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FlamesPuck12 · 02-01-2017, 01:30 AM

I currently live in San Francisco, but being in my 20's, my recommendations are biased towards restaurants and bars.
There are really great microbreweries all over the city and fancy cocktail bars, so if anyone is looking for recommendations on these, feel free to PM me.

Here is my list of touristy things to do in San Francisco (not including Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz since you're already visiting those).

Regarding the Embarcadero walk:
- Embarcadero walk is pretty good. Start from the Ferry Building and head north towards Fisherman's Wharf.
- As PepsiFree mentioned, Exploratorium is a good science museum for kids, so you may want to visit that along the way.
- I actually recommend going to Pier 39. It's definitely a tourist trap but I don't mind the touristy vibe of Pier 39. There's also sea lions on the docks at Pier 39 so your kid may be interested in visiting Pier 39.
- In Fisherman's Wharf, there's an antique arcade called Musee Mechanique (https://goo.gl/maps/awXh83Scz652) on the pier. It's free to enter and all the arcade games are antique arcade games so your kid might enjoy this place as well.
- Behind Musee Mechanique, your kid might be interested in visiting the military ship (SS Jeremiah O'Brien) and submarine (USS Pampanito). There's an entrance fee for both of these though, but it's relatively cheap.
- There's the only In-N-Out Burger place in San Francisco in this area as well. Definitely recommend grabbing a double-double from here.
- I would recommend continuing west towards Ghirardelli Square and visiting the chocolate shop. I would recommend getting a sundae from the chocolate shop.
- While you're in this area, it's worth visiting North Beach (Little Italy) and Chinatown. Things to check out here: Coit Tower, Lombard Street, bunch of gelato shops, and really good Italian food.
- My recommendation is to have dinner at Tony's Pizza (my favorite pizza place in San Francisco) but expect 1-2 hour wait. They don't take reservations so I would recommend getting on the waitlist before exploring the area.

Other touristy things:
- Ride the Cable Car from Powell station on Market street. I would recommend taking Powell/Hyde line since this goes up the hill that Lombard street is on.
- Hike up Twin Peaks during a sunny day. It's one of the highest points in San Francisco, so you get a really good view of the city, the ocean, the bridges, etc.
- Dolores Park is the hipster park in San Francisco. It's near Twin Peaks so you might want to visit it after the hike. Definitely visit Bi-Rites Ice Cream and get salted caramel ice cream (in my opinion, the best ice cream in the city) and get some dessert pastries from Tartine across the street.
- For beaches, I would recommend Baker beach more than Ocean beach. Ocean beach is pretty boring (just the view of the ocean) where as Baker beach has really good view of Golden Gate Bridge.
- If you're up for a short hike around the beaches, check out Land's End trail. It's on top of a cliff, looking down at the ocean so the view of the ocean from the trail is spectacular. Along the trail, you can go down to a ship-wreck beach which is pretty neat. At the end of the trail, you should check out Sutro Baths.
- If you hike the Land's End trail, there's a restaurant at the end of the trail with fantastic view called Cliff House. It's not too expensive, but it's on the pricier side.
- Golden Gate Park is also worth visiting. If your kid likes museums, definitely visit Cal Academy of Science in the Golden Gate Park. Also worth visiting in the park includes Conservatory of Flowers, Japanese Tea Garden, Botanical Garden. You can also rent rowing boats from Stow Lake (which is in the middle of the park) and go around the lake.
- If you're in downtown, you should visit Yerba Buena park and Union Square. There's a place called Wise Sons and they sell the best bagels in the city (get the everything bagel with their whipped cream cheese). Their reuben sandwich is also really really good.

I would recommend staying in San Francisco instead of Oakland. Oakland is a lot sketchier than San Francisco and there are some sketchy areas there I wouldn't want to stay in.
That being said, in San Francisco, avoid Tenderloin (inner city) and SOMA in the evenings.

