San Francisco

[Greathands]

My partner and I will be making our first trip to San Francisco this fall.

 

Any suggestions on places to stay ... what parts of the city are best to stay in ... what parts to avoid ... things not to miss ... etc?

 

We welcome any of your thoughts to help us make it a great vacation.

 

Thanks!

[+ Hoover42]

When I visit San Francisco, I love to get out of the city itself and head north over the Golden Gate bridge to spend a couple of hours walking around the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Depending on the time year and the weather, it's a great place to for some peace and quiet and fresh eucalyptus scented air, as well as some great cliffside views of the ocean.

[+ David-SF]

1st time here ??

 

Please contact me I will be sure to get you producer seats at beach blanket Babylon its a lot of fun.

 

there is a great new place to eat in the castro called Starbelly its amazing food and very fun busy atmosphere.

 

of course it all depends on what you like def go to the marin headlands and drive hike and site see. if I am around I will happily drive you around one afternoon to kill a few spots if your time is limited.

 

If you like the beach I suggest the fort funston area on the wekend lots of wind great hike and tons of dogs everywhere (opps that's more for me) but you get my drift. parking is easy and its less populated.

Baker beach can be quite fun also but traditionally our beautiful beaches are windy foggy and cold bring a fleece warm jacket. the fall can be warm the cold then warm. (micro climates every few blocks)

 

depending on your budget stay at the parc 55 very comfortable (3 star ) or the st regis (4+ star) extremely high end but worth it if its a special occasion.

other places to stay are the Mosser Hotel with a great restaurant next door called Annabelle's bistro it a small euro style hotel but very cozy and the price is right everytime.

 

also google google google for events plays wicked is in town till sept 5th a great fun show in it home location cant beat it.

 

I have lived in SF most of my adult life I hope you will enjoy this wonderful city as it has so much to offer and please lean on me for support anytime before and during your stay.

Cheers David

[Guest OCBeachbody]

Well the City and Oakland are pretty much where I always end up.

Honestly I like the Presidio area between Fisherman's warf. I usually if by choice stay at the Star Motel. It's affordable and tons of eating places and stores nearby. You get a great view of the bay and your only a few minutes from Golden Gate Bridge. Of course on the company dime from time to time... the Four Seasons is great! A wonderful restaurant and the bar is also great for entertaining clients. Great spa as well, and they do have room service for that as well. If it is a special occasion definitely treat yourself.

 

Golden Gate Park is also an awesome place just to walk around and spend the entire day. There is like two Golf Courses there, an arboretum, Japanese tea garden, and museums.

 

One thing I wanted to see on my First Trip is chinatown. Honestly it was not what I expected. Although I did meet a Chinese buddy of mine who did show me around and ate there. Best to go with a Chinese friend or your lost! Was kinda disappointed in the Castro district, it didn't live up to the hype. It was extremely tame.... my trips to Long Beach and West Hollywood were more so I would avoid there.

[+ glutes]

Mark Morford wrote a column on SF, to give you some inside® view.

Some ATP will complain that it is very very very ancient... (it is still germane)

Enjoy our Fair City!

 

http://m4m-forum.org/showthread.php?t=37779

[+ honcho]

more on golden gate park and other museums

 

Near the tea garden is a band shell built in 1901 ... Guess what ? There are still

old-fashioned band concerts there on sunday afternoons, 1pm, free to the public (now only from mid April to mid October)

 

And the band shell is located between two very interesting (and not free) museums

the DeYoung, and the Academy of Sciences.

 

In another part of town (near city hall) is the Asian Art Museum, which really is unqiue-and-not-to-be-missed.

 

I have to mention my two favorite restaurants: Fringale on 4th just south of brannen,

contemporary french cuisine that will knock your socks off for ~$50/person for food,

and Eliza Restaurant (california just west of divisadero) - fusion chinese & california cuisine.

[dfw2sfo]

SF

 

Not a comprehensive list but my stream of consciousness now...

 

There's a great website about SF's surrounding areas written by a travel writer who is gay. http://71miles.com/

 

If you want to be near the Castro, The Parker House is a nice looking guesthouse but I've never stayed there because I lived in SF.

 

The Westin St. Francis is an historic hotel right on Union Square that can have some surprisingly good deals.

 

Check the weather and bring layers of clothing. You'll probably always want to have a jacket/sweater with you.

 

I'm not a big fan of Fisherman's Wharf (except for a glimpse into SF's fishing past) but you can rent bikes there and ride out to the GG bridge. There's a great little coffee shop/store called The Warming Hut near the water's edge to the east of the GG bridge. I always loved the Palace of Fine Arts.

 

One thing you might never hear about that's fun is Sunday afternoons at a place called El Rio. They have a salsa band, margaritas are flowing and lots of gay guys packed onto a patio.

