates that'll give you a stroke. I could never understand why people find that place so attractive. The only reason you might want to venture down there is to catch the ferry for the Alcatraz tour, visit the Musee Mecanique or tour the WWII submarine USS Pampanito...all of which are well worth doing. I would also recommend the Cable Car Museum which is really interesting. Try riding the Cable Cars too...the Powell-Hyde line is the best. Head up to Twin Peaks for a fantastic 360 degree view of the city. Have a drink at The Top of the Mark on Nob Hill. SF has a great music scene...try to catch a show at one of the many clubs or other venues if you're up for it.
Driving around SF is a total PITA as is trying to park a car...use public transit if you can.

[rusnak]

I disagree about Fisherman's Wharf. Alioto's is one of my favorite restaurants, and I'm never tempted to buy wothless crap. Union Square is probably worse. Park the car in the hotel parking and cab it everywhere. Do not drive a nice car in San Francisco. Calzone's is good in North Beach. There used to be a restaurant called Shadows, don't know if it's still there.

Edit: I guess it's gone.....http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/archive/t-970031.html

[Tobra]

Cliff House for dinner or drinks around sunset. Alcatraz you have to make reservations way ahead of time, but you get a nice boat ride. Ferry to Angel Island can be pretty nice too, take a picnic lunch. Nice days the arboretum or botanical gardens in Golden Gate park are nice. Tommy's Joint for sandwiches, like on Van Ness maybe, or Yellow Submarine just south of GG park also good for sandwhiches, Judah and 5th ave maybe. On a clear day, you go to the top of Twin Peaks and the view is staggering.

If the weather is not so nice and you want to be indoors, I cannot recommend the Exploratorium highly enough. It is near the Palace of Fine Arts in the Marina district. Displays and exhibits, many quite interactive, about various optical and physical phenomena.

Grant and Green, Lost and Found, The Saloon all good venues for music. North Beach Restaurant is good, Capp's Corner for family style Italian, Chinatown has some excellent Chinese, south of Market for Mexican/Salvadorian/South American.

I guess the Haight has been a bit devastated by the whole meth thing, careful down there in the evenings.

[RWebb]

go to the Haight, lie down in one of the gutters (if you can find one unoccupied) and put a small hidden camera facing upwards - post the video and write off the trip on next year's taxes as a professional journalism expense

[MRM]

No can do on the gutter/camera idea. I already wrote an NEA grant for the same thing as performance art. We open next month at the Orpheum. Midnight shows, five nights a week.

I like Fisherman's Warf. It has the best harbor views in town. Just don't buy any of the cheap crap or overpriced food from the vendors. Get there as early in the morning as you can and you'll beat the tourist crush and get to park on the street if you want. Walk over to Ghirardelli Square and have an ice cream sunday. They make them by hand, and if you get there early, the scoops are hugely generous. Later in the day when the rush is on you get about half as much.

The sub tour is worth it. Otherwise, just wander around.

[ckissick]

Originally Posted by rusnak

There used to be a restaurant called Shadows...

It used to be owned by Dave Rasmussen, Porsche dealer in the 50's and 60's (and my father's employer).

Fisherman's Wharf is fun in a touristy kind of way, and the sidewalk seafood can very good. I say, drive the car (if you have one) and try out the steep streets and Lombard Street. Coit Tower and the Filbert Street steps is good. If you take a cable car to Fisherman's Wharf, stop in at the Buena Vista for an Irish Coffee. Then walk to Ghirardelli Square for a sundae.

[onlycafe]

eat an it's it.

[javadog]

Need more info..married or single? With a companion for the trip, or solo?

JR

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by javadog

Need more info..married or single? With a companion for the trip, or solo?

JR

also gay or straight...

ethnic preference?

Bay or Breakers?

[john walker's workshop]

Originally Posted by onlycafe

eat an it's it.

you can get those in seattle, too. used to hog on those when i lived there in the 70s. and falafils.

[Brian 162]

I was there in 97. We stayed around Fisherman's Wharf.
Things we did. Went on the Pampanito, rode around on the cable car,went to China Town, drove to the Presidio,eating clam chowder in a sourdough bowl at 10 pm at Fisherman's Wharf , and drove to Carmel and North on Highway 1.
Alcatraz was booked solid. It's a tough ticket to get. The only thing we didn't do.

[lgb240]

Originally Posted by RWebb

also gay or straight...

ethnic preference?

Bay or Breakers?

Single, no ethnic preference, straight, traveling with 2 other guys (yes, still straight) travel mates are in their early 70's, so nothing too strenuous physically.

We're killing a few days around the MG Focus event at Infinion Raceway (race days are Friday, Sat, Sun)

[Rick Lee]

Well, if you're going all the way to Infinion, you might as well see some of the wine country. My favorites are Viansa in Sonoma and V. Sattui in Napa. St. Helena is a great town too. Very cool Ferrari dealer in Mill Valley just off the 101. Sausalito is just a tad further up the road and is cool to walk around. I go to the Bay Area a lot and love everything around San Fran., but really can do without ever seeing San Fran. again.

[mjohnson]

If you go to Fisherman's Wharf,

be sure to stop at the Musée Mécanique. Cool place right by the submarine - coin operated amusements and games. Not a few pinballs in good shape. Skee ball, foosball and all that too. Modern stuff to 100 year old nickelodeons and player pianos.

When I'm in SF for business I'll always walk up and over Nob Hill to the wharf and spend $10-20 there. A very cool place...

[mjohnson]

Originally Posted by mjohnson

If you go to Fisherman's Wharf,

be sure to stop at the Musée Mécanique.

Musée Mécanique - San Francisco's Antique Penny Arcade