My aunt is from there, so when I decided to go, she said: be prepared to be cold and there will be lots of homeless people. She was right on both accounts there.
I travelled with a friend and stayed near Union Square and, as two females on our own, we had no concerns. We stayed at Hotel Rex, which was a literary-themed small hotel and it was really nice, but I guess it's gone now. There's Emblem Hotel in its place, which is also literary themed. There's a lot of interesting places in the area. We found a tiny little basement bar that did improv shows right across the street from the hotel.
Alcatraz was great but we bought our tickets months ahead. That was pre-pandemic. I found Fisherman's Wharf really cheesy touristy and was probably our least favourite part. We went to Ghirardelli's for ice cream sundaes (another recommendation from my aunt) and it was great! We did a lot of wandering around - cable car, that twisty road (Lombard street), took a couple walking tours of different areas. We went out to Napa one day and took the Napa Valley Wine Train, which was a winery tour on an old-fashioned train.
Lived there and it was the coldest place I've ever lived. Spent literally decades in Calgary with many stints in Fort McMurray so that is saying something. I would not recommend a trip this time of year.
Carmel, Los Gatos, wine country just north of the city are all great.
Don't ever, ever call it "San Fran." The guy who posted in this thread saying his wife lived there can ask her what I mean. You can call it San Francisco or simply "The City," but nothing else.
There is no way anyone in their right mind thinks SF is colder than Calgary or Fort Mac.
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I went there while I was on a Flames trip one time in March and it definitely felt colder than Calgary at the same time but Calgary was having a chinook so that probably had something to do with it. I love California but was not a fan of their weather while I was there in late March.
Check out the Kensington Park hotel if you’re considering Union Square. We always stay there. About a block west of Union Sq on Post.
Decent and very quiet hotel. The best thing is if you book a corner view room you’re guaranteed a higher floor (above 10 or 12) because there’s no corner rooms lower next to the adjacent building. Those rooms are also at the opposite end of the floor from the elevators.
Streets are very noisy all hours in some parts of Union Square with loading/unloading, trash pickup all street side, plus sirens and street theatre. I’ve stayed in some other Union SQ places and got stuck with lower floor rooms facing the street and while entertaining it’s tough to sleep.
What kind of trip are you looking for? Food, brewpubs, cocktail bars, touristy things, hikes, etc?
Regarding where to stay, Union Square is safe. Tenderloin is pretty sketch at night but during the day and early evenings, there are a lot of great restaurants and bars there. Outside of Tenderloin, the only other places that are a bit sketch is area near 6th and Mission St, and pockets of Mission districts.
I was there in 1989. I was a young teenager so I can't say too much that is still relevant, but there is one thing that resonates with me still. Alcatraz. It was such a cool place to see. I'd love to go back.
I actually stayed near the airport in San Bruno, within walking distance of CalTrain (5 minutes) and the BART station (10 minutes).
I almost prefer CalTrain to the BART. While it doesn't get you directly into downtown, it is about a half hour walk away from the Ferry Building along the shore line. You can also catch the MUNI Streetcar from across the CalTrain SF terminal. CalTrain also gets you into San Jose right near the SAP Center if you want to go watch the Sharks.
If you plan on visiting the the Golden Gate Bridge, there is a free way to get there from Downtown SF. Look up PresidiGo shuttles/buses, it'll take you into the Presidio (Palace of Fine Arts area), then you can switch into another PresidiGo shuttle and it'll drop you off right at the parking lot to the Golden Gate Bridge Visitor's Center. The Presidio is a nice area to look around as well I think.
Fisherman's Wharf is touristy and the prices reflect it, for food if you want to stay in that area, I'd head over to Pier 39 (where all the seals are), prices are a bit better.
I've heard of people biking across the GGB to Sausalito and taking a ferry back. If you're like me and are a cheapskate, be careful which ferry you catch, Blue and Gold Line ferries are about double the price compared to Golden Gate ferry. Blue and gold drops you off at Fisherman's Wharf, while Golden Gate Ferry goes to the Ferry Building.
I didn't have time the last time I went, but I would have loved to go to the USS Hornet Museum in Alameda
Last edited by STeeLy; 11-01-2021 at 11:01 PM.
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Currently on a trip to the Bay Area as we type. I’ve been to San Francisco before but doing Sonoma and Monterrey in between some time in SF.
