Tell me about San Francisco

[Jiri Hrdina]

Thinking about a getaway to San Fran. Never been.
Looking for any advice on things to see/do, but more urgently where to stay/not stay. Looking for an area and hotel that is safe, nice and accessible. Areas and/or specific hotels that folks would recommend would be great.

I don't know the city well at all, thus why I look to you CP to help me.

[LanceUppercut]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

Thinking about a getaway to San Fran. Never been.
Looking for any advice on things to see/do, but more urgently where to stay/not stay. Looking for an area and hotel that is safe, nice and accessible. Areas and/or specific hotels that folks would recommend would be great.

I don't know the city well at all, thus why I look to you CP to help me.

In no particular order for things to do:

• There's a fort under the Golden Gate bridge that I always like going to. I just find it interesting.
• There is a lighthouse out at Point Reyes that is pretty cool. It's a small drive to the north of San Francisco itself.
• Typical tourist stuff: Lombard Street/Cable Car ride/Alcatraz.
• Sausalito was neat when I was there many years ago, but haven't been there recently.
• Muir Woods is close by for a dose of giant redwoods.

I'm sure others will have a lot more interesting things to add, but I really enjoy San Francisco. One tip though, it can get pretty cold with the wind off the bay any time of year.


EDIT: Also watch where you step. Apparently there is a massive defecation problem going on, not sure how true that is though

[GGG]

If for some reason you are taking a public elevator stand at the front as someone will have urinated in the back.

It goes well with the city slogan

SAN Francisco: the city is your bathroom

If you want to do something a little different from the basic tourist attractions head up to mission with a bottle of wine and have a picnic to Mission Delores Park. It’s got a beautiful view of downtown Sanfrancisio and a playground if you have kids.

[PepsiFree]

Really depends on what kind of trip you want. In some cases, I would suggest staying outside of the city. But if you’re going to spend all your time in a pretty central area, staying within it makes sense.

If you’re going for the first time and want to be within the city, Union Square and the Embarcadero are the places to stay. They’re the nicest areas and closest to the most stuff. They’re also accessible by BART very easily. Some areas require a car, but driving in the city can be ####ing exhausting (especially if you need to do the bay bridge within 2 hrs of rush hour).

Actually, never drive anyone there during rush hour.

What are your priorities/must see stuff, if anything?

[Senator Clay Davis]

"The City is Your Bathroom" lol literally perfect summation. Great city, but man you just get whiffs of piss and poo everywhere. Pier 39 is like peak tourist trap, but still a lot of fun. And lots of great seafood places by the Wharf.

[djsFlames]

Hills, poop, island prison.

[81MC]

The Chancellor is near Chinatown - the oldest in North America. Nice quaint little hotel near union square, good rates and would recommend. Lots of the older boutique hotels have shared washrooms, make sure you keep an eye on that.

Columbus Ave (Jackson heights/Telegraph Hill?) is pretty cool, City Lights Books is worth it if you like independent arts and there’s some cool pubs/venues there. Wish I spent more time there.

Yea, there’s literally a #### tracking app. Though, they have no one to blame but themselves. There was pretty damning publications almost a decade ago about short term rentals increasing gentrification beyond any level of sustainability and I talked to people who had no choice but to live on the street because their rentals went up by thousands. Gotta #### somewhere I guess.

Beautiful city...stinks like piss and #### a lot of places. Homelessness everywhere. I don’t think it’s the same city Tony Bennet sung about. I’d go
back again and again, but god knows why.

[powderjunkie]

It's probably true about a lot of American cities, but it seemed especially true that just one block off the beaten path you could run into some pretty rough neighbourhoods.

Can't find the name of the place we stayed...I think it might have been the Westin near Union Square (or somewhere nearby that has changed names). No positive or negative memory of the hotel...Union Square area seemed like a nice central spot where a lot of stuff is within a long walk or streetcar.

Check out 'Urban Putt' in the Mission District. Beer and awesome/creative indoor miniputt. The who Mission District seemed nice if you want to be a little more low-key...not sure there are many hotels, but maybe more airbnbs.

Alcatraz is worth a visit.

If you like wine then I'd spend more time in Napa Valley...particularly Calistoga, but there are several nice towns.

