SAN FRANCISCO ALISON BING JOHN A VLAHIDES

Transcription

1 discover SAN FRANCISCO ALISON BING JOHN A VLAHIDES

2 2 EMBARCADERO & THE BAY p51 THE HILLS & JAPANTOWN p133 NORTH BEACH & CHINATOWN p105 DOWNTOWN p81 GOLDEN GATE PARK & THE AVENUES p219 THE HAIGHT & HAYES VALLEY p195 MISSION, SOMA & CASTRO p159

3 3 DISCOVER SAN FRANCISCO Embarcadero & the Bay (p51) Imitate the sea lions and go gourmet by the sparkling bay. Downtown (p81) Grand buildings and great performances, plus dive bars and bargain Levis. North Beach & Chinatown (p105) Duck into alleys named after poets for cappuccino and hot fortune cookies. The Hills & Japantown (p133) Ride cable cars into the sunset, then rock and sushiroll the night away. Mission, SoMa & Castro (p159) Where the action is: clubs, skate parks, gallery openings and late-night burritos. The Haight & Hayes Valley (p195) Fashion rebels, bookish anarchists and the occasional Zen monk troll the sidewalks. Golden Gate Park & the Avenues (p219) Discover SF s wild streak alongside waddling penguins and charging bison. Day Trips (p243) Sip your way across Wine Country, wander mighty redwoods or contemplate crashing surf.

4 4 CONTENTS THIS IS SAN FRANCISCO 10 SAN FRANCISCO S TOP 25 EXPERIENCES 13 SAN FRANCISCO S TOP ITINERARIES 31 PLANNING YOUR TRIP 39 EMBARCADERO & THE BAY 51 HIGHLIGHTS 54 WALKING TOUR: BARBARY COAST 58 BEST 60 DISCOVER EMBARCADERO & THE BAY 61 SIGHTS 61 Embarcadero & the Piers 61 The Marina & the Presidio 65 SLEEPING 69 Embarcadero & the Piers 69 The Marina & the Presidio 70 EATING 71 Embarcadero & the Piers 71 The Marina & the Presidio 74 DRINKING 76 Embarcadero & the Piers 76 The Marina & the Presidio 76 ENTERTAINMENT & ACTIVITIES 76 Embarcadero & the Piers 76 The Marina & the Presidio 77 SHOPPING 78 Embarcadero & the Piers 78 The Marina & the Presidio 79 DOWNTOWN 81 HIGHLIGHTS 84 BEST 86 DISCOVER DOWNTOWN 87 SIGHTS 87 Downtown 87 Civic Center & the Tenderloin 89

5 5 SLEEPING 91 Downtown 91 Civic Center & the Tenderloin 94 EATING 95 Downtown 95 Civic Center & the Tenderloin 96 DRINKING 98 Downtown 98 Civic Center & the Tenderloin 99 ENTERTAINMENT & ACTIVITIES 99 Downtown 99 Civic Center & the Tenderloin 101 SHOPPING 102 Downtown 102 Civic Center & the Tenderloin 104 NORTH BEACH & CHINATOWN 105 HIGHLIGHTS 108 WALKING TOUR: NORTH BEACH BEAT 112 BEST 114 DISCOVER NORTH BEACH & CHINATOWN 115 SIGHTS 115 North Beach 115 Chinatown 118 SLEEPING 122 North Beach 122 Chinatown 123 EATING 123 North Beach 123 Chinatown 125 DRINKING 127 North Beach 127 Chinatown 128 ENTERTAINMENT & ACTIVITIES 128 North Beach 128 SHOPPING 129 North Beach 129 Chinatown 131 THE HILLS & JAPANTOWN 133 HIGHLIGHTS 136 BEST 140 DISCOVER THE HILLS & JAPANTOWN 141 SIGHTS 141 Russian & Nob Hills 141 Japantown & Pacific Heights 143 SLEEPING 147 Russian & Nob Hills 147 Japantown & Pacific Heights 148 EATING 149 Russian & Nob Hills 149 Japantown & Pacific Heights 151 DRINKING 152 Russian & Nob Hills 152 Japantown & Pacific Heights 152 ENTERTAINMENT & ACTIVITIES 152 Russian & Nob Hills 152 Japantown & Pacific Heights 153 SHOPPING 154 Russian & Nob Hills 154 Japantown & Pacific Heights 155 MISSION, SOMA & CASTRO 159 HIGHLIGHTS 162 BEST 166 DISCOVER MISSION, SOMA & CASTRO 167 SIGHTS 167 The Mission 167 SoMa 170 The Castro & Noe Valley 173 SLEEPING 174 The Mission 174 SoMa 175 The Castro & Noe Valley 176 EATING 176 The Mission 176 SoMa 178 The Castro & Noe Valley 180 DRINKING 181 The Mission 181

