San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf Hotels
San Francisco Union Square Area Hotels
San Francisco Information
Things To See & Do
San Francisco
San Francisco City Pass Visit 6 San Francisco Attractions PLUS a MUNI and Cable car pass for one low price. Included attractions are: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Muni and Cable Car 7-day Passport, Blue and Gold Fleet Bay Cruise, Exploratorium, Aquarium of the Bay, Legion of Honor and Young Museum (must be visited on same day) either California Academy of Sciences and Steinhart Aquarium or Asian Art Museum. £46 Adult and £30 Child
Aquarium of the Bay Visit San Francisco's only waterfront aquarium. Meet 20,000 amazing marine animals as you walk through 300 feet of crystal clear tunnels. Touch sharks and rays. Open daily except Dec. 25. Summer hours 9am-8pm. Most other times M-Th 10am-6pm, F-Su until 7pm. Admission $16.95 adults; $8 seniors (age 65+) and children (ages 3-11); $39.95 family (2 adults, 2 children). Children under 3 free. Prices and hours subject to change.
California Academy of Sciences The only place in the world to combine a natural history museum, aquarium, planetarium and world-class research facility. Explore the greenest museum in the world.
Pier 39 is an open-air festival marketplace located on San Francisco Bay with two levels of fun-filled attractions, unique shopping at 110 specialty shops and delightful dining at one of 14 full-service restaurants.
The Presidio of San Francisco Formerly a military post, the Presidio is a National Park and recreational paradise featuring spectacular vistas, beautiful trails, and historic and architectural treasures. Come for a hike, a walking tour, a picnic, to view an exhibit or take a stroll back in time. Entrance and most programs are free; open daily year-round.
Fisherman's Wharf Fishing boats, seafood stalls, steaming crab cauldrons and seafood restaurants and sourdough French bread bakeries … you know you’re in world-famous Fisherman’s Wharf. Souvenir shops and museums add to the atmosphere. The historic F-Line streetcar and two cable car lines terminate in the area and sightseeing boats and boat charters link to Alcatraz and Angel Island and other points around San Francisco Bay. This 500-mile cleft in the California coastline has a split personality. It is both a major centre for water-borne commerce and a delightful excuse to just go play by the bay. “Did you know that the first lighthouse on the West Coast is located on Alcatraz?”
Chinatown San Francisco's Chinatown is one of the largest outside Asia, offering an array of exotic shops, restaurants, food markets, temples, museums and venerable Chinese institutions. The district's main street, Grant Avenue, is a perpetual pageanting the annual Chinese New Year and Moon Festival clebrations.
Union Square Virtually every fashion label in the world has set up shop in and around Union Square, a landmark park in the heart of the downtown shopping and hotel district. Granite plazas, a stage, a café and four grand entrance corner plazas bordered by the park's signature palms, pay tribute to the Square's distinctive history and offer a forum for civic celebrations. The cable cars head up Powell Street from here and flowerstands populate every corner. Thousands originally from Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam have given the Tenderloin, a 20-square-block district west of Union Square new life. A landmark church, an experimental theatre house, jazz and blues clubs, restaurants and cafes point to a neighbourhood renaissance. “Did you know that Union Square was named for pro-Union demonstrations on the eve of the Civil War?”>/p>
Nob Hill Once the home of the silver kings and railroad barons, the “nabobs,” Nob Hill's noble tenants include Grace Cathedral, a replica of Notre Dame in Paris; Huntington Park, site of many art shows and graced by a replica of a 16th century Roman fountain; Nob Hill Masonic Centre, an architectural dazzler hosting various musical events; the Cable Car Barn, where the cable cars are stored when not in service, and grand hotels. Russian Hill, named for burial sites of Russian hunters who were active in California waters in the early 1800s, is most famous for the sinuous curves of Lombard Street, “the crookedest street in the world,” between Hyde and Leavenworth streets. “Did you know that the cable car was the first mobile National Historic Landmark in the United States?”
