San Francisco Things to see

When visiting San Francisco take time to see Union Square in the centre of the city, with the city luminous signs, the large stores, among which Macy’s, Saks and the Levi’s Store, and the fancy hotels. Powell Street nearby is a lively street famous for its cable-car, a ride on the cable-car is a must; the Powell-Hyde line goes up Powell from Market Street as far as Chinatown and then descends to Fisherman’s Wharf via Nob Hill offering an amazing view over Alcatraz.

The Transamerica Pyramid is the tallest building in the city and is recognizable from the distance for its peculiar shape; it was built in 1972 and is not open to the public.
A ride on the historic tram (F Line) that from Market Street connects Fisherman’s wharf with Castro going along Embarcadero is also a must; the carriages date back to the first after war and come from all over the States and Europe.
Russian Hill, Nob Hill and Telegraph Hill are the most famous hills in the city, the view over the bay and the Victorian houses of Pacific Heights on one side and of the city centre and the Coit Tower on the other are worth the climb.
The Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill, open between 10am and 6pm, offers breathtaking views over the city and the bay.
Washington Square, the ideal place to rest after a visit to the Coit Tower, is the heart of North Beach, its lawns are crowded on sunny days and if you get there early in the morning you’ll be able to see Chinese people practicing tai-chi. North Beach is also a good place to spend the evening with many bars and restaurants.
Pier 39 is the last of the commercial centres in Fisherman’s Wharf, it is all made of wood and strong colours; the lively atmosphere with clowns, acrobats and fair attractions make it ideal for children. The Pier also hosts the Aquarium of the Bay and is the starting point for the seaplane that flies over the city.
The Aquarium of the Bay is a wonderful journey among life under the Bay, the best part is the walk underwater through a glass tunnel from where to admire life under the wharf continuing under the Golden Gate Bridge and the open sea among the rocks, sharks, tuna and many other species occasionally there is even the odd sub to add to the reality of the experience.
Mission is the area to visit on foot, in particular for the high concentration of murals that are the landmark of the district. The murals on Balmy Alley, a parallel to Folsom Street, treat topics such as the Indian resistance, AIDS victims and Mexican film; the Women’s Building, a three-story building on Lopidge Street, is covered by colourful murals representing women from all over the world.

The island of Alcatraz with the former US prison known as the Rock famous for the strict rules and the impossibility to escape. To visit the prison contact Blue&Gold Fleet on Pier 41.
The Golden Gate Bridge is one of the most famous hanging bridges, 2789m long it crosses the bay linking San Francisco to Marin County. Its image often surrounded by fog is somewhat mysterious, on a clear day the view over the bay is breathtaking. Cars must pay a 5$ fee when exiting the Bridge at the San Francisco’s end, while it is free at the other end. The bridge can also be crossed by bicycle, in which case it would be nice to return by ferry from Sausalito, which is about 3 miles from the bridge.
San Francisco has three parks all facing the ocean, Presidio overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, Lincoln Park with the famous Cliff House and the Golden Gate Park ideal for cycling.
Golden Gate Park next to the Haight-Ashbury district is a magnificent park 5km long and 800m wide. There are more than 6000 different types of plants from all over the world and more than 1000 trees. The park is too large to be visited on foot at once, with more than 10 km of cycling lanes hiring a bicycle could be an option, however it could be limiting if visiting the museums. The Japanese Tea Garden, the Strybing Arboretum and Botanical Gardens deserve a visit, as well as the Buffalo Paddock and the De Young Museum. The Music Concourse is the part of the park where bands and rock groups play for free, usually on Sunday afternoon.

East of San Francisco the university town of Berkeley deserves a visit, it is there that the protest movement against the Vietnam War originated.
Bolinas, 5 miles north of Stinson Beach, is a difficult place to find as the inhabitant even turn the signpost towards other directions to deviate the tourists; it is a town full of old time hippies, probably the only one left, that maintain their free way of living to extent of refusing to move the clock for energy saving.
Sausalito, situated north of San Francisco at the other end of the Golden Gate Bridge, has been known since the 1960s’ for the presence of hippy communities. Today it is the home of people who pretend to be hippies, yuppies and a lot of tourists. It is a lovely area to visit, but beware of the expensive shops and restaurants. The floating houses of many shapes and sizes are an interesting sight.

Angel Island, much larger than the neighbouring Alcatraz is often forgotten due to the fame of the latter; it is a lovely place for trekking, mountain biking and kayak excursions. It has 9 camping sites and offers beautiful views over the bay.
Finally on our list San Rafael, 10 miles north of Sausalito, is a lovely town accessible via the Golden Gate Ferry leaving from the Embarcadero on Market Street. The lovely village of Mill Valley parched on the hills is a lovely stop over on the way to the Muir Woods Park; particularly interesting for the Village Music shop, very popular amongst DJs and music collectors for the selections of rare records on different music genres. In the area Muir Beach and Stinson Beach are beautiful places for a dip in the ocean.