I grew up an hour away from San Francisco, so my family visited the city often. We were accustomed to taking out of state and foreign visitors to all of the tourist attractions. Now that we live only an hour away, we visit as often as a couple times a month.

The must see tourist attractions in San Francisco, are "must sees" for a reason. They are unique, interesting and educational. The following descriptions of San Francisco attractions is not meant to be a comprehensive list. These descriptions represent the little pieces of information I know about each site to see. I have provided links to more authoritative sources whenever possible. A good place to start is the SFGate.com Visitors' Guide.

China Town

As a kid, I loved visiting China Town. Today, the China Town of forty years ago still exists, but you have to walk a little bit further to find it. China Town is located just a few blocks from Union Square, the financial district and North Beach. You can even walk to it from Fisherman's Wharf.

There are really two China Towns, one is the length of Grant Street, with grand gates at the entrance way near Union Square. The street is lined with interesting architecture and tiny little shops filled with trinkets, artwork, jewelry, clothing and kitchen ware that looks Chinese. I have no idea if any of these items are available in China.

Once you leave Grant Avenue, you will see fewer stores geared for tourists, and more stores frequented by the locals. Walk up the hill to Stockton Street to visit stores that are more authentic, including food markets that sell unusual fruits and vegetables, different cuts of meat, poultry and seafood, and a wide variety of international candies and snacks. For an even more cross cultural experience, venture into an herb/pharmacy store to look and more importantly smell all of the unusual medicinal herbs for sale.

I hear one of the best way to see and learn about China Town is to take a City Guides, Chinatown walking tour. We still haven't been on it. We did the Embarcadero North, which was good .

The photos here are from the Chinese New Year Parade in February. Grand Avenue is closed and transformed into a street fair during the day. At sunset, the parade weaves through the streets, starting in the financial district on Market Street. People start saving their places on the street 2 - 3 hour before it starts. If you want to see the parade, especially if you have children with you, save a spot, or you won't be able to see a thing.

We didn't come prepared for hours of sitting, so we walked through the parade staging area. That turned about to be a great idea. Because the sun was still up, we were able to take some excellent pictures of the people, floats and dragons in the parade. Not only was the light better, but we could walk right up to our subjects. All of the performers practice their performances, so we did not miss anything. Later, when we watched the actual parade, we couldn't see, let along take good pictures of anything.

This was easily the best parade I had ever seen. No Ford Rangers filled with softball players or girl scouts here. All of the participants in the Chinese New Year's Parade look, act and sound like professional entertainers, even the preschoolers. I had never seen or heard Dragon dancers before, and they were amazing performers. The heart pounding drummers add to the drama of the scene. I highly recommend going.

Fisherman's Wharf

More than anywhere else in San Francisco the best time to visit Fisherman's Wharf, is in the Spring and Fall. If you must go in the summer, go early or late in the day unless you like big crowds.

The best place to park is in the parking garage across the street from Pier 39. Once while we were there, you could get a coupon at the visitors center in Pier 39 to save on parking.

The best part of Pier 39 is the colony of Sea Lions that lives there in every season BUT the summer. You can see if they are there by looking at a webcam. So do not tell your kids they will see them unless you plan to visit at the right time. If you want to arm yourself with some Sea Lion facts, so you sound smart when your kids ask you about them then check out the Marine Mammal Center website. The rest of Pier 39 is composed of tourist shops, eating places, and small attractions.

As you walk West, you will see the port for the ferry that takes passengers to tour Alcatraz Island. Continue down the street and you will see tourist trinket shops of all types and a fun assortment of street performers. There are actual fish available for sale on Fisherman's Wharf. You can buy whole live crabs, and watch the vendors cook them for you. There are also some fine seafood restaurants in the area. Further west you can stand in line at the Cable Cars stop. It will be a really long line in the summer.

From there you will see the the giant Ghirardelli Chocolate sign above Ghirardelli Square. In addition to the Ghirardelli Ice Cream Fountain and retail store, there are some nice shops in the center. When we didn't live in California, we visited San Francisco often and always stopped for a luscious ice cream sundae at Ghirardelli.

Take this photo from Baker Beach. You are looking north east, so your best light is in the afternoon. Note: Dogs are allowed on this beach.

