San Francisco Things to Do Tips by sjvessey

Alcatraz Island

Scene of Hollywood movies such as 'Escape From Alcatraz', 'The Enforcer', and 'The Rock', this ex-prison is now a fascinating National Park. Take a boat over from near Pier 39, and spend an afternoon walking through the cell blocks. I highly recommend the audio tour - it really is worth the money. From the island you can see the Golden Gate Bridge, and there's a pretty good view of the whole Bay Area, so long as it isn't foggy (which it often is, even in the summer). See the travelogue for more photos.

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Address: San Francisco Bay.

See the Golden Gate Bridge

Ok, so everyone does it. But it really IS impressive. Drive across the bridge to the north side, and just on the right you can pull into a rest area and get a great view of the bridge and the whole bay, with Angel and Alcatraz Islands, the downtown skyline, and (if the weather's nice) a lot of yachts. Alternatively, on the left and up a small windy hill is a smaller pull-in where you can get out and walk to a position which overlooks the bridge from the other side. When the fog's rolling in, and covering half the bridge so it looks like it's going nowhere, it's an impressive sight. Allow a couple of hours if you're setting off from downtown.

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Coit Tower

Pay a few bucks and take the elevator to the top of Coit Tower for the best view in town. You get a 360 degree panorama, with all the main sights - Bay Bridge, downtown skyline (see photo), Nob Hill, the bay itself, Alcatraz Island, etc. If you need camera film, they sell it in the gift shop, but my advice is stock up in advance, because we are not talking cheap here.

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Address: You can't miss it.