San Francisco Guide

Elliot Adderton

September 2018

Favourites

• Fino Ristorante - 624 Post Street (Union Square) Italian food, fresh pasta, Zabaglione is a must for dessert. Located inside the Andrews hotel.

• Coit Tower - Telegraph Hill Pay with a $10 bill and receive a $2 bill in change (maybe?). These bills are rare, so hold onto it. Arrive via Filbert Street and take the Filbert street steps, leave on Lombard street. Views from the top are the best in town, take a camera and say hi the karl (the fog, you can follow him on twitter @karlthefog).

• Ferry Building Marketplace - Financial District Foodie Heaven! Blue bottle coffee, Biscuit Bender, Donut Farm, Far West Fungi, Wine Merchant. The list goes on! You can also catch the ferry to Sausalito from here.

Outdoors

• Washington Square Park More dog’s than people, Saints peter and Paul Church. The statue in the centre of the park is... Benjamin Franklin, Obviously?!

• Twin Peaks A great hike with a worthwhile view, the Sutro Tower is located next to the hill.

• Golden Gate Bridge A must see. Best way to cross is on a bike, wait until the afternoon when Karl has moved on. Afterwards visit Sausalito, a small town over the bridge with amazing food options. Bikes should be rented with Basically Free Bike Rentals, for $24 you can rent a bike, at the end you get your money back as store credit for Sports Basement.

• Muir Woods National Monument Named in Honour of John Muir, the founder of the National Park Service. Old coast Californian Redwoods, wooden trail, the trees hang overhead creating a cathedral. Located next to Mount Tamalpais, a 2,500 ft peak. Accessible via a shuttle bus (Route 66, Marin Transit) from Sausalito.

• Sutro Baths Former swimming pool, now in ruins. Cross the foundations down the the beach for the best views of Seal Rocks.

• The Presidio A former Naval Post with trails and coastal overlook, The Walt Disney Family Museum is located within. A free shuttle bus runs from downtime to the Presidio visitor centre every half an hour.

• Golden Gate Park Visit on Sunday the hear the Jazz being played under the bridges. Home of the California Academy of Sciences, the de Young Museum and the Japanese Tea Garden (free on Monday, Wednesday & Friday if entered by 10am). Afterwards visit Haight Ashbury and relive the sixties. If you do visit a museum, keep your public transit ticket as most will discount entry to the price of your ticket.

• Stinston Beach This is accessible via the Dipsea trail, a hike worth the effort. Fill out a reservation card at the Muir woods visitor centre, water fountains are available on the trial. Views are the Ocean and the woods are magnificent.

Museums

• Alcatraz Island Book early as places sell out fast. Worth a visit at least once, the locals have mixed options about visiting a prison. The island has limited food options, so be sure to eat before you head out. Be sure to visit the gift shop on the island, they have a good selection. Take the audio tour.

• SFMOMA The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. You’ll probably notice all the locals walking around the town with their SFMOMA tote bags, after being closed for many years for renovation the museum is on the list for any Art lover. There cafe and Restaurant serve freshly made food, most museums in SF have a decent menu.

• The Walt Disney Family Museum This museum focuses on the life and death of Walt and his dream. A collection of some of the most important parts of his works including his first drawings of Mickey and Minnie. The original multiplane camera is also preserved here along with the pre construction model of Disneyland.

Food

• Cliff House - Vista Del Mar Views of the Ocean, walk-able from the golden gate bridge via Baker Beach Trail. You may spot a Whale, the restaurant is literally on the cliffs edge with full height windows.

• Mr Holmes Bakehouse - 1042 Larkin Street Lines out the door, croissants Californian style.

• Sparrow - 1636 Haight Street American Fusion food, good wine selection, vegetarian and vegan options (This is common in Haight and SF in general).

• Greens Restaurant - Marina District Vegetarian home of SF with panoramic views of the Bay, it’s expensive.

• Golden Coffee Shop - 901 Sutter Street Cash Only! Chinese owned, low prices, greasy spoon. Hangover food.

• Brenda’s French Soul Food - 652 Polk Street New Orleans in SF, you may have to wait, this is the place to be. A good choice for breakfast.

• Warming Hut Bookstore & Cafe Books and coffee. Great spot to warm up in after walking Crissy fields.

• La Taqueria - 2889 Mission Street Traditional, affordable and original. If you want a classic, go here.

• Lappert’s Ice Cream - Sausalito Hawaiian Ice cream and Coffee, if you have just road over the bridge on a bike, you’ll need an ice cream at least.

• Samovar Restaurant & Tea Lounge - Yerba Buena Gardens Excellent tea bar with traditional selections. The food is paired with a tea, most food is available as Vegetarian with Meat as an extra. This venue is located just over the road from SFMOMA.

Drink

• Rogue Pub - North Beach Their Tater Tot game is strong here. Beautiful SF made Belgian, German, American? styles.

• Bear 39 - Pier 39 The Pier is a kid invested tourist trap, you’ll need a drink. Try the CHP (Chocolate Hazelnut Porter) by Heretic Brewing, Fairfield, California. Then go watch the Sea lions, take your drink with you, the pier allows open containers.

• Clift Hotel Red Room - 495 Geary Street Seedy and tacky, worth it for the people watching. Maybe have a drink before hand for this one.

• Wine Merchant (Wine Bar) - Ferry Building The ferry building is endless in its offerings. However the wine bar run by the wine merchants stands out, a drink makes the ferry more fun.

Getting Around

Google maps is an excellent tool, when you arrive consider buying a T-Mobile tourist sim card, they cost $35 for 2GB of data, a bunch of minutes and texts. The card lasts for 3 weeks, well worth the money.

• BART Bay area rapid transit, opened in the 70’s by President Richard Nixon, original cars still in use. Trains at San Francisco International airport come every 15 minutes. By far the fastest and easiest way downtown.

• Street Cable Cars The trolley looking street cars that run around town are known as the Cable Cars. This is because they are pulled along by a cable under the street, $7 a ride or buy a day pass for ALL bay area transit for $21. Checkout the Visitor Passport if you plan on using public transit. Very Busy at all times.

• Historic Streetcar’s in addition to the cable cars, try the street cars, they are less busy and cost $2.25. This is a great way to get to the Castro district.

• Walk Walking can be a challenge at times due to the hilly nature of the city, you may see that something is only 1 mile away and think you can walk it, but beware as it could become an all out death hike, seriously. If you do want to take a walking tour try Free Tours by Foot, I cannot recommend them enough.

• Uber & Lyft Download the app before you leave, they offer a really affordable way around town and can often be cheaper than the bus if you agree to ride share.