Let me know if you have any questions (or if you want some restaurant and bar suggestions)

02-01-2017, 01:30 AM	#39
FlamesPuck12 First Line Centre Join Date: Apr 2007 Exp:	I currently live in San Francisco, but being in my 20's, my recommendations are biased towards restaurants and bars. There are really great microbreweries all over the city and fancy cocktail bars, so if anyone is looking for recommendations on these, feel free to PM me. Here is my list of touristy things to do in San Francisco (not including Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz since you're already visiting those). Regarding the Embarcadero walk: - Embarcadero walk is pretty good. Start from the Ferry Building and head north towards Fisherman's Wharf. - As PepsiFree mentioned, Exploratorium is a good science museum for kids, so you may want to visit that along the way. - I actually recommend going to Pier 39. It's definitely a tourist trap but I don't mind the touristy vibe of Pier 39. There's also sea lions on the docks at Pier 39 so your kid may be interested in visiting Pier 39. - In Fisherman's Wharf, there's an antique arcade called Musee Mechanique (https://goo.gl/maps/awXh83Scz652) on the pier. It's free to enter and all the arcade games are antique arcade games so your kid might enjoy this place as well. - Behind Musee Mechanique, your kid might be interested in visiting the military ship (SS Jeremiah O'Brien) and submarine (USS Pampanito). There's an entrance fee for both of these though, but it's relatively cheap. - There's the only In-N-Out Burger place in San Francisco in this area as well. Definitely recommend grabbing a double-double from here. - I would recommend continuing west towards Ghirardelli Square and visiting the chocolate shop. I would recommend getting a sundae from the chocolate shop. - While you're in this area, it's worth visiting North Beach (Little Italy) and Chinatown. Things to check out here: Coit Tower, Lombard Street, bunch of gelato shops, and really good Italian food. - My recommendation is to have dinner at Tony's Pizza (my favorite pizza place in San Francisco) but expect 1-2 hour wait. They don't take reservations so I would recommend getting on the waitlist before exploring the area. Other touristy things: - Ride the Cable Car from Powell station on Market street. I would recommend taking Powell/Hyde line since this goes up the hill that Lombard street is on. - Hike up Twin Peaks during a sunny day. It's one of the highest points in San Francisco, so you get a really good view of the city, the ocean, the bridges, etc. - Dolores Park is the hipster park in San Francisco. It's near Twin Peaks so you might want to visit it after the hike. Definitely visit Bi-Rites Ice Cream and get salted caramel ice cream (in my opinion, the best ice cream in the city) and get some dessert pastries from Tartine across the street. - For beaches, I would recommend Baker beach more than Ocean beach. Ocean beach is pretty boring (just the view of the ocean) where as Baker beach has really good view of Golden Gate Bridge. - If you're up for a short hike around the beaches, check out Land's End trail. It's on top of a cliff, looking down at the ocean so the view of the ocean from the trail is spectacular. Along the trail, you can go down to a ship-wreck beach which is pretty neat. At the end of the trail, you should check out Sutro Baths. - If you hike the Land's End trail, there's a restaurant at the end of the trail with fantastic view called Cliff House. It's not too expensive, but it's on the pricier side. - Golden Gate Park is also worth visiting. If your kid likes museums, definitely visit Cal Academy of Science in the Golden Gate Park. Also worth visiting in the park includes Conservatory of Flowers, Japanese Tea Garden, Botanical Garden. You can also rent rowing boats from Stow Lake (which is in the middle of the park) and go around the lake. - If you're in downtown, you should visit Yerba Buena park and Union Square. There's a place called Wise Sons and they sell the best bagels in the city (get the everything bagel with their whipped cream cheese). Their reuben sandwich is also really really good. I would recommend staying in San Francisco instead of Oakland. Oakland is a lot sketchier than San Francisco and there are some sketchy areas there I wouldn't want to stay in. That being said, in San Francisco, avoid Tenderloin (inner city) and SOMA in the evenings. Let me know if you have any questions (or if you want some restaurant and bar suggestions)