BEST LOCAL ATTRACTIONS
Ferry Building and Farmer's Market:
The 65,000 square foot Marketplace is
organized along a central Nave and provides
a distinctive marketplace for bringing
together the Bay Area's agriculture wealth
and renowned specialty food purveyors under
one roof. Hours vary by business.
www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com
Alcatraz Island: Pier 41, 415-7731188
The boat ride to the island is brief (15
minutes) but affords beautiful views of the
city, Marin County, and the East Bay. The
audio tour, highly recommended, includes
observations of guards and prisoners about
life in one of America's most notorious
penal colonies. A separate ranger-led tour
surveys the island's ecology. Plan your
schedule to allow at least three hours for
the visit and boat rides combined.
Reservations, even in the off-season, are
recommended. COST: $13.25, $9.25 without
audio ($20.75 evening tours, including
audio); add $2.25 per ticket to charge by
phone. Ferry departures Sept.-late May,
daily 9:30-2:15 (4:20 for evening tour
Thurs.-Sun. only); late May-Aug., daily
9:30-4:15 (6:30 and 7:30 for evening tour).
www.nps.gov/alcatraz
Cable cars:
San Francisco's cable
cars, which date to the 1870s, are a great
experience. Move toward one quickly as it
pauses, wedge yourself into any available
space, and hold on! The fare (for one
direction) is $2. The Powell-Mason line (No.
59) and the Powell-Hyde line (No. 60) begin
at Powell and Market streets near Union
Square and terminate at Fisherman's Wharf.
The California Street line (No. 61), often
less crowded than the other two, runs east
and west from Market Street near the
Embarcadero to Van Ness Avenue.
Chinatown:
Prepare to have your senses assaulted
in Chinatown. Pungent smells waft out of
restaurants, fish markets, and produce
stands. Good-luck banners of crimson and
gold hang beside dragon-entwined lampposts,
pagoda roofs, and street signs with Chinese
calligraphy. Grant Avenue and Stockton
Street are the main drags, but check out the
district's narrow side streets; at No. 56
Ross Alley (west of and parallel to Grant
Avenue between Washington and Jackson
Streets), you can watch fortune-cookie
bakers in action. Three flights of stairs
lead up to Tin How Temple, at No. 125
Waverly Place, where elderly ladies can
often be seen preparing "money" to be burned
as offerings to various Buddhist gods or as
funds for ancestors to use in the afterlife.
Golden Gate Bridge: Lincoln Blvd. near
Doyle Dr. and Fort Point
415-9215858
The suspension bridge that connects San
Francisco with Marin County has long wowed
sightseers with its rust-color beauty,
750-ft towers, and simple but powerful art
deco design. At nearly 2 mi, the Golden
Gate, completed in 1937 after four years of
construction, was built to withstand winds
of more than 100 mph. Though frequently
gusty and misty (walkers should wear warm
clothing), the bridge offers unparalleled
views of the Bay Area. The east walkway
yields a glimpse of the San Francisco
skyline as well as the islands of the bay.
The view west takes in the wild hills of the
Marin Headlands, the curving coast south to
Land's End, and the majestic Pacific Ocean.
A vista point on the Marin side affords a
spectacular view of the city. Muni Buses 28
and 29 make stops at the Golden Gate Bridge
toll plaza, on the San Francisco side.
www.goldengatebridge.org
For pedestrians: In winter daily 6-6; in
summer daily 5 AM-9 PM.
San Francisco
Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA):
151 3rd
St. 415-3574000
Mario Botta designed the
striking SFMOMA facility, completed in early
1995, which consists of a sienna brick
facade and a central tower of alternating
bands of black and white stone. Inside,
natural light from the tower floods the
central atrium and some of the museum's
galleries. A black-and-gray stone staircase
leads from the atrium to four floors of
galleries. Works by Matisse, Picasso,
O'Keeffe, Kahlo, Pollock, and Warhol form
the heart of the diverse permanent
collection. The photography holdings are
also strong. The cafe, accessible from the
street, provides a comfortable, reasonably
priced refuge for drinks and light meals.
www.sfmoma.org
COST: $10, free
1st Tues. of each month, 1/2-price Thurs.