Mission District These neighborhoods all share a sunny outlook. Boasting some of the best weather in the city, the Mission District, Bernal Heights and Potrero Hill take advantage of an abundance of fog-free days. New restaurants and night spots are a draw while Mission Dolores, 16th and Dolores streets, is the oldest structure in San Francisco. Many of the city’s pioneers are buried in an adjacent cemetery. The largest concentration of murals in the city adorn buildings, fences and walls throughout the district. Potrero Hill’s Dogpatch neighborhood is one of 11 historic districts in the city. “I’ll bet you didn’t know that the second crookedest street in San Francisco is on Vermont Street on the slope of Potrero Hill – drivers will encounter five full turns and two half-turns in a single block.”Japantown Founded in 1906 Japantown, Nihonmachi or J-Town as it is known to San Francisco’s 12,000 citizens of Japanese descent, is the oldest in the United States and one of only three remaining. This small slice of Japanese life is just a few octaves away from the Fillmore, the “Harlem of the West,” which is witnessing a revival of its jazz heritage and is the setting for an annual open-air jazz festival. NOPA, an acronym for north of the (Golden Gate Park) panhandle, has been dubbed an “urban frontier” by The New York Times and is increasingly on the foodies’ GPS for late night suppers.
Teatro ZinZanni An extraordinary evening of enchantment that blends European cabaret, spectacle and music with a five-course dinner. Seating is restaurant style at individual, reserved tables.
Alcatraz Cruises The official and only transportation carrier to Alcatraz Island. Advance reservations recommended. Let THG Holidays reserve your tickets to avoid the crowds.
Conservatory of Flowers Historic San Francisco landmark in Golden Gate Park since 1879 boasting rare tropical flowers and plants from around the world. Architectural gem with five distinct galleries. Tu-Su 10am-4pm, open holidays except Thanksgiving and Christmas. Free children 4 and under, $7 for adults, $5 for youths 12-17, seniors 65+ and students with ID, $2 for children 5-11.
iFLY SF Bay Indoor Skydiving Fun indoor family entertainment. Safe, freefall all ages. Simulated skydiving. Active, adventurous, unique, exciting, vertical wind tunnel. No experience needed, once in a lifetime chance to fly. M-F 2-1opm, Sa-Su 9am-11pm. Extended summer hours and holidays. $54.95 per person; $49.99 discounted, holidays before 5pm. Ages 3+, under 250 lbs., not pregnant, good should, neck and lower back health.
METREON Metreon is the first-of-its-kind entertainment centre in the heart of downtown San Francisco. This 350,000 square-foot complex features an eclectic mix of restaurants, shopping venues, theatres, and entertainment destinations, including the West Coast's largest IMAX theatre.
Red and White Fleet Founded in 1892 the family owned Red and White Fleet is legendary for its cruises. Cruise under the Golden Gate and past Alcatraz; enjoy sunset sailings and discover San Francisco's sights and history with headphone audio in 12 languages. Sailing daily. Golden Gate Bay; San Francisco Explorer; California Sunset cruises.
San Francisco Botanical Garden Society at Strybing Arboretum There is always something new at San Francisco's Botanical Garden. Stroll through New Zealand, the Mediterranean or Central American rain forests. The garden is a beautiful, calm oasis. M-F 8am-4:30pm, Sa-Su and holidays 10am-5pm. Tours M-F 1:30pm, Sa-Su 10:30am and 1:30pm, departing from Bookstore; W, F, Su 2pm, departing from North Gate. Admission is $7.
San Francisco Zoo A home to a variety of exotic animals. Visit the African Savanna; Grizzly Gulch; Lemur Forest; Penguin Island; Gorilla Preserve and Children's Zoo.
Beyond San Francisco
Surrounding Area Immediately south of The City, a band of comfortable communities curves along the shoreline of San Francisco Bay, encompassing Monster Park, where football's 49ers reign, to Oyster Point and San Francisco International Airport (SFO). SFO is not only one of the world’s premier gateways, it is practically a city in itself. The airport boasts an accredited art museum, a soaring, billion-dollar International Terminal, clusters of shops stocked with keepsakes, locally made chocolates and sourdough morsels, and a bounty of multicultural restaurants – many of them offshoots of Bay Area culinary favorites. South of SFO, low-rise, high-tech campuses line Highway 101 from Brisbane and San Bruno to Millbrae, San Mateo, Redwood City and Foster City, comprising another gateway: this one to famous Silicon Valley.Directions: SFO and neighbouring communities are served by Bay Area Rapid Transit trains, SamTrans buses, Caltrain, and a number of shuttle services and linked to The City by highways 101 and 280.