To take this picture of the bridge, cross over to the north, Saucilito side and take the second exit off of Highway 1. Veer left and up the road towards the Marin Headlands Park.

This photo was taken after the sun went down, so there was just a little light left in the sky. A few minutes earlier would have been better. It was taken from the south turnout.

To take this photo take the first exit off the north side of the bridge. This is the spot where most tourists see the bridge and the city. You will need a zoom to get a good photo of the city.

Golden Gate Bridge

The Golden Gate Bridge is indeed very beautiful, even in summer fog. If you do travel here in the summer, it is possible that the bridge will not be visible during your entire stay. You can still walk across it, or at last on it, which is still thrilling. Above you will find descriptions of where to go to get the pictures you want of the bridge. You will be rewarded if you look beyond the easy tourist turnouts.

It costs $5 to come across the bridge southbound. (The other bridges are $4.) Plan your trip based on the day of the week. If it is a weekday, avoid leaving the city at rush hour. If it is a weekend, avoid going into the city Sunday night. Avoid all of the bridges Friday evening. The bridge isn't that great when sitting in traffic. If you are going to be driving across any of the bay area bridges a lot during your stay, think about buying a FASTRAK a few weeks in advance of your trip. This gives access to the special FASTRAK lanes. You will also have a benefit of being a carpool, if you have 3 or more in your car.

Golden Gate Park

Golden Gate Park is a wonderful strip of towering trees, manicured lawns, attractions, lakes, plants gone wild and local people out for a walk or a picnic. When visitors came to town when I was a kid, this is one of the places we always took them. First we would buy a crab and a loaf of San Francisco Sourdough Bread on Fisherman's Wharf. After a picnic in Golden Gate Park we would walk around the Japanese Tea Garden.

Believe it or not, kids love these gardens. There are tall bridges to climb and hidden paths to follow. They do sell tea in the tea garden at tables overlooking the pond.

Union Square

We are not shoppers, so we don't appreciate the excitement of Union Square like some people do. It does have a wonderful Williams and Sonoma and Britex a very unique fabric store among the infamous Macy's, Gucci and Neiman-Marcus. (You get the idea.) If you want to explore the many hidden factory stores in the Bay Area, pick up a copy of the book, Bargain Hunting in the Bay Area by Sally Socolich.

Thanksgiving weekend we attended the annual Christmas Tree lighting ceremony. The festivities included many live performers and opportunities to sing with the crowd. It was a nice activity, but we weren't prepared for the long wait (over an hour) until the tree was actually turned on. People with small children were struggling to keep them interested.

The Castro District on Halloween

The Castro District is notable for its high percentage of gay residents, beautiful architecture, unique shops and hopping night life. If you are looking for stores that cater to gays and lesbians this is your place.

The Castro District becomes a totally different place on Halloween night. Thousands of people of all persuasions come into the city to see and be seen. Most were in costume, but not all. The year we went it was in the mid-sixties so coats were not covering everyone's costume like they do everywhere else in the country. We had fun walking around looking at everyone else. We did not have fun trying to drive back to the freeway when it was over. Park your car far away and take public transpiration. Follow the news or check the website to make sure it is happening as each year the city considers shutting it down.

Some Tips From the Locals

• Use Public Transpiration: Between the Muni (buses) and Bart, you can get almost everywhere you want to go. Parking is expensive, and you will waste a lot of time looking for the cheapest garage.


• Visit Attractions When They Are Free: Check out the schedule on the internet. Almost all of the main attractions have a once a month free day.


• Be Careful Driving: If you aren't used to driving on steep hills with a manual clutch, plan your route carefully. Be especially careful when getting to Lombard Street. During tourist time cars will line up on the west end of Lombard street waiting for their turn to go down the other side of he mountain. Bad things happen when a car in line, inching up the hill starts rolling backwards down the hill after they stall their car in a panic.


• The Best Restaurants: There are some great internet resources that review local restaurants and events. Check Yelp, the San Francisco Chronicle events page and the San Jose Mercury News events page for restaurant reviews and event listings.


