So I was thinking of going to San Fran for a nice short vacation (3 nights or so) in a couple of weeks. I want to stay in the downtown area so I can just walk everywhere, unless you have been there before and recommend getting a rental (I heard they charge something rediculous like $30+ a night for parking, even if you're staying at that hotel! ) So what do you guys recommend I see/do if I decide to book a flight/3 night stay at San Fran?
Stay down by Fisherman's warf, you can catch a cable car to downtown if you like. If you are into wine head up to Napa for a day or so.... Go to Alcatraz, and there is a WW2 Submarine called the Pampinato it is awesome if you are into that stuff. Also get some clam chowder. DD
Been there 3 times and it's a great city. Here's a list of things you should see. Chinatown Japantown Coit Tower Ghiradelli Square The Exploratorium Go see Barry "Balco" Bonds hit a homer Golden Gate Bridge and Sausalito Head down Highway 1 to Monterey and Big Sur Fisherman's Wharf (DaDakota is right...get some clam chowder in a bread bowl) Lombard Street
Thanks for the suggestions. BTW, isn't the Fisherman's Wharf in the Downtown area? I will most likely be staying at the Marriot downtown...
going to chinatown eat eat eat if you are into latino stuff go here. this place was huge http://www.cafecocomo.com/
Any good restaurants in Chinatown you guys recommend? Hmm...Belly dancers sounds like fun, I might check it out...
LOTS of strip clubs in SF proper. More than houston. There's some place that has like a 4 story giant Las Vegas/motion style sign of a stripper. IIRC Fisherman's Warf is as far north as you can go. Chinatown is sorta south-southeast and to the east of that is the tenderloin which is the armpit of SF, so be careful. You are really missing out on some great nature if you don't rent a car. Yosemite is beyond amazing and Herst Castle is pretty darn cool too. They are both within driving range of SF. The redwood forests up in Marin county are also pretty special. Really, the reason that SF is such a desirable place to live is because of the generally nice weather and the amazing natural environment. Oh... another interesting place is the Cliff House, where there's a decent touristy restraunt and the ruins of the Sutro Baths. While there you can go down the coast and see all of the old WWII forts and gun emplacements.
I just realized how much I hate you for making this thread. It's reminding me how bad I want to live there someday, which will probably be impossible due to cost of living Ok, I guess I don't really hate you.
Muir Woods (redwoods) Napa Valley UC Berkley Campus and surrounding area de Young Museum (great building by Swiss Architects Herzog & de Meuron)
yeah what he said, except i lived there for 2 yrs already.... and except for some of the people, i miss it all. the weather is amazing pretty much year round. thick fog in the morning, and then perfect no humidity the rest of the day. and to repeat a couple must dos: coit tower, ghiradelli square (get some chocolate), fisherman's wharf, and if you do end up renting a car rather than taking the train around the city head out to yosimite and take a camera with you.
take the trolley around. thats what i did. however, i had some friends who live in the town so i had some free lodging and travel guide. i took some boat tour of the golden gate bridge, before magneto screwed it up
i rolled the dice on that. i ate and snacked in chinatown too, so i hit up some bakeries and asian smoothie joints. im sure you will have no problem finding something good, they have tons of zagat rated places. i actually ate pho there at a chinese joint. they spoke in chinese and they served vietnamese food. the pho was... AWESOME!!!!!
Nothing set in stone just yet, I am not even sure if San Fran is going to be my destination, but it's the one place I am most intrigued by. If I go, probably will be 2-3 weeks from now.
Some good restaurants, at least when I used to live there: Roy's Hawaiian Fusion in South of Market area BeetleNut (Thai) in the Marina District The Stinking Rose (Italian) in North Beach Meccadai (Middle Eastern) in North Beach Palio (North Italian) on Montgomery Street That's all I can remember bro....It's been a while I would recommend getting a hotel room close to Union Square, which has cable cars running directly to the Wharf and is also close walking distance to Chinatown and as well as the niteclub and bar scene South of Market. You should also book a rental car for one day so that you can drive across the Golden Gate to Marin County. Check out Sausalito, the Marin Highlands, and if you have time the Redwoods. You might also want to take the drive further up to Stinson Beach as well (about a 1.5 hr drive from SF). There are myriad other places to visit, including Tahoe, Yosemite, Carmel, Napa Valley. But with only 2-3 days you'll have to save those for another trip. Have a great trip dude.