I'm glad to have visited, but probably wouldn't spend more than a daytrip in downtown if we visited the area again...seems like lots of cool areas within a few hours to explore! Of course YMMV and I'm not as much of a 'big city' person these days (NYC and Europe excluded).

[DoubleK]

Wife used to live in San Fran.

There is some good advice here already.

Stay in/around Union Square.

The park at the Golden Gate Bridge is really nice.

Grab lunch and head to Alamo Square Park and have a picnic in front of the Painted Ladies.

Haight street is pretty cool.

[PepsiFree]

I will say this: anything anyone says about piss, poop, and dangerous areas is almost a 100% guarantee to be heavily exaggerated.

There are more homeless people than you would be used to in Calgary. There are places I would avoid generally, like the Tenderloin, but most of the places “to avoid” are not places you’re going to find yourself in. If it’s during the day or at night and busy, you’re safe. If it’s at night and you’re alone… you are still probably very safe.

You’ll read about an area like Mission being dangerous, but if you avoid you’re missing out something like La Tacqueria. You may think Haight Ashbury sounds cool, but you might go and realise the vibe is almost definitely rougher than you thought.

Mostly, just don’t worry much. I find people exaggerate the bad experiences more than the good.

[Jiri Hrdina]

I was advised by others NOT to stay in the Union Square area because it wasn't safe. sounds like it's OK though?

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

I will say this: anything anyone says about piss, poop, and dangerous areas is almost a 100% guarantee to be heavily exaggerated.

There are more homeless people than you would be used to in Calgary. There are places I would avoid generally, like the Tenderloin, but most of the places “to avoid” are not places you’re going to find yourself in. If it’s during the day or at night and busy, you’re safe. If it’s at night and you’re alone… you are still probably very safe.

You’ll read about an area like Mission being dangerous, but if you avoid you’re missing out something like La Tacqueria. You may think Haight Ashbury sounds cool, but you might go and realise the vibe is almost definitely rougher than you thought.

Mostly, just don’t worry much. I find people exaggerate the bad experiences more than the good.

I've spent a lot of time in Seattle which has a massive homelessness problem. I'm pretty comfortable with all that but want to be stationed in an area where I feel safe.

[Bunk]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

I was advised by others NOT to stay in the Union Square area because it wasn't safe. sounds like it's OK though?

It’s safe, but you have to be careful not to drift too much into The Tenderloin to the west/sw. It is mega sketch.

[chummer]

Dress warm, I was there in May and the wind off the bay was fricken cold.

Awesome city.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

I was advised by others NOT to stay in the Union Square area because it wasn't safe. sounds like it's OK though?

It’s fine, SUPER busy with a mix of tourists and working people. The Tenderloin is right close, so maybe that’s why someone was saying it’s unsafe, but Union itself is not. Just avoid heading SW.

From Union you can walk to Lombard, the Wharf, SF MOMA (absolute must), Embarcadero, Ferry Building, Chinatown, etc.

I’ve never felt remotely unsafe in that entire area.

[Bunk]

Other advice:

Cable car - touristy but super fun. Catch it near union square. Recommend the one that terminates at Beach and Hyde. Really cool route through Russian Hill.

From there, check out Fisherman’s Wharf.

Embarcadaro - including the Ferry Building. Nice Market inside

Chinatown. Really awesome.

Golden Gate Park (including lots of museums)

Baker Beach. Best place to check out the Golden Gate Bridge from IMO

Mission District (mission burrito is a must). Parks like Mission Delores Park is great.

Alamo Park and Painted Ladies

City Hall. Beautiful. Check out things like the Harvey Milk memorial. You can wander around pretty easily. Area often has events and markets going on.

Transamerica Pryamid and Coit tower.

It’s a wonderful, vibrant city. Amazing food too.

[ken0042]

We ended up booking a tour with Dylan’s tours; mostly as a last minute way to get tickets for Alcatraz. Turns out to have been a great investment. Got to see a lot of things that we would have otherwise missed. Just the right amount of time at all of the key spots.

https://www.dylanstours.com

[MegaErtz]

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.

[Cube Inmate]

https://museemecanique.com/#

Cool place if you stumble over to Fisherman's wharf.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Just remember, if you call it San Fran a bunch of people on the internet will freak out and tell you the locals will murder you.

Does anyone actually say the name of the city they’re in? Ever? When was the last time I said Calgary, except in a sporting context?

Edit: We got a live one!