Union Square is totally safe and there aren’t really too many other areas to get good hotels within the city. Alcatraz and Muir woods are great. Rent some bikes and head to the west part of town. Great restaurants at all price ranges.
In terms of homeless people it’s not unlike other west coast cities. Vancouver seattle portland la are all the same. SF gets a bit more guff than it should. The embarcadero is a cool reminder of how cities can transform areas
Lived there and it was the coldest place I've ever lived. Spent literally decades in Calgary with many stints in Fort McMurray so that is saying something. I would not recommend a trip this time of year.
Carmel, Los Gatos, wine country just north of the city are all great.
Don't ever, ever call it "San Fran." The guy who posted in this thread saying his wife lived there can ask her what I mean. You can call it San Francisco or simply "The City," but nothing else.
I heard their tourism board is actively working to re brand the city San Fran.
The Giants, Warriors and 49ers are working the word mark into their 3rd Jerseys as part of a 2022 roll out
There is no way anyone in their right mind thinks SF is colder than Calgary or Fort Mac.
Well, not Calgary/Fort Mac cold, but mid 20C temperatures out there can easily be sweater and wind breaker weather vs t-shirts and shorts. It can get deceivingly cold there. No need for a winter jacket, but I'd definitely have at least a decent pair of long pants and a good wind breaking fall jacket packed into my luggage as a just in case.
My wife and I grabbed the city pass years ago and hit basically everything on it in a few days. No idea if the city pass is still decent value.
Two things I would highly suggest you do not do:
1. Do not walk or ride a bike along the Golden Gate bridge. You have vehicles blasting past you at high speed only a few feet away. If that's not loud enough, then if there's a wind, it'll be loud and cold too. I've been in packed bars that I think I've done less yelling to communicate than meandering on the Golden Gate bridge. It's a powder keg scenario for an argument. Everything around the Golden Gate bridge is pretty nice though.
2. Do not believe the walking durations on Google maps and Apple maps through the city. The time only felt relatively accurate along the piers, but through the city, they don't make sense for a tourist. On multiple occasions, what sometimes showed as 20-40 minute walks were easily 1.5 to 3x the duration while "sauntering". On top of that many seemingly simple paths felt like a hell of a trek. I'm guessing the times are based on someone with a walking pace on flat ground and never stopping. But you obviously stop and look around as a tourist and the combinations of uphill and downhill can really slow your pace to the time between destinations. This was annoying when we didn't have a fixed schedule, but when we had a reso to make, it could get frustrating pretty fast. If we got to our destination within approximately the time that the map says it would take, it felt like a workout.
For instance, Google map says Union to Fisherman's Wharf is 30-40 minutes. In reality, with a slower pace and stopping to look at things, it may easily take over an hour to an hour and a half. If it's over 15-20 minutes walk and you've built in your slower walking pace, consider the bus or an Uber or something instead of walking.
For instance, Google map says Union to Fisherman's Wharf is 30-40 minutes. In reality, with a slower pace and stopping to look at things, it may easily take over an hour to an hour and a half. If it's over 15-20 minutes walk and you've built in your slower walking pace, consider the bus or an Uber or something instead of walking.
If you're traveling from Union Square to the Wharf (and you should, because Union Square is the best place to stay and there are lots of things you'll want to do in/around the wharf) it's more fun to take the streetcar down Market to the wharf area. And obviously take the cable car (which also goes from Union Square to the wharf area) at least once.
Nobody's brought up beautiful and safe Oakland right across the bridge?
Oakland is actually both beautiful and safe in a lot of areas (I would say most but some areas are kind of industrial and run down), and absolutely worth the trip across the bridge (if you rent a car, in which case you should also check out Berkeley and, as mentioned, Alameda).
East bay is far better than the city overall, but if you want to check off the tourist stuff there’s little point in recommending a trip across the bridge.
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Stay in Berkley! For real. My favourite view of all time can be caught from the top of the Cal campus, you see downtown SF skyline on the left, Golden gate bridge on the right, and the sun sets right over top of them. Beautiful.
Also, drive down the coast to half moon bay at the very least.
Edit: I was last there right after Childish Gambino released because the internet, and got this sick life sync up of the song "telegraph ave" playing right as I exited the bridge into Oakland and rounded the oracle centre.
Cool timing.
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