6-9. Memorial Day-Labor Day, Fri.-Tues.
10-6, Thurs. 10-9; Labor Day-Memorial Day,
Fri.-Tues. 11-6, Thurs. 11-9.
Yerba
Buena Gardens: Between 3rd, 4th,
Mission, and Folsom Sts.
The centerpiece
of the SoMa redevelopment area, these two
blocks encompass the Center for the Arts,
Metreon, Moscone Center, and the
Rooftop@Yerba Buena Gardens. A circular
walkway lined with benches and sculptures
surrounds the East Garden, a large patch of
green amid this visually stunning complex.
The waterfall memorial to Martin Luther King
Jr. is the focal point of the East Garden.
Above the memorial are two restaurants and
an overhead walkway to Moscone Convention
Center's main entrance. Daily sunrise-10 PM.
www.yerbabuena.org
Union Square: Between Powell,
Stockton, Post, and Geary Sts.
The heart
of San Francisco's downtown since 1850, the
2 1/2-acre square takes its name from the
violent pro-union demonstrations staged here
prior to the Civil War. Completely renovated
in 2002, the once dowdy square now has an
open-air stage and central plaza, an outdoor
cafe, gardens, and a visitor information
booth. Four sculptures by the artist R. M.
Fischer preside over the space, which fills
daily with a familiar kaleidoscope of
characters: office workers sunning and
brown-bagging, and street musicians.
Pier 39: Beach St. at the Embarcadero
This is the most popular -- and commercial
-- of San Francisco's waterfront
attractions, drawing millions of visitors
each year to browse through its dozens of
shops. Ongoing free entertainment,
accessible validated parking, and nearby
public transportation ensure crowds most
days. The din on the northwest side of the
pier comes courtesy of the hundreds of sea
lions that bask and play on the docks.
www.pier39.com
North Beach:
To anyone who has spent time
in its eccentric old bars and cafes or
wandered the neighborhood, North Beach
evokes everything from the Barbary Coast
days to the no-less-rowdy beatnik era.
Italian bakeries appear frozen in time,
homages to Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg
pop up everywhere, and the modern equivalent
of the Barbary Coast's "houses of ill
repute," strip joints, do business on
Broadway. More than 125,000 Italian-American
residents once lived in North Beach, but now
only about 2,000, most of them elderly, do.
But walk down narrow Romolo Place (off
Broadway east of Columbus) or Genoa Place
(off Union west of Kearny) or Medau Place
(off Filbert west of Grant) and you can feel
the immigrant Italian roots of this
neighborhood.
Golden Gate Park: John F. Kennedy Dr.
west of Stanyan St.
415-2630991
Work
began in the 1870s to transform 1,000
desolate brush- and sand-covered acres into
a rolling, landscaped oasis. Urban reality
now encroaches on all sides, but the park
remains a superb getaway. On Sunday, John F.
Kennedy Drive is closed to cars and comes
alive with joggers, cyclists, and in-line
skaters. There are public tennis courts,
baseball diamonds, soccer fields, and trails
for horseback riding.Two of the park's major
draws are temporarily out of commission: The
M.H. de Young Museum is closed until a new
facility opens in 2005, and the California
Academy of Sciences will be closed for a
major renovation from January 2004 until
2008, though a downtown branch will operate
during this period. But among the don't-miss
stops are the newly restored Conservatory of
Flowers, the serene Japanese Tea Garden, and
the Beach Chalet, where you can view
Depression-era murals and enjoy ocean views
while sipping a microbrewery beer. Muni
Buses 5-Fulton and 21-Hayes; N-Judah
light-rail car.
Don't miss the Ferry Building and Farmer's Market!