"Fog City Sojourn" San Francisco by razorbacker

Don't expect to see all the sights in one trip...unless it's a LONG one! My VERY best advice: get the City Pass for $59 on arrival or before. We got ours at the kiosk on Hallidie Plaza. The pass entitles you to unlimited transport for 7 days on all public municipal systems including buses, trolleys, AND cable cars, entrance to the Aquarium of the Bay, Museum of Modern Art, a Blue and Gold Bay cruise along the north shore, out past the Golden Gate, back around the far side of Alcatraz, and return to Pier 39, Boudin Museum & Bakery Tour, choice of entrance to the Exploratorium OR Legion of Honor OR de Young Museum. One sour note for us: de Young Museum refused to honor our pass without an additional $10 fee. We told them, "Thanks, but no, thanks."

Dinner at Joe

Food is excellent all over town. Relatively expensive but worth it. Indulge, or you won't realize what you've missed!

A taste of the architecture.

The architecture is fascinating all over town. A very enjoyable component of any visit. But it's not only the external architecture: one of my very favorite experiences was riding the Powell-Hyde cable cars in the evenings and gazing into the lighted apartment windows. They were left wide open to public view and richly, tastefully, and artfully decorated. A truly delightful experience. The public murals were another highlight.

• Pros:Great sights, great food, great fun!
• Cons:Mean streets, high prices, crazy traffic.
• In a nutshell:A memorable travel destination. Do your homework first.