• Quick Bites: San Francisco restaurants are great, but also expensive. If you want a quick and cheap bite to eat visit the Mission District to get some awesome Mexican food. You can find fresh crab and shrimp cocktail at Fisherman's Wharf and clam chowder in a San Francisco Sourdough Bread Bowl. If you find yourself in Height-Ashbury, try a custom made crepe. Hungry while visiting Japan Town? I am sure there is some Japanese food, but the restaurant we like is Neecha Thai Cuisine. They have great food and very reasonable prices.


• Lowest Cost Boat Ride: Instead of taking a tour boat around the bay, take a commuter ferry across the bay to Sausalito, Angel Island, Oakland, Tiburon and Vallejo. For example it only costs $8.50 one way to go to Sausalito.


• The Cable Car Museum is very interesting and FREE. If you want to ride the Cable Cars, don't be surprised when you discover it cost $5 a ride, each way. If you want to have the freedom to take multiple trips, it only cost $10 for an all day pass. A cautionary note, in the peak of summer, it is not easy, if not impossible to get a ride without standing in a significant line. For a great description of the less touristy California Street Line on the Streetcar.org website. They share the best places to get on the Cable Cars.


• You might be surprised to discover how many hikes are in San Francisco. Visit the BA Hiker for detailed descriptions of most of the hikes in the Bay Area.


• Traveling in San Francisco Traffic: There are two ways to find out which highway has the lightest traffic. They are both part of the 511.org the Bay Area Travel Guide. You can access via the internet or via the phone. From your telephone, just dial 511 and it will prompt you. It has lots of features, but the one we use the most is the traffic update. Once the recording starts say "Traffic" "Traffic" and the highway you are interested in, for example "101". It provides up to the minute information on where traffic is stopped or slowed.
• Map Links: Neighborhoods, Golden Gate Park, Cal Trans Highway, Golden Gate National Parks

Weekends in San Francisco

North Beach through China Town to Union Square

Early in the morning take a walk starting in North Beach in Jackson Square on Columbus Street in front of the Catholic church and watch the locals practice Tai Chi exercises . Stop at one of their delicious bakery's for pastry and coffee. From there walk up the hill to Stockton street in China Town to watch the local people grocery shop. Stop in at one China Town's delicious bakery's and eat again. If you continue walking south you will end up in Union Square.

Ferry Building and Ferry Trip to Sausalito

On Saturday or Wednesday morning, park at the Embarcadero Towers and walk across the street to the Ferry Building. Walk around the Farmer's Market and shop in the Ferry Building. If you want a picnic, buy your lunch here at the Farmer's Market, Deli's, gourmet foods, cheese, chocolate and cupcake shops. Take the Ferry across the bay to Sausalito (or any of the other destinations.) It only costs $8.50 one way. Avoid rush hour, as these Ferries are for commuters. Sausalito is a cute little town that faces the city across the bay. As a result the views are great. You can shop, eat and look at the house boats. You can also rent bicycles. Just take the Ferry back when you are done.

Breakfast at the Beach, Day in the Park and Dinner in Height-Ashbury

Start with a yummy breakfast at the famous Cliff House within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Get a window on the south side so you can watch the surfers on Ocean Beach. Look at the ruins of the Sutro Baths, one of San Francisco's historic bath houses of the early 1900s. Take the Lands End Hike for a bit of nature in the city. On a clear day you can see the Farallon Islands. Depending on your interests head over to Golden Gate Park and go to the newly built De Young Museum, or the Conservatory of Flowers, or the Japanese Tea Garden or just relax watching the turtles sun themselves on Stow Lake. At the end of the day grab a delicious dinner at the Citrus Club, a Pan-Asian Noodle restaurant in Height-Ashbury. If they are busy, put your name in and walk down the street to shop in a mixture of shops left over from the 60s and new ones aimed at today's city dwellers. Be sure to check out the Amoeba music store.

Best Place to Take Your Kids

The Exploratorium is the best science museum/exhibit that we have ever been to. My kids asked to go all the way through high school. It is conveniently located between Fisherman's Wharf and the Golden Gate Bridge. Beware, with elementary aged children this will take up most of the day.

And don't forget to stop by Pier 39 to look at the Sea Lions and I hear the Zeum is good, but we haven't been there.

Back to California Home Page