Anyone been to San Francisco?

sarawifenow · January 2015

My mom and I have decided that we want to do a mother/daughter getaway trip this year and we have settled on San Francisco. We will be staying in the bay area.

So here are my questions:

1.) What is the best time of year to travel there?

2.) Any must sees/dos?

3.) Where are the awesome restaurants?

Thanks all!

ETA: My mom and I love wine, so are there any cool vineyards to check out?

JennyColada · January 2015

I went once for Folsom Street fair, so my recommendations aren't really family friendly...

novella1186 · January 2015

1) San Francisco doesn't really get cold in the winter, and doesn't get hot in the summer. Stays pretty mild year-round, so you could go any time, but be prepared for it to get chilly. (I've been there several times, all at different times of the year, and it can be chillier in July than in January sometimes)

2) Ghirardelli square is a must! Shopping! Fisherman's Wharf to see all the seals (but just a heads up, that's a super touristy area). China Town is huge and it's really fun. Golden Gate park-- there's tons of different parks where you can just stroll around with great views of the bridge/bay. The Castro! They have an awesome bakery there called Hot Cookie that has delicious naughty baked goods (this is the gay district). I went to Alcatraz as a kid and I remember the ferry ride being more fun than the actual island. The history is interesting, but the island itself is a pretty dull place.

3) Food: Ferry Building Marketplace. Lers Ros Thai. Any of the fresh seafood palces

AprilH81 · January 2015

I love San Francisco! I did all the touristy stuff except Ghiradeli Square, I never made it there.

Fisherman's Wharf is fun to walk around as is China Town. I rode the street car (TIP: don't go to the first pick up point at the end of the line, go one or two up the line and you can hop on without waiting for 6 hours), Alcatraz, I found a hole in the wall to watch someone making fortune cookies...

I did a wine tour through a company b/c I didn't want to risk driving. I know we went to Chandon (sparkling wine) and Mario Andretti's winery. I don't remember the others.

There is also a hotel (Hilton?) near the Macy's that has a glass elevator that gives an excellent view of down town.

Oh and ditto @novella1186 on the Ferry Building. I got some wonderful olive oil when I was there.

sarawifenow · January 2015

Great suggestions! I am going to have my mom read this thread tonight.

Keep em coming!

arrippa · January 2015

I grew up just outside SF. I always recommended Alcatraz-but take the night tours. They have these great ghost tours that are so much more interesting than the day tour. I love Ghiradelli Square. We always went to the chocolate festival. We had our prom in SF and we stopped there for pictures and tomfoolery so I have fond memories.

The last time I was in town to visit my mom, I bought a Groupon for local walking tours. We ended up walking around Chinatown and sampling a bunch of great stuff. The tour goes off the beaten track and was a lot of fun.

FMIL12 · January 2015

Make a trip up to Muir Woods- gorgeous!

wrigleyville · January 2015

I had SO much fun touring Alcatraz. I love history and abandoned buildings, so it was a perfect outing. It's an audio tour, so you can go at your own pace, and nobody talks. Make sure you wear good walking shoes, though. You have to walk up a hilly, paved path to get up to the prison, and it's kind of rough.

If you can, take the Napa Valley Wine Train:

http://winetrain.com/

We had an incredible time, we got to drink pretty much all the wine we wanted during dinner and dessert, and you're on this gorgeous, old train for about three hours. Most of the cars are empty, so you can sit and relax in the plush chairs once you finish eating and drinking. The food was incredible. It was definitely worth the price.

charlieyankee03 · January 2015

FI works in SF so we split our time between there and ATL. While it doesn't really get cold like it does in the rest of the country, winter is the rainy season out there which can make for walking the city kinda miserable.

Do you know how long you're planning to stay? There is so much to do in the city itself, but it's such an amazing part of the country that it's definitely worth taking some day trips to the north and south of the peninsula. We prefer Sonoma over Napa Valley, it's less stuck up in my opinion and the wine is just as good. That's a pretty easy day trip if you have a car, otherwise I think some companies do guided tours from downtown but I'm not really sure. If you go south, you pretty much can't go wrong with driving Route 1 down the coast. There are plenty of pull-outs with amazing views and Point Lobos has some easy hiking (that's where FI and I got engaged). Muir Woods is a must-see as well but parking can be really hard on the weekends. If you're feeling particularly adventurous, check THIS out!

As far as food goes, there are too many places to name. Saiwaii is my favorite for ramen though. Clam chowder soup in a bread bowl from Boudin's on The Embarcadero is touristy, but so so good too. Have fun!

WinstonsGirl · January 2015

We went last May for 4 full days. We still missed stuff. We biked the Golden Gate and caught the ferry back. Super awesome, with lots of photo stops, so not too hard. We walked Golden Gate park which is huge by the way. Also did the Science Museum. Did Alcatraz, Fisherman's Wharf.

