Fun stuff to do in San Francisco
 

I'm going to be in San Francisco this week for work, and I have Thursday afternoon and night free. What's fun to do? I've heard there are some cool Japanese gardens...anything else I should hit, besides the usual tourist stuff?

Well, my own suggestions:

-Alcatraz and/or a cruise of the Bay
-Muir Woods (beautiful redwoods just over the GG Bridge)
-USS Pampanito (a WW2 sub on Fisherman's Wharf)
-Fisherman's Wharf
-Lombard Street (the twisty one)
-China Town


I'd tell you to check out my cousin's jazz quartet, but I don't know where he is playing currently.

Have Fun!

what??? no word about the Red Light district???

i'm a fan of the Wharf and the Muir woods :) Pier 39 is good for some shopping too!

Just a note, if you really want to do the Alcatraz tour, you might want to call for tickets the night before. Often this time of year, if you just show up that morning, they'll be sold out for the day.

My brother lives in San Fran and his absolute requirement for visitors is a shiatsu massage in Japantown. It's about $100 an hour and he swears it's the best money he has ever spent!

Them people in San Fran are a crazy bunch.

Watch your back... they like to attack you with street performance art. Fucking Mimes.

- Wine country (Napa, Sonoma, etc.) is fun (and expensive). If you can afford it, get a car to take you, so you can taste more wine! It takes a little while to get out there, so you'd need to allocate pretty much the whole afternoon.
- Cafe Sport is a very good place to eat Italian family style. (Cash only the last time I went)
- Wandering around China Town and getting lunch at one of the restaurants there is pretty neat.
- Are the Giants in town? I have never been, but I bet a baseball game would be fun at the new park if you can get tickets.
- Calling ahead on the Alcatraz tour is a good idea (if your hotel has a concierge, they can arrange it, as well.)

I'd love to show you around however, I'm working swing shift all month without a break (and I live down the coast aways, near Santa Cruz). One of the best things is to see the laser light show at the planetarium. Don't know the times, though. Golden Gate park is great, as is the Bridge. Sutro or Koit Towers offer great views of the city, Pac Bell Park is just gorgeous but games have been hard to get into. Lots to do just need to look around. Most of the hotel personel will be helpful. You can also cruise down and check out all the hippies that still hang out in Santa Cruz, check out the wharf and boardwalk, or go downtown and check out the homeless and the shopping.

The City has some great comedy clubs. There's also the aquarium and anthropological museum in Golden Gate Park. There's tons of shopping downtown, like Union Square and Ghirardelli Square.

Weather has been back and forth, and it drizzled today, so be prepared.

Yeah be sure to bring a coat, a sweater, a sweatshirt, and a windbreaker. You never know what the weather is going to be like. And if you go anywhere in the Bay Area chances are the weather is going to be different.

The advice to bring a coat, sweater, etc. is well founded. We were there in July and it was really chilly, even during the sunny days.

Muir Woods was excellent

We rented a limo for the day and went to the Napa and Sonoma valleys. It was well worth the money and we had a lot of fun.

Alcatraz was pretty cool, but they were booked up the entire week we were there. Be sure and call ahead a few days in advance if