 

The Ferry Building is a foodies' paradise with local merchants from wine to olive oil to chocolate. The new California Academy of Science is definitely worth the trip.

 

If you go to the Haight, go to Buena Vista Park and climb to the top.

 

That's it for now. Have fun. If you have specific questions, put them here or msg me and I'll give my take.

 

See a movie at the Castro theater.

[Karl-G]

It is very difficult to make recommendations without knowing anything about you - age, likes, dislikes, time in city, amount of money to spend, mobility, etc.

 

Assuming you want to know the city, begin by purchasing the best guidebook, loaded with information, maps, pictures, and suggestions: "The Eyewitness Guide to San Francisco." Get a used copy on amazon.com. Read it and take notes. Tear out the pages of things you especially want to see or do or special maps and bring those with you.

 

Flying in? Take the BART subway from airport to downtown - 35 minutes. For those over 65 you can get a special pass at the airport which is about 2/3 off regular price. For those over 65, you can get a special pass downtown at the booth at base of cable car on Market and Powell which allows unlimited travel on buses and streetcars for a month for $15. Public transporation in San Francisco is superb; pick up a free map of all routes at Info Office on Market Street at Powell.

 

You can pick and pay for a hotel, or on priceline.com, you can almost always get a *4 or *3 hotel for $60-$80, really good and great locations. Begin by looking at betterbidding.com and biddingfortravel.com under "San Francisco."

 

The three art museums are excellent. DeYoung Museum is in Golden Gate Park and is the general art museum with very good 18th and 19th century American collections as well as some 20th century, American Indian, African, etc. They have a very good restaurant for lunch with both indoor and outdoor seating. Also in Golden Gate Park is a science museum and the Japanese Tea Garden, right next to the De Young. It is well worth a visit. Walking around Golden Gate Park on a Sunday afternoon, when all roads are closed to vehicular traffic, is delightful. Thousands of city dwellers come out to walk, skate board, play ball, fly kites, and enjoy the weather. Asian Art Museum is downtown in Civic Center, two blocks from city hall, and in former public library, redesigned by same woman architect who did d'Orsay Museum in Paris. It's interesting but not balanced. It is very strong in areas where Avery Brundage, main donator, bought lots of things cheaply and completely lacking in others. But it is good. The MoMA is one of best in world with superb collection of 20th and 21st century artwork. Just two blocks off Market Street, very interesting building, close to Moscone Center and lovely park. Russian Samovar Cafe in park is nice place for lunch. There is a fourth art museum, Palace of Legion of Honner, which has a rather small permanent collection but sometimes very interesting and large visiting exhibits. Worth checking out.

 

There are two great cathedrals in town. Grace Episcopal Cathedral is high on top of Nob Hill and a "replica" of Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral in France. The stained glass is excellent; there is a maze in the floor you can walk for meditation; and in a chapl at the rear (the AIDS Chapel) is a piece of the original AIDS Quilt Project and an altarpiece by American artist Keith Haring. On the other side of town is St. Mary's Cathedral, the newish Catholic cathedral with fascinating and superb contemporary architecture. If you are interested in contemporary religious architecture, this is one of the best examples in the world. Imagine that you took a large handkerchief, held it in the center, then dropped it to the floor, that is the concept but in concrete and soaring to the sky. Free organ recital every Sunday afternoon at 5:00.

 

The city is filled with famous schools and it can be fun to visit the campuses. It is an easy BART ride over to Berkeley for UC campus. Free map at tourist bureau near subway stop and then about hour and a half walking tour. You are welcome to eat in Faculty Club, half way through tour. Main library and bell tower are worth stops. Sproul Plaza always has student demonstrations of one kind or another. And of course, endless eye candy as between classes, thousands of California students walk from one building to another. It is a beautiful campus with lots of trees, including redwoods. U of San Francisco, a Catholic school, has a very pretty campus on the way to Golden Gate Park. Their church is a large, beautifull baroque structure. Great views of city from top of campus.

 

To get a feel for the city, ride public buses up to Alamo Square to see great view of downtown San Francisco and row of beautiful "Victorian ladies" - painted houses. Take another bus to Haight-Ashbury District and walk around funky neighborhood of colorful stores and houses and some nice places to eat lunch. Take a bus to Civic Plaza and walk around outdoor market, visit City Hall, see Symphony Hall and Opera House and Asian Art Museum and new Public Library. It is a great civic center and beautifully laid out. If something is going on in Symphony Hall and/or Opera House, be sure and take in an evening performance. Your hotel concierge can get tickets. There is the Castro District.