We started 1 day at Ghiradelli's Square, walked up to Lombard Street and dow and over to Coit's Tower. Lots of walking, but we saw a lot. No parrots though.

Rode the street cars too.

Oh, Sunday morning, we went to the Starlite Room (it's a Club). They do brunch and a Drag show titled "Sunday's a Drag". Super fun and highly recommended.

steph861 · January 2015

Hi and I are going to SF next month. Most of what we're doing revolves around Sketchfest, so that probably won't be applicable to your trip unless you're going in late January/early February.

We're in the process of figuring out where to eat right now (alas, The French Laundry is way too expensive for us and it's too late to book reservations there anyway).

FiancB · January 2015

Summer is really crazy. I went in late July and everything was so packed. Alcatraz was booked solid for three weeks so get those ahead of time, especially if you go in the summer. We were really bummed we couldn't go.

We had trouble finding a decent and reasonably priced hotel (we're procrastinators, so YMMV) so we ended up staying in Newark and taking the BART into the city. We stayed at a very nice hotel that was under $100/night.

No matter what time of year you go, it's pretty much always thick hoodie weather. Immediately outside of San Francisco like in Newark and such it's quite a bit warmer, but it is always foggy and windy right in San Francisco.

If you happen by a bathroom, even if there's a long line, use it. There's a shortage of bathrooms there. It's very weird. Even the gas station and Starbucks and all that stuff will not let you use their bathroom, and there aren't many public ones.

The surrounding area is very pretty. We ended up taking a bunch of detours driving in because of traffic and were glad because it is beautiful. San Jose is neat and it has the Winchester House which is pretty cool. Sausolito (sp?) isn't far off the golden gate bridge. It's a long drive but if you feel like doing one, drive up the coast to Mendocino.

wrigleyville · January 2015

FiancB said:

Summer is really crazy. I went in late July and everything was so packed. Alcatraz was booked solid for three weeks so get those ahead of time, especially if you go in the summer. We were really bummed we couldn't go.

[...]

No matter what time of year you go, it's pretty much always thick hoodie weather. Immediately outside of San Francisco like in Newark and such it's quite a bit warmer, but it is always foggy and windy right in San Francisco.

Oh, yes. Both of these. We went in early June and bought our Alcatraz tickets in April. The tickets were sold out by May.

Also, I found I was plenty warm in most of the Bay Area, but as soon as we got near downtown San Francisco, I needed another layer. If we were in San Francisco when the sun went down, it was sweatshirt time. If we were near the water at night, I shivered even in a hoodie.

I spent most of the trip with a flannel shirt tied around my waist. It took me back to my high school (grunge) days.

We stayed at the San Remo Hotel - http://www.sanremohotel.com/ . It's really close to Fishermen's Wharf and is *extremely* inexpensive compared to everything else in that area. It's a quaint, historic hotel with shared restrooms/showers (European-style), but it's not like a hostel at all. It's more like sharing a bathroom when family is in town. The showers and toilets are completely private. The third floor bathroom even has a big, clawfoot, soaking tub. Most of the people who stay there are adults/families. I liked it because I felt like we were staying at Grandma's or something.

I love historic places, though.

relliotts · January 2015

I live in the area, and totally second the recommendation of Muir Woods. It's about 45 min to an hour outside of the city, across the bay, but it's worth the drive. It's absolutely GORGEOUS. Go early in the day. On the way back stop for lunch, shopping/window shopping, and nice views in Sausalito.

Weather will be chilly right in the city whenever you come, but I would recommend late spring/early summer as the optimal time weather wise. You'll get sun, and most likely will only need a hoodie when you're out and about.

If you are staying more than just a few days, take a day trip to Santa Cruz to see the boardwalk or to Monterey Bay for the aquarium. Depending on when you come, there will be some great opportunities for whale watching along the coast.

Go to Golden Gate park and leave a note for the fairies at the Fairy Door (if you can find it!) http://www.faerydoor.net/

The SFMOMA is currently closed for construction, but they've moved exhibits to different places all over the city. You can take an art tour around the city and catch exhibits at various places.

UC Berkeley has a nice botanical garden. You can also wander along Telegraph Avenue in the University District while you're in that area where there are lots of little street vendors, cool shops, and great spots for lunch.

There are ALWAYS great shows and events going on in and around the city. Once you've settled on your dates, you can find plenty of SF event calendars online and look for things you'd enjoy seeing. If you're in to theater the SHN has a pretty good lineup of shows this year - The Book of Mormon, Newsies, Phantom of the Opera, amongst others - and there are usually tickets available.

Hmm... I'm sure I'll think of more. I'll come back by with more suggestions if I do! Have fun, it's a great city!

Anyone been to San Francisco?

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