San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and other San Francisco, CA Things to Do Tips

The building in itself is a work of art; to get the full impact, cross 3rd St. towards Yerba Buena Gardens, then turn around and look. Open every day but Wednesday; and a handy tip for budget travellers: the first Tues of every month it is free. You could easily spend the day looking at the exhibits and browsing in the excellent gift shop. This Paul Klee poster is one of many that you can buy; picture from SFMOMA website.

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Phone: 415-357-4000
Address: 151 3rd St
Website: www.sfmoma.org

This was, until recently, San Francisco's tallest building, but still is a modern symbol of the city. Completed in 1972, and designed by William Pereira, it is a 48-story structure with a 212 foot spire.

They no longer offer tours of the building.

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Address: 600 Montgomery Street
Directions: At the intersection of Montgomery and Clay Streets.
Website: www.transamerica.com

Even though it is maybe considered "touristy" a trip to San Francisco is not complete without a visit to Chinatown. You can wander around on your own, or take advantage of many of the offered walking tours. Being on some of the side streets reminded me of being in Hong Kong.

Grant Ave. is mostly tacky tourist stuff, so hop over to Stockton St., where the business are more geared toward locals. The day we wandered around, it was a Sunday, and there was a festive feeling to the air with colorful lanterns strung up and across the streets, street musicians playing Chinese instruments, and the smells of delicous food wafting out of restaurants.

If you are on a tight budget, food here is very cheap and you can have an inexpensive meal at one of the many noodle houses or bakery cafes. There are lots of bargains to be had here as well, if you shop around.

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Directions: Chinatown is roughly bordered by Stockton St., Montgomery, and Bush Streets.

The Chinatown Gate is at the corner of Grant and Bush Sts.
Website: http://www.sanfranciscochinatown.com/

My husband and I loved wandering around the North Beach area. There is so much to see there -- Washington Square, Telegraph Hill and Coit Tower. Also, for fans of Jack Kerouac and "The Beat Generation", there's VesuvioCafe, City Lights Bookstore and their other old haunts. I found the City Lights Bookstore somehow disappointing, perhaps expecting more. I went up to the Poetry Room -- creaky unkept wooden floors and haphazard piles of books--and got no sense of the creativity that once must have thrived there. However, there is a good selection of the "Beats" books. I would recommend City Lights only for diehard literary types.

Lots of cafes and restaurants for hanging out and people watching.

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Address: Columbus Ave.
Directions: Take a day and start near the Transamerica Pyramid on Washington St. and head north on Columbus Ave. to Washington Square. Muni buses 15 and 30 go through North Beach.

This 210 foot tower is located on Telegraph Hill, named after Lillie Hitchcock Coit, who was a San Francisco eccentric that was also known to enjoy a good fire. She was adopted as a mascot of a fire fighting unit, and rarely missed a blaze. What does the tower have to do with fires? Absolutely nothing. Coit left a large sum of money to build the monument after she died, as therefore, is aptly named.

Don't miss the beautiful murals painted inside the ground floor which encircle the tower, and can be viewed for free. They were painted during the 1930's and carry strong socialist themes, which were very controversial at that time.

The views from the top of the tower is amazing, and you can get there by paying the $3.00 elevator fare. You can also chose to ignore the "tips appreciated" sign hung up by the highly unenthusiastic elevator operator as we did. Open daily from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm

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Phone: 415-362-0808
Address: Telegraph Hill
Directions: Muni bus No. 39 goes all the way to the top of Telegraph hill, which we noticed as we sweated up the steep climb. It was a nice ride down, though :o)

This beautiful structure, in classical architectural style, is from the 1915 Panama International Exposition. It was originally made out of stucco, but was recast in concrete in the 1960's.

The Exploratorium is located behind it, and is basically a science museum. The appeal of most of the exhibits relies on bystander participation, with a scientific explanation for the effect caused. Be forwarned, though, many of the exhibits would probably appeal to science geeks only, as the scientific theories behind them become quite complicated. I would recommend allowing perhaps an hour, especially if you are with kids. We found the gift shop is fun to browse in, and you can find a gift for that scientist in your life. The picture is from the Palace of Fine Arts Website.

Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00am to 5:00 pm, free the first Wednesday of the month.

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Phone: 415-561-0360
Address: 3601 Lion St. at Bay St.
Website: www.exploratorium.edu/history/palace/
Other Contact: www.exploratorium.edu/

Originally an area of windswept sand dunes, it started being transformed in 1871 into San Francisco's biggest park. The park is comprised of gardens, lakes, museums, and other attractions. The Academy of Sciences, de Young Museum and Japanese Gardens are located here.

The day we were at the park, we were having no luck with any of the museums, as they were closed for one reason or another. The Academy of Sciences was shut down due to a fire the night before, and the de Young Museum was closed for renovation. So, left to enjoy the natural attractions of the park itself, all we could do was stroll around. We particularly enjoyed the Strybing Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, which is about 70 acres in itself, and is comprised of smaller "theme" gardens, with plants from around the world. We were particularly moved by the AIDS Memorial Grove; there are many engraved benches and stones there dedicated to loved ones who had died of AIDS.

After closing it's doors for 4 years , the de Young Museum reopened Oct. 15, 2005.

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Directions: Golden Gate Park is bordered from north to south by Fulton St. and Lincoln Way; also bordered by Stanyan St. from the east, to Great Highway to the West. Very easily accessible by public transit.
Website: www.strybing.org

Once serving as a major transportation hub before the Golden Gate and Bay bridges were built, the Ferry Building was recently renovated to again provide transportation to Larkspur and Sausalito. Besides the Golden Gate Ferry service that operates at the building, the main floor market place is a mecca to foodies and showcases California agriculture and cuisine. And ... it's just plain fun to browse!

The Marketplace runs along the main floor, with offices on the 2nd and 3rd floor.

My fave shops were:

Frog Hollow Farms - Fresh fruit, preserves and pastries

Lu Lu Petite - Condiments galore

Recchiuti Confections - Unusual chocolates (try the lavender vanilla cremes and the fleur de sel caramels)

Far West Fungi - All things fungi plus truffles in all forms; go on, buy that bottle of black truffle oil you've been wanting

Stonehouse California Olive Oil - Make sure to try the blood orange and roasted garlic olive oils

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Address: One Ferry Building, The Embarcadero
Directions: Most easily accessible from the foot of Market Street.
Website: http://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/index.html

Known as one of the warmest areas of the city, the Mission District often escapes the fog. The eclectic mix of businesses, latino atmosphere and newer restaurants and shops make it a most interesting place to spend the day. There is a high concentration of murals in this area as well. You can drop by the Precita Eyes Mural Arts Centre(415-285-2287), which conduct walking tours.

Wandering down a side street, we came across a community garden, reclaimed from an empty lot by a group of neighbors. Sitting in the sun amongst the towering sunflowers and rows of well-tended plants, we couldn't think of a better place to be.

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Directions: Start at the corner of Dolores St. and 16th St; head east on 16th St., then hang a right at Valencia St., and wander down to 24th St.

We decided to skip the fog and cool temperatures and take the ferry to Sausalito one day. It's amazing how San Francisco is cloaked in fog and the mist falls away as you cross the water near Alcatraz, and head towards Marin County.

If you want to see the Ferry Building as well, just combine it with a trip to Sausalito, as you can catch the Golden Gate Ferry from the Ferry Building. We visited the farmer's market in the morning, had lunch at the Ferry Building, and caught the afternoon ferry to Sausalito.

The main reason to go to Sausalito is to get some sun, and look at art galleries and unique crafts. I would probably categorize it as a girl's side trip, though my husband did find enough to not get bored. I found the shopping was okay though pretty touristy, with some albeit unique shops and galleries thrown in.

One of Sausalito's saving graces is some very nice views if you walk along the waterfront. If you don't find time to go to Sausalito, you are not missing out on a life-changing experience.

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Directions: Just off the northern end of Golden Gate Bridge