6 6 SoMa 181 The Castro & Noe Valley 182 ENTERTAINMENT & ACTIVITIES 182 The Mission 182 SoMa 186 Castro & Noe Valley 189 SHOPPING 190 SoMa 190 The Mission 190 The Castro & Noe Valley 193 THE HAIGHT & HAYES VALLEY 195 HIGHLIGHTS 198 WALKING TOUR: HAIGHT FLASHBACKS 200 BEST 202 DISCOVER THE HAIGHT & HAYES VALLEY 203 SIGHTS 203 SLEEPING 204 The Haight 204 Hayes Valley 206 EATING 207 The Haight 207 Hayes Valley 210 DRINKING 210 The Haight 210 Hayes Valley 212 ENTERTAINMENT & ACTIVITIES 213 The Haight 213 Hayes Valley 213 SHOPPING 213 The Haight 213 Hayes Valley 215 GOLDEN GATE PARK & THE AVENUES 219 HIGHLIGHTS 222 BEST 226 DISCOVER GOLDEN GATE PARK & THE AVENUES 227 SIGHTS 227 The Richmond 227 The Sunset 229 Golden Gate Park 229 SLEEPING 233 EATING 233 DRINKING 237 ENTERTAINMENT & ACTIVITIES 238 SHOPPING 240 DAY TRIPS 243 WINE COUNTRY 244 Napa Valley 244 Sonoma Valley 246 Russian River Valley 247 Healdsburg & Dry Creek Valley 248 MARIN COUNTY 249 Marin Headlands 250 Sausalito 250 Muir Woods 251 Mt Tamalpais 251 Point Reyes National Seashore 254 SF TO HALF MOON BAY 255 SAN FRANCISCO IN FOCUS 257 ARCHITECTURE 258 ARTS 261 FAMILY TRAVEL 266 FOOD & DRINK 268 GAY/LESBIAN/BI/TRANS 273 HISTORY 276 LIFESTYLE 282 LITERATURE 284 SHOPPING 287 SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL 289 DIRECTORY & TRANSPORTATION 291 Accommodations 292 Business Hours 292 Children 292 Climate 292

7 7 Embassies & Consulates 292 Holidays 293 Internet Access 293 Legal Matters 293 Medical Services 293 Money 294 Organized Tours 294 Taxes 294 Telephone 294 Tourist Information 295 Travelers with Disabilities 295 Visas 295 TRANSPORTATION 295 Air 295 Boat 296 Bus, Cable Car & Streetcar 297 Taxi 299 Train 299 BEHIND THE SCENES 301 INDEX 303 MAP LEGEND 312 EMBARCADERO & THE BAY p51 NORTH BEACH & CHINATOWN p105 THE HILLS & JAPANTOWN p133 DOWNTOWN p81 GOLDEN GATE PARK & THE AVENUES p219 THE HAIGHT & HAYES VALLEY p195 MISSION, SOMA & CASTRO p159

8 LEGEND GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE p65 Like dry ice at a rock concert, fog builds drama around these stunning orange deco towers Golden Gate ] 101 Golden Gate Bridge Freeway Primary Road Secondary Road Railway 0 1 km miles P A C I F I C O C E A N JAPANTOWN p133 Even Godzilla can't scare locals away from jazz clubs and Japanese spas b 1 CHINATOWN Lincol n Blvd Crissy Field ] 101 p105 Over 150 years of history are packed into these 21 pagoda-topped brick blocks Dr Doyle "S Exploratorium GOLDEN GATE PARK Lincoln Park p229 Where the west goes wild home to bison, penguins, towering redwoods and miniature maples China Beach Baker Beach The Presidio National Park Mountain Lake California St Pre sidioblvd Upper Great Hwy Fort Miley Point Lobos Ave Lincoln Way Fulton St Geary Blvd 25th Ave Golden Gate Park THE RICHMOND CrossoverDr Stow Lake Park Presidio Blvd b 1 Lincoln Way Balboa St Fulton St California "S Academy of Sciences Geary Blvd r Kezar D Turk Blvd The Panhandle Stanyan St Ocean Beach Upper Great Hwy THE HAIGHT Noriega St Sunset Blvd p195 The legendary hippie haunt is now home to anarchist muralists, drag designers and nonprofit kitchens THE SUNSET Noriega St b 1 19th Ave CASTRO THEATRE Never mind what's on the movie-palace marquee: the crowd and mighty Wurlitzer are alone worth the admission 7th Ave p174 Mt Sutro $ Laguna Honda Ave Clarendo n %O Forest Hill Interior Park Belt 17th St $ Twin Peaks $