 

Take at least one cable car. Take the streetcar / tram up Market St. and all the way out to Fishermen's Wharf. Spend hours wallking around and having good seafood, seeing the sea lions, watching free street entertainment, wandering through the tourist shops and Ghirardelli Square, buying some chocolate. You can also rent a bicycle here and ride up and across the Golden Gate Bridge, beautiful views. You can ride back or catch the ferry and ride back with your bike. There are several boat lines which have tours of the bay and on a clear day, these are very pleasant. You can go out to Alcatraz for a tour; check on-line.

 

A nice side trip is to rent a car (Enterprise is good, easy, and not expensive downtown) and drive north 45 minutes to Muir Woods and see the redwood forest national park. Walk around along the paths for a couple of hours, then come back and stop at Sausalito for lunch and great views of San Francisco. You can also continue north a little way into wine country and tour a winery or two or three.

 

Then if you still have some energy left, be sure and order in one of the many San Francisco boys for a delightful dessert. A SF Boy per day keeps the doctor away.

 

If you wish to attend a baseball game, visit a sex club, go gay bar-hopping at night, sing karaoke, there are also opportunities.

[Karl-G]

"Parts of the City to Avoid"

 

All parts of San Francisco are safe; all parts of San Francisco can be dangerous.

 

San Francisco is a very large, cosmopolitan, international city. Every person you are going to see is a visitor; "real people" in San Francisco are at work in their offices, at home, or shopping in grocery stores. You are going to be surrounded continually by masses of people from Asia (especially), but lots of people from South America, from Europe, and from all over the United States.

 

Are you from a small town? Have you ever lived in a large city? You need to exercise "street smarts" when you are in San Francisco, as you do in Chicago, New York, Washington, London, and Paris. Never hang your camera on the back of a chair behind you while you are in a restaurant; never flash large amounts of cash anyplace; do not talk to strangers; never follow a stranger anyplace regardless of what they want to show you; do not give people money; if you are carrying a small pack or bag, never put it on a chair on the other side of the table; never leave anything valuable in your hotel room even for 2 seconds when you are not there; when you are on BART or a public bus, keep youg bag in your hand at all times. Even in the finest hotels, hundreds of people have access to rooms and theft is the easiest of crimes. If you have lived in a big city, you know these are just common sense practices.

 

Having said all of that, I will say that in all of the times I have been to San Francisco, I have never had a problem nor felt the least unease. But I am from a large city and I am used to them.

 

If you stay in a 4* or 3* hotel, you will always be located in a "desirable" part of the city - that's how they get their rating. "Downtown" for San Francisco is the area of Union Square and the Embarcadero/Financial District. If you plan ahead for your trip and look at maps ahead of time, you will always be in areas where there are lots of people /tourists. You should not be in areas where you don't know where you are.

[Lookin]

While the Musée d'Orsay undergoes renovation, two exhibits at the deYoung will showcase paintings rarely seen outside of Paris. Birth of Impressionism is on display now through September 6th, and Post-Impressionist Masterpieces runs from September 25th through January 18th.

 

http://www.artknowledgenews.com/files2009b/Seurat_Circus.jpg

 

There are tons of neighborhood walking tours. A friend recently took a walking tour of the back alleys of Chinatown, and saw things she never knew were there. As others have said, San Francisco is a walking City.

 

And please send me a message if you have any special interests. There are hundreds of ways to spend a day here. David's offer of Beach Blanket Babylon is well worth an evening, and there are great Italian restaurants nearby in North Beach. Enjoy!

[edjames]

You won't be disappointed with SF, it's a great city with so much to see and do. Others here have already provided you with a lot of wonderful info.

 

I don't know what your schedule is like, but like many others would encourage you to spend a little time outside the city. A tour of the Napa Valley with lunch is a nice way to spend the day. Also north of SF is the Russian river. Heading south to Monterrey and Carmel are picturesque places to see. The aquarium in Monterrey and the 17 mile scenic drive is very worthwhile.

 

A simple and easy excursion is to hop on the ferry and travel across the bay to Marin to walk around.

 

Enjoy!

 

ED

[+ cougar]

A day trip to Big Sur (Monterey) is worth the time and effort to do. If you plan to go to Muir Woods, get there right after they open, otherwise parking will be an issue. Then spend the afternoon in Sausalito. If you wanna spend the money for a Alcatraz tour, consider the night tour, that is only one I wanted since the city skyline looks wonderful at night.

Also don't go there thinking you will see hot young guys at every street corner, for I found the city did not have as large of a "hot young" gay community that my preconceptions had led me to think. Someone told me the yoounger gay guys do not flock there to live because of the high living cost.

Enjoy it.....You will love it

P.S. Get a travel book about San Fran from the "Eyewitness" publisher, their book is by far the best....get it from Amazon.