Talk to me about San Francisco

WinstonsGirl

We're going next weekend, and want to know about the unknown things to do.  We are there for 4 full days, and we have booked already bikes to go across the Golden Gate, Alcatraz and Brunch at the Starlite Room.  We will hit the typical tourist things (Fisherman's Wharf, Ghirardelli Factory, etc.), but any suggestions for amazing restaurants, things to see or do?? 

Fairyjen1

I don't know if you are into Disney or not, but the Walt Disney Family museum at the Presidio is a favorite place of mine to visit. 

http://www.waltdisney.org/

I also enjoy the California Academy of Science in Golden Gate Park.

http://www.calacademy.org/not-to-be-missed/?gclid=CPSpsrLzn74CFc9AMgodz2cAhw

We also enjoy the Exploratorium. It is geared a bit more for kids, but the exhibits are very cool and hands on and I never fail to learn something there. 

http://www.exploratorium.edu/

Fairyjen1

Also if you are a foodie at all, the Ferry Building is like a shopping mall for gourmet ingredients and goodies. There's also tasty places to eat there. I like to grab a coffee and go out back and enjoy the view of the Bay bridge and people watch.

http://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/

afox007

Definitely not up everyone's alley but I loved doing the tour of the kink.com armory. My friend and I went for her bday one year and loved it. http://www.armorystudios.com/san-francisco-tours/

As far as restaurants my favorite is a total hole in the wall Nicaraguan restaurant, but I love their food and go every time we drive up to SF. http://m.yelp.com/biz/nicaragua-restaurant-san-francisco

SmileDamnit

I've never been but FI goes a couple times a year for work and said The Slanted Door is really good for Vietnamese food (http://www.slanteddoor.com). And my sister just spent a weekend there last month and the places she raved about were The Buena Vista Cafe (apparently the best Irish Coffee in the US) & The Waterbar (overlooks the bridge).

AprilH81

I like the Ferry Building as well, I got some really good olive oil there.

I really enjoyed going to Alamo Square to see the Painted Ladies (the Victorian homes featured in the Full House opening).

I did a weekend transit pass that included the trolleys and found it convenient.  If you want to ride the trolley's a tip is to wait one or two stops above the first stop.  No need to wait an hour in the long line...

WinstonsGirl

Thanks everyone.  I'm looking forward to eating a lot there, so I appreciate the suggestions for food.  

Fairyjen1

    If you are into burgers another good place to eat is Burgers at the top of Macy's in Union Square. It's a Huber Keller restaurant. It has milkshakes with alcohol in them   so good!

FiancB

Get tickets for Alcatraz NOW. It's probably not so bad in May but when we were there in  July we went and were very disappointed to find it was booked solid for 3 weeks straight, even if you want to at 8 am on a Wednesday. 

I tried to walk to get to the Painted Ladies from the big shopping areas and ended up in a rough spot of town and we have honestly never been so scared in our lives, and I have walked by myself all over the place in multiple cities. It does not take long to go off the beaten path in San Francisco, so be careful. It went to hell in a handbasket, fast. I believe that was going off Market St, once you get away from the shopping.

Do you have arrangements made for a hotel and stuff already? If not, we were very happy to stay at a Marriott in Newark and take the BART into San Francisco. It was a really nice place that was cheaper than if we were closer. We had made reservations at a motel in San Bruno but couldn't run away fast enough once we saw it. 

Take some time to drive around near San Jose. We took a lot of side roads as GPS was rerouting for traffic and it was gorgeous. Also the Winchester Mystery House is pretty fun. Sausalito is pretty neat too and you'll get there shortly after crossing the Golden Gate, which of course you want to do anyway. 

Also- San Francisco has a bizarre shortage of bathrooms. Be ready for that. If you see one, use it. You can't even duck into a restaurant to use their bathroom- they often don't even have one, or they're locked. FI peed in a parking lot at a gas station because even the gas station didn't have one and we had just been stuck on a bridge in traffic for an hour. 

FiancB

Also- bring warm clothes. Even in July it is quite cool in SF and often pretty windy and foggy. Even when it was super hot in Newark, as soon as you get to SF it drops to 60 or so. 

At some point have In-N-Out, animal style. I don't really remember other restaurants we went to other than cheesecake factory and an extremely authentic mexican restaurant off Mission St that didn't bother with English translations. We were trying to stay pretty cheap so we didn't get super exploratory with the food unfortunately.  

You're probably going at a great time of year. Fisherman's Wharf and all that stuff was so packed when we were there, it was difficult to get a good look around. 

CaliMel11

Dress in layers! Don't wear big heavy coats or things like that. I would suggest a cami, a tshirt and then a hoodie over top. and jeans and sneakers or comfortable flats or boots. 