9 Dolores St CITY LIGHTS San Francisco Bay Alcatraz p130 The bookstore that stands for free speech offers you a seat in the Poet's Chair ALCATRAZ The notorious island prison even America's most accomplished criminals couldn't escape COIT TOWER & TELEGRAPH HILL p61 p115 If the climb doesn't take your breath away, the murals, wild parrots and Bay vistas will THE MARINA PACIFIC HEIGHTS UPPER HAIGHT COLE VALLEY Marina Green Marina Blvd Divisadero St Haight St Buena Vista Park Divisadero St Alamo Square JAPANTOWN Turk St LOWER HAIGHT Duboce Park Castro St MUNI Station %O Harvey Milk Plaza THE CASTRO Fort Mason California St Geary Blvd 14th St Hayes St %O Van Ness Ave North Point St RUSSIAN HILL Broadway NOB HILL Montgomery St BART %O & MUNI Station UNION Powell St SQUARE THE BART & MUNI%O TENDERLOIN Station CIVIC CENTER San Francisco "À %O Civic Center Opera BART & MUNI HAYES Station VALLEY %O Van Ness MUNI Station Oak St Gough St Franklin St Central Fwy %O 16th St Mission BART Station Mission St California St S Van Ness Ave Lombard St Columbus Ave THE MISSION NORTH BEACH CHINATOWN Bush St Bush St Fell St 17th St Golden Gate Ave 16th St Market St Bay St Church St MUNI Station 17th St Guerrero St ] 101 Valencia St Pine St Bush St Mission St Geary St Turk St # Bay St Market St Sea Lions at Pier 39 10th St 8th St 9th St 16th St 6th St Folsom St ] 101 Battery St Howard St Broadway 5th St VU 80 Mission St FERRY BUILDING A transit hub turned locavore dining destination, featuring award-winning chefs and groundbreaking organic farmers 2nd St 3rd St %O Fremont St 1st St Main St %O %O Brannan St MUNI Station SOUTH OF MARKET (SOMA) Harrison St SFMOMA VU 80 p54 Wall-to-wall artistic inspiration, from Henri Matisse's oil paintings to Matthew Barney's Vaseline-smeared video SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY p170 p102 Conductor and Beethoven maestro Michael Tilson Thomas has more Grammys than your average rock star %O ALAMO SQUARE p204 A chorus line of Painted Lady Victorians pose for photo-ops along this windswept hilltop Evans Ave

10 10 THIS IS SAN FRANCISCO California is all about grand gestures, staggering sequoia trees and breathtaking coastline. But then there s San Francisco, that impertinent seven-by-seven-mile peninsula that sticks up into the Bay like a raised forefinger. Is it volunteering for parade duty, ordering sustainable sushi or just begging to differ? As this is San Francisco, the answer is obvious: all of the above. Good times and social revolutions tend to start here, from manic gold rushes to blissful hippie Be-Ins. Spontaneity is practically a local rule of law. If there s a skateboard move yet to be busted, technology still unimagined, poems left unspoken or a green scheme untested, chances are it s about to happen here. Yes, right now: this town has lost almost everything in earthquakes and dot-com gambles, but never its nerve. In this capital of radical reinvention, dinnertime may be the only tradition that s held sacred. Most meals begin with heads bowed, as San Franciscans seek menu suggestions from their social media networks on their smart phones all invented in the Bay Area, of course. With an abundance of ultrafresh, locally grown ingredients and the most restaurants per capita anywhere in North America, San Francisco is spoiled for choice.

11 11 No wonder composting is mandatory citywide: it s the least this pack of picky eaters can do to give back to the many pioneering local, organic farms that keep them so well fed. The city s population numbers under a million, yet everyone seems to converge on year-round farmers markets, same-sex weddings at City Hall or free concerts in Golden Gate Park and no one this town has lost almost everything in earthquakes and dot-com gambles, but never its nerve waits for an excuse to throw on some glitter and start a parade. Never afraid to lose its shirt on the next big idea, this town makes a virtue of shirtlessness at frequent street fairs and the clothing-optional end of Baker Beach. So consider permission permanently granted to step up, strip down and go too far. Once you get outlandish, you ve got the hang of San Francisco.