San Francisco Recommendations?

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Headed there tomorrow.

[dead0man]

avoid the human feces in the street!

[Torie]

I found visiting the Alcatraz prison to be fascinating. There you will learn that Al Capone was a fine bridge player among other things. I really enjoy Golden Gate park, and viewing the plants, and the people, and the views all at once. (Nearby you can view Diane Feinstein's mansion, which has zero privacy, so you can examine it up close and personal.) As you traverse the park from east to west, you will notice that the climate changes. SF is a city of micro-climates.

[JA]

You already ignored my number one suggestion regarding San Francisco - don't go there.

[Technocracy Timmy]

I recommend the used needles, feces, and homeless.

[dead0man]

Has SF been stereotyped more different ways than any other city?  1st it was a "gold digger" town full of roughheads.  It was probably thought of as something else between then and 1960 (military?), but then it was "hippie" town.  Then it was gay.  Now the stereotype is of homeless people and all the obvious negatives that come with them.

[KingSweden]

Alcatraz and the Embarcadero/Fisherman’s Wharf

[Crumpets]

Definitely check out the Mission District - it's a great spot to grab a bite to eat. The whole North End is great too, but the closer you get to the water, the more touristy it gets. The wharf is worth doing once, but if you've ever been there before, it's better to spend your time trying something new.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Check out the Grateful Dead's old house on Height/Ashbury.

[💥💥 brandon bro (he/him/his)]

Increased multi-use and multi-family development, preferably near public transit.

[KingSweden]

Increased multi-use and multi-family development, preferably near public transit.

This is a reality-based forum

[Starry Eyed Jagaloon]

Increased multi-use and multi-family development, preferably near public transit.

Yes!

Anyway, have fun! San Francisco is a great city. See the touristy stuff, but I like to keep it to a minimum (Fisherman's Wharf, etc.) You can get anywhere on the MUNI busses and LRT. BART trains are the best way of getting from the airport to the city. If you take a cable car for the fun of it, board somewhere that is NOT Union Square or the Embarcadero.

Walk everywhere. A great loop is Ferry Building-Embarcadero-Coit Tower-North Beach-Lombard Street-Nob Hill-Chinatown-Union Square-Market Street-Ferry Building. It is also nice to see the residential/natural side of San Francisco with a Beach-Golden Gate Park-Presidio Heights-Legion of Honor-Cliffs walking loop. I've never been to Alcatraz, so can't say if it's worth it, but hiking around Angel Island is fun. The Golden Gate Bridge really is spectacular, and you should walk on it. Ferries are also a nice way to see the city from the water. From what I understand, you can go to the bridge, Muir Woods (a redwood grove in Marin) and the waterfront town of Sausalito by bus, then return to San Francisco by ferry. I don't know the specific details.

Eat lots of chocolate at Ghirardelli Square. Also, try ethnic food--Chinese (the best is actually out near Golden Gate Park), other Asian (all the Asian, really), Mexican and Central American, aspirational California yuppie--all the food is delicious. Picnics can also be good ways to save money in an expensive city. I also like the Giants, so enjoy seeing a ballgame when I'm in town.

When you've seen all the highlights, I like exploring the neighborhoods that ring the urban core on the south and west (from the NW--Marina (rich people by the beach), Pacific Heights (rich people in mansions on a hill), Western Addition (less rich people, painted ladies--best view in SF, spectacular City Hall building), Haight (weird people), The Castro (gay people), Noe Valley (affluent types in pleasant streets), Mission District (Latinos and hipsters), and SoMa (condo dwellers).

[Dr. MB]

Unpopular opinion here, but I like San Francisco.

Visit Chinatown-and not just the touristy part of it. That is easily my first recommendation.

Go to Alcatraz if you find the time.

Explore the downtown and neighborhoods around it too. It's very walkable.

[RFayette]

Try a double decker bus tour on the second deck outside.  It is great sightseeing, and the drive across the Golden Gate bridge is a ton of fun during the summer.

[retromike22]

What are your impressions of San Francisco so far?

[Mr. Smith]

Alcatraz and the Embarcadero/Fisherman’s Wharf

Tourist traps those.

@dead0: Finally, someone gets it right. It's seriously just another city. A city with the weirdest architecture besides "no zoning laws" Houston.

@Jacobin: Go F*(k yourself.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

What are your impressions of San Francisco so far?

Beautiful city with some poor management of a fewpartycular problems. Can’t really give an impression of the people (outside my family), though there are points where I’m like “Damn it, I should flee to a (rl) red state.”

[Devout Centrist]

What follows is a very subjective guide:

FarmerBrown is excellent soul food and honestly, I had one of the best meals of my life there. Try the Tadich Grill if you want fresh (but very expensive) seafood in an older setting. Original Joe's is worth a visit if you like American food with a mix of Italian. There are also a number of wonderful Asian fusion places, alongside more classic cuisine. For sushi, I recommend either Sushi Hashiri (very expensive, but very good) or Nara Sushi (Much more reasonable and just as delicious, imo).

Be sure to catch a game at AT&T if you can. Tickets for weekday games are pretty reasonable on Stubhub or Ticketmaster (although it varies a lot depending on the match up). If theater's more your thing, the Orpheum Theatre is the place to go. Les Mis starts in a few days and while most tickets are gone, there's still some good seats left. I usually opt for partial view in the orchestra, those tend to be the cheapest tickets left. There's also the SF Opera, which features a number of symphony productions and operas. I haven't been there yet, but the architecture is pretty outstanding.

Some museums are pretty cool, too. The Exploratorium, down by Pier 39, was my favorite as a kid. It's mainly an interactive science museum for kids, teens, and young adults. There's also the de Young art museum, the California Academy of Sciences (less interactive, more conventional than the Exploratorium), the Legion of Honor art museum, and the Asian art museum. All of which are pretty cool. You can buy a museum pass for the de Young, Legion of Honor, Cal Science Academy, and Asian art museum for $55. There's also the modern art museum, but I haven't been and well...I wouldn't say it's my thing.

If history is more your thing, you should visit the Presidio, Fort Point, Mission San Francisco de Asis, and of course, Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. All wonderful landmarks with guided tours and plenty of history behind them.

San Francisco is definitely a city full of contradictions. Loads of bleeding heart liberals and progressives, yet a definite air of 'not in MY backyard' sentiment. Extraordinary wealth next to homeless encampments. Gay bars right down the street from a Catholic Cathedral. It's strange, it's got major problems, and yet, it's a pretty cool place to visit.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

The Egyptian museum in San Jose is cool if you want to head down that way.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Went to a Russian Orthodox Church. I stuck out like a soar thumb and my very limited command of the language fled when aclerhy member asked me my “иминя”, which I was told meant “name”. The alphabet was also very odd, as it mixed Cyrillic, Greek, and features of Polish (“w” makings “v” sound, which you could tell was happening when you saw “Ivan” with a “w”). I began to feel like I was just some cultural tourist, using a religious ceremony for my own purposes.