One part of the city can be foggy and windy and then 10 mins later be super sunny and warm. 

Take Bart whenever possible, it's way easier. 

Wear sunglasses! Then you don't accidentally make eye contact with random people. 

Personally even in the "sketchy" sections, I found it to be completely fine. Just don't walk around alone at night in bad areas, don't flaunt money or electronics that are on you. Stay away from the area surrounding the mental health hospital in the Mission, a lot of rehabbers go there and I know 3 people who got mugged. 

If you have a car, make sure you have absolutely nothing in it at all. Clean it so it's spotless and hide anything and everything in the trunk. Every single person I know who has had a car up there has had it broken into, and it was for really stupid things like their retainer that they left in a cupholder. 

The Japantown is super awesome and definitely worth the visit! Take the bus in though because the area right next to it is a really really bad area. But the Japantown is beautiful and has so many neat stores and places to eat. 

In general, everyone in SF was super nice and friendly and I love it there! 

WinstonsGirl

If there are milkshakes with alcohol, we're for sure there.  I love milkshakes, so liquor just seems to make them even better.  

FiancB - I booked our Alcatraz tickets at the 90 day mark, so we are covered already for that and hotel.  We won't have a car, so we'll probably rely mainly on the BART and the occasional cable car.  

arrippa

It looks like you already have your Alcatraz tickets but the best way to see Alcatraz is at night. I grew up just outside the city and whenever I had a visitor, I would take them on the night tours. They were fun but a little scary.

WinstonsGirl

@arrippa We are doing the night tour.  DH did it once after a conference years ago, so I figures a night tour would make the same place a little different this time

arrippa

Awesome! I really loved it everytime I did it. I grew up going to Alcatraz on class trips, so I was a little wary of going but it is a different experience.

climbingsingle

Tommaso's has amazing Italian food. And I would know! 

Also, I had a great meal a few years ago at Farallon. 

selenathegreat

I love Japantown (check out the mall!) and the Japanese garden at Golden Gate Park. Get tea at the tea house if that's your jam. I second the Exploratorium too. There are free walking tours if you like architecture or history.

If you get the City Pass, you get free transit plus a boat ride and lots of coupons...look intp it!

Kristen625

I lived in San Francisco for two years, and it was a blast.  I liked Golden Gate park a lot.  The rose garden and Shakespeare garden are my favorites.  There still is buffalo there as well, and the Japanese garden is incredible.  I had tea there, and it was just lovely.  There is also a dahlia garden (though I can't remember the building it is near, totally blanking out).  You may be there the weekend they do Bay to Breakers.  It is one of the largest foot races in America.  People dress up in costumes, and run from one end of San Francisco to the other (its only like 7.5miles).  I did it one year, and it was a blast.  I too liked the wharf, its always good fun.  And then I used to do my bar hopping/hanging out on Chestnut street between Filmore and Divisadero.  There is shopping, food, bars, ice cream, and a movie theater all near there.  There is an amazing burger place on Steiner St, which is just off of Chestnut called Barney's Gourmet Hamburgers.  Make sure you're hungry and get their home made ranch dressing for the fries. 
As to the shady parts of town, that would be the tenderloin.  Stay away from there, I too find it creepy as hell.  It is off of Market street once you get past Market and 6th.  Good idea on getting BART passes, they will be a huge money saver on transportation. Also, totally check out Lombard St, it is awesome.  Cable cars are a lot of fun as well, and one of the end of the line stops is right near Gheradelli square and that one usually isn't as packed, at least in my experience. 
Some of the quieter areas but also fun are Union St between Gough and Filmore.  You can get on the bus at Filmore and Union and take it towards Filmore St (not towards the ocean) and on Filmore St once you reach the top of the hill, there is yet another quiet part full of shopping and little places to eat and such. 
Anyways, you'll have a lot of fun I think and you won't run out of things to do.  I still haven't done everything I wanted to and I was there for 2 years.  It is so much fun so enjoy!!

pinkshorts27

Don't forget to go see Lombard street. I didn't see that in your OP and it is pretty cool, though very touristy.

Alcatraz was cool. FI and I went when he came to town.

There is some good Dim Sum in the area. I can't remember the name, but I'm sure if you search for it you can find it.

FiancB

Kristen625 said:

As to the shady parts of town, that would be the tenderloin.  Stay away from there, I too find it creepy as hell.  It is off of Market street once you get past Market and 6th.  

Yes, that was it! Holy crap. We walked by some cops handcuffing someone and one stepped over to tell us to gtfo, which we were thinking we should do long before we got to that point. It was crazy sketchy.  

Glad you got tickets Winston! You'll have a blast.