Cheers.
Has anyone got any must do/go tips for a 4 day visit to San Francisco? I've heard so much about the fantastic food that recommendations would be really appreciated.
BK at fisherman's wharf (it's a big one too)
According to Google it's a Burger King. Thanks but no thanks.
Have a very expensive espresso at Armanis on Union Square and watch the world go by. Bit like the Odean on Limmatquai, I suppose Ride a tram - or maybe that's too much like home too. Rent a car and do a Starsky & Hutch drive up and down the steep roads and over the Golden Gate Bridge too.
Take the ferry out to Tiburon, take in the view and ambiance and come back. Or visit Angel Island.
Visit the Asian museum.
Stroll the Presidio park at the foot of the GG bridge.
Apparently there is the Redwood forest park nearby too.
I am going there next week so if I think of anything else I will tell you.
Certanly take the tram and enjoy the scenic moment there, all scenery places of soap drama. Another trial, I will drive in the Crook Street(9 steep turns in 2-3 mins) down the hill if possible, a good ride.
Don't forget to try the clam chowder soup in big bread bowl at Pier 39.
A nearby nice place, Sosolito(check spelling yourself), a very nice town/place to have another angle to San Francisco bay area.
Sure to do some shopping is Napa valley and outlets that you can enjoy the wine and outlet place.
Bon voyage.....
Food - sorry.
I live in Chicago, so I get the best food of the US (honest - just avoid deep dish pizza and kielbasa). But SF has the best Chinatown of the US, of course.
That is something I miss. I had a short stay in SF and found that China town is very good and original both in China and HongKong way.
You can try won ton noodles, BBQ duck and pork, egg tard, the buns, dim sum.....oh, I miss them all.
Oldhand, SF is great to walk around. I remember walking from Union Square, and covering so much. It was fun walking down the really wobbly street (Lombard) I think it was called. We also walked over the Golden Gate Bridge and picked up a bus on the other side to Sausalito. It is fab there and I remember having lunch at an Irish Pub and having a really fantastic meal with the most incredible apple pie but not what I was expecting!!!
According to the song -
"If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair"
Hi,
I was in SF all last year. I'd suggest to bring warm clothes first, because it can be quite chilly/windy on Aug (for being summer), especially in the evening, and depending on which part of the city you are.
These were my favorites:
*farmer's market at the embarcadero (on sat morning), you get an idea of the SF lifestyle (only organics!), and it's nice
*top of nob hill, check out the mark hopkink hotel, it has a bar/restaurant at the top floor, not too expensive if you're going just for drinks, views are amazing from there
*golden gate park has a nice park inside called japanese tea garden, I'd recommend visiting that, it's very nice
*you may rent a bike at the golden gate bridge and go from there to the marin county (sausalito..etc), another place with great views.
*and then the typical ride on the cable car...which I actually never did, but you can have a quick tour of downtown that way
Have fun!
Francesca
Have a bowl of fish chowder in a bread bowl at fishermans wharf or lobster tail Mmmmmmm and obviously visit Alcatraz
Enjoy - I loved SF
Here are my tips: Take the ferry from Pier 41 to Angel Island, rent a bike on the island and bike around Angel Island. In addition to being a historical site, you also get the best 360 degree view of the bay. It's breathtakingly beautiful.
http://www.blueandgoldfleet.com/Ferry/Angel/index.cfm For food, Chez Panisse in Berkeley is the pioneer in Californian cuisine but reservations for the restaurant (downstairs) needs to be done 1 month in advance. For the Cafe (upstairs), it is more casual and reservations are easier to get.
http://www.chezpanisse.com/reservations/restaurant/ Good Mexican food abounds in the Mission district Burma Superstar is a small restaurant specializing in Burmese food. http://www.burmasuperstar.com/ You have to try In-n-Out. It's a fast food burger chain but they only use high quality beef and other ingredients. Best burger of all!
There are great Mexican places to eat in the Mission district. It's kind of down at heel there so if you don't feel like going don't worry, you can get good Mexican food in most parts of the city too.
Italian restaurants in North beach.
Chinese food in the biggest concentration of Chinese people outside of China - Chinatown.
+1 on In-n-Out. Real connosieurs order from the secret menu http://www.badmouth.net/in-n-outs-secret-menu/ :-)
Otherwise it's just a great city for exploring on foot and by public transport. Yes, you heard right - it has a great public transport network... the cable cars are fun (but don't bother joining the queue at Market / Powell - walk along Market to California and get the other line). My personal favourite though are the 30s style streetcars. I usually buy a 7-day Muni 'Passport' from the information booth at the airport.
My hometown...one of my favorite restaurants is Street on Polk near Larkin. The owner and his Wife are friends of mine, and it was my neighborhood "joint" for many years. Tell John and Lynne that I sent you (PM me for my name, if interested), and I am sure they will take good care of you. On Sundays, their buttermilk fried chicken is legendary. On other days, they do a great burger, great calamari, and many other excellent dishes.
Up the street is another excellent italian restaurant...Frascati 1901 Hyde St
San Francisco, CA 94109
If you want the two best pizzas in SF: ZA Pizza - 1919 Hyde St...about 100 meters from Frascati. The other is: Tommaso's 1042 Kearny St
San Francisco, CA 94133
If you want sushi: Ebisu is one of the hot places - 1283 Ninth Aveue
415-868-4315
If you like crab, my favorite place in the world is Thanh Long: Have the "Drunken Crab"
4101 Judah St
(between 46th Ave & 47th Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94122
(415) 665-1146
And it is touristy, but you MUST get a hot fudge sunday at the Ghirardeli Chocolate Factory near Fishermaen's Wharf. Nothing else compares on this EARTH!
I could give you many more recommendations depending on what you like.
Enjoy!
fduvall
PS - Forget about In and Out or any fast food place. If you want a burger, go to Street, which I recommended or to Zuni Cafe.
Stinking Rose(all dishes contain garlic). A bit touristy but hell thats what you are. China town,I think its the biggest outside China,not absolutely sure.Youve got to go to Alcatraz,maybe with a city tour as well. I normally hate that sort of thing but please believe me when I say it was well worth it. Hope you have a great time and Im really envious.
Thanks for all the tips I'm really looking forward to following them up.
Cheers gang
Alcatraz was very cool. I totally recommend it. Take some cough drops or something though... it was really dusty and we were coughing like crazy.
If you want to see some redwoods, Muir woods is about an hour or so from San Francisco. If you don't have a car, it might be difficult to get to, however.
Sausalito is just across from the city - a brief ferry ride. It's a little touristy, but has some nice shops and if you want an excuse to ride the ferry, this is fun.
Coit Tower has wonderful murals that were painted during the Depression as part of the public works program, and the view from the top is rather cool.
Golden Gate park has some lovely gardens, a Japanese Tea garden, dahlias, and an herb garden. It's a nice walk if you need some greenery.
Just for the atmosphere, I love the Sheraton Hotel Garden Court (Sheraton Palace Hotel) 2 New Montgomery St. I've had lunch and tea there- I don't know if the tea was "authentic", but it was fun and the place is cool. Huge leaded stained glass ceiling, palm trees.
Have fun!!!
The Mexican in the Mission district is worth putting up with bouncers on the door!! Best I've ever eaten.
Take the BART and visit Berkeley and Telegraph Ave. All the punks and hippies and of course it's where they filmed the graduate...
I'm so green with envy OH... Enjoy x