Beach Communities Being right next to the planet’s biggest ocean has its advantages. Due south of The City, California Highway 1 links a string of beach towns, each with its own eco-system of surf shops, bait-and-tackle stands, restaurants-with-a-view, places to buy a wetsuit and spots to fill the cooler with ice. Seasonal whale-watching is a popular pastime and when the last wisps of summer fog burn off, the beaches fill with swimmers and surfers. At the northern end are Pacifica, Montara and Moss Beach. Half Moon Bay is a beloved artists colony with a renowned golf course and the town’s Pumpkin Festival enlivens every October. Santa Cruz anchors the southern end, with its century-old amusement park, complete with merry 1911 Looff carousel and thrilling 1924 Giant Dipper wooden roller coaster. Directions: Take California 1 south from San Francisco for the most picturesque drive, or take Highway 101 and pick up a connector road west to the sea.
Silicon Valley It looks like a sleepy valley at first glance: low-rise buildings, boulders placed just so on corporate lawns, but make no mistake, this is the capital of the high tech world. Much of the South Bay is steeped in innovation, from the venture capital firms along Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park to the manicured Stanford University campus in Palo Alto. Scientific progress is celebrated in San Jose’s Tech Museum of Innovation and enjoyable kitschy suspense is generated in the Winchester Mystery House with its trap doors and secret passageways. For a look at tech before it went nano, check out the colossal aircraft hangar along Highway 101 in Sunnyvale. Directions: South on highway 101 along the bayshore or Highway 280 along the ridge top heading down the Peninsula.
East Bay Fringed with freeways and light-industry along the bayshore, capped with the East Bay Regional Parks’ network of nature trails, with a world-famous university in-between – that’s a quick sketch of the region due east of The City. The Berkeley campus of the University of California offers a warren of shops, pubs and fast-food, along with superb bookstores and music stores. Slow food holds sway in Berkeley’s gourmet ghetto, served with a mantra of “local, seasonal and sustainable." Oakland boasts baseball’s Athletics, basketball’s Warriors and football’s Raiders, plus an entertaining mix of live music, pubs and boating marinas at Jack London Square and restored Victorian shops on Ninth Street. Over the hills in Contra Costa County, cattle still outnumber cars in places and Mount Diablo dominates the skyline. The Tri-Valley area boasts small towns, an automotive museum and the historic Livermore wine region. Directions: Bay Area Rapid Transit trains and AC Transit buses serve the East Bay from San Francisco. Take Interstate 80 over the Bay Bridge by car.
Sausalito and Marlin Affluent bedroom communities and humble houseboat colonies, deeply rooted farmers and ranchers and cosmopolitan connoisseurs of sleek eateries and bars all provide Marin County, San Francisco’s near northern neighbour, its character. Marin’s human resources are matched by its natural features. The wind-whipped beauty of Point Reyes National Seashore, the hiking and cycling on Mount Tamalpias (“Mt. Tam’’) and the serene redwoods of Muir Woods offer a wide range of options. Tiburon, with its classic Main Street and central waterfront location is an ideal spot to refresh along the Bay. The pretty town of Sausalito spills down its hillside locale to Bridgeway, Sausalito’s main drag, with its fine dining, galleries, shopping, strolling, and picture-perfect views of San Francisco across the Bay. Directions: Drive north on 101 across the Golden Gate Bridge. The Blue & Gold Fleet runs ferries to Sausalito, Tiburon and Angel Island State Park from Fisherman’s Wharf and the Ferry Building. Golden Gate Transit operates ferries to Sausalito and Larkspur from the Ferry Building. The family-owned Angel Island-Tiburon Ferry also runs daily.
Wine Country loaf of fresh-baked artisan bread, a decanter of old-vine Northern California wine make for a winning combination for many a romantic tryst and getaway. An hour's drive from the city, the premier wine country in the New World greens the Napa and Sonoma valleys and their terraced hillsides. St. Helena and Yountville are quintessential destinations for dining and wine-tasting. Calistoga is famed for its mineral waters and baths. The city of Napa hosts the Napa Valley Wine Train, a dining experience on an antique train. Sonoma is equally appealing with its winery tours, vintage California Mission and roadside fruit stands. Santa Rosa is the region's largest town. Bicycling past the vineyards or ballooning over them adds a nicely rounded quality to a visit. Lake County to the north boasts majestic Clear Lake at its centerpiece and Mendocino offers wine country by the sea. Directions: Drive north on 101 over the Golden Gate Bridge for Santa Rosa and Mendocino. Branch east to Sonoma on Highway 121; continue east to Highway 29 for Napa and continue north to Yountville, Calistoga and Kelseyville in Lake County.
North Coast / Mount Shasta The moment you pass the northern tower of the Golden Gate Bridge, you set foot, in a wilder, more rugged California. The North Coast is home to hillside highways of breathtaking beauty and hidden coves that flare into beaches. The village of Mendocino, clinging to a rocky promontory, offers sophisticated rusticity in shopping and dining, while the Lost Coast is a preserve for robust adventurers. Within a 50 mile-wide strip stretching the entire length of the California coast past Eureka to the Oregon border, a living symbol of California, the Coast Redwood, flourishes in quiet glens and in welcoming state parks. The snow-streaked volcanic peak of Mount Shasta rises abruptly, almost theatrically, near Interstate 5. Topping 14,000 feet, Shasta is a favored destination for climbers. Directions: Go north from the Golden Gate Bridge up California 1 for panoramic coast views. Highway 101 is a faster route north to the redwoods. Mount Shasta is just east of I-5, several hours from The City.
Lake Tahoe / Sacramento Sacramento, the Golden State’s capital city, was the western terminus of the transcontinental railroad of pioneer days, and parts of the city still have an Old West ambience. Old Sacramento preserves lovingly restored 19th century saloons and shops. The renovated, copper-domed Capitol Building is an elegant showcase for state government. Alpine coolness, fresh-air forests and sparkling blue water distinguish Lake Tahoe, nested in the Sierra Nevada range. Swimming, boating, fishing and gaming are on the menu at the restaurants, lodges, hotels and casinos of South Lake Tahoe and Incline Village, NV. In winter, the area is a powdery playground for skiers and snowboarders. En route are the Solano County attractions of Vallejo, Fairfield, Vacaville and Benicia, California’s third state capital. Directions: From the Bay Bridge, take I-80 east to Sacramento, the Sierra and Lake Tahoe. Amtrak’s Sacramento bound Capitol Corridor trains connect via shuttle from the Ferry Building to the depot in Emeryville.
Yosemite / Central Valley One of the crown jewels of America’s national park system, Yosemite National Park rises dramatically east of the flat, fertile Central Valley four hours from San Francisco. Yosemite, loved by families, hikers and climbers in spring and summer, is festooned with attractions: the long free-fall of Yosemite Falls, the looming granite stolidity of Half Dome, the rough rockface of El Capitan, the polished Western elegance of the 1924 Ahwahnee Hotel. Driving the Central Valley on Interstate 5, it would be easy to miss the valley’s importance. Four hundred miles long and flanked by mountain ranges, this irrigated, intensively cultivated basin has been called the greatest garden in the world. Directions: East from The City over the Bay Bridge, south on Highway 880, east on 580 and 205 to Manteca, south on 99 to 120, east on 120 to the northwest gate of Yosemite National Park.
Monterey / Carmel South of the Bay Area, by the sea, the famous fishing town of Monterey recalls its past and draws visitors in search of history’s charm with refurbished shops along Cannery Row. Add to that its state-of-the-art Monterey Bay Aquarium and taste-of-the-sea restaurants on Fisherman’s Wharf. Monterey’s neighbour, Carmel, boasts one of the state’s most expansive public beaches, the impossibly picturesque 17-Mile Drive, justifiably famous Pebble Peach golf links and eminently walkable downtown with its one-of-a kind shops and cafes. The cuisine is especially toothsome; think California fresh with French accents. The Carmel Mission is one of the finest and it is still a working parish church. Directions: Head south on Highway 280, take 17 through the Santa Cruz Mountains and connect with California 1 to Monterey and Carmel.
