San Francisco Things to Do Tips by spartan

Cruise along the historic San Francisco waterfront, under the world-famous Golden Gate Bridge, past Sausalito in Marin County, by Angel Island and around Alcatraz.

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Phone: (877) 641-8687
Address: 165 Jefferson Street
Directions: Located near Fisherman's Wharf
Website: http://www.usaadventure.com

Long a port for the city's fishing fleet, Fisherman's Wharf is still San Francisco's main depot for fish handling and processing. Most of the work takes place in the wee hours of the morning, and has already ended by the time most tourists start arriving.

By midmorning, tourist shops and amusements along Jefferson Street have opened, and the area takes on its carnival flavor. Among the attractions are a wax museum, Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum, Guinness Museum of World Records, Ghirardelli Square, Pier 39, and the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park.

During the season that runs from mid-November to June, you can choose your own Dungeness crab, live or already cooked, from sidewalk vendors. Alternatively, head for one of the seafood restaurants around the harbor.

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The Domingo Ghirardelli family produced chocolate here from 1893 until the early 1960s. Now Ghirardelli Square is the finest of the warehouse malls in San Francisco, with great views of the bay, landscaped gardens, and 60 shops and restaurants, including a don't-miss classic ice-cream parlor.

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Phone: (415) 775-5500
Address: 900 North Point St./Larkin St
Directions: Located near Fisherman's Wharf)
Website: http://www.ghirardellisq.com/

Pier 39 is located on the northernmost point of the San Francisco peninsula providing visitors with postcard views of Alcatraz, the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges, the San Francisco Bay and the City skyline. Among the popular amusements at this attraction are a carousel, the Turbo Ride, the vast Namco Cyber Station Arcade, and the UnderWater World aquarium. More fun comes in the form of watching the resident sea lion population lolling on the dock.

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Phone: (415) 705-5500
Address: The Embarcadero/Beach St.
Directions: Located at Fisherman's Wharf.
Website: http://www.pier39.com/home.cfm

Lombard Street is known as 'the crookedest street in the world' because of its eight sharp turns on a 40-degree slope. The turns, known as switchbacks, were built in the 1920s to allow traffic to descend the steep incline. The street zigzags around beautiful flowers and shrubs and offers a nice view of the bay. There are stairways (without curves) on either side of the street for pedestrians. The descent begins at Hyde Street.

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Address: Located in the Russian Hill district
Website: http://www.sftravel.com/lomabardcrookedstreet.html

Alcatraz, Spanish for pelican, was named Isla de los Alcatraces after the birds that were the island's only inhabitants. The island served as a military fortification in the 1850s and an incarceration facility for war prisoners during the Spanish-American War. In 1934 Alcatraz became the infamous maximum-security prison for Mafia criminals and high-risk convicts. Famous island residents have included 'Machine Gun' Kelly, Al Capone and Robert 'Birdman' Stroud.

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Address: Out in the middle of the San Francisco Bay
Directions: For ferry schedule, prices and to purchase tickets visit http://www.blueandgoldfleet.com.
Website: http://www.nps.gov/alcatraz

Although the island is only a mile from shore, there is no evidence of any successful escapes across the icy bay. The prison was the only one in the federal system that touted hot showers-a luxury designed to keep prisoners from acclimating to cold water.

A federal penitentiary until 1963, "The Rock" is now a popular tourist attraction. The 12-acre island is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and is accessible only by the Blue & Gold Fleet ferry which departs daily from Pier 41 at Fisherman's Wharf.

From 1969 to 1971, a group of American Indians seized the island as a protest against the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Much of the island was destroyed during this period, but the main block, mess hall and lighthouse remain intact.

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Website: http://www.nps.gov/alcatraz

The Golden Gate Bridge (Highway 101 North) links San Francisco with Marin County. Before its completion in 1937, the bridge was considered unbuildable because of foggy weather, 60-mile-per-hour winds and strong ocean currents sweeping through a deep rugged canyon below. At a cost of $35 million, the 1.2-mile bridge took more than four years to build. Eleven men lost their lives during construction.

Often shrouded in thick fog, the bridge sways 27 feet to withstand winds of up to 100 miles per hour. The color of the bridge, known as International Orange, was chosen because it blends well with the bridge's natural surroundings. The two great cables contain enough strands of steel wire (80,000 miles) to encircle the equator three times. The concrete poured into its piers and anchorages would pave a five-foot wide sidewalk from New York to San Francisco.

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Phone: (415) 921-5858
Directions: The Golden Gate Bridge is located on U.S. Highway 101 and provides a vital link between The City of San Francisco and the counties to the north.
Website: http://www.goldengatebridge.org

One of the largest urban parks in the world, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) encompasses more than 72,000 acres with 28 miles of coastline and includes many of San Francisco and Marin County's most popular sights. The Presidio served as a military station for more than 200 years. Union regiments trained here during the Civil War. Approximately 1,600 acres of parks and beaches are located in this northwest corner of the City.

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Phone: (415) 561-4300
Directions: The Presidio can be reached from the north by crossing the Golden Gate Bridge (Highways 1 and 101); from the east by way of Lombard Street (Highway 101); and from the south via Highway 1.
Website: http://www.nps.gov/goga

Take a scenic walk or bike ride along the three-mile Golden Gate Promenade which starts at Aquatic Park, passes Fort Mason and the Marina Green and ends at Fort Point near the base of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Fort Mason is a renovated cluster of army barracks which house a variety of nonprofit organizations and small cultural museums.

Fort Point is a three-tiered brick structure built in 1853 to fortify the Bay Area during the Civil War. Although the fort contains 150 cannons, it was never used for active defense. Today it's a museum offering daily tours.

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Phone: (415) 561-4323
Website: http://www.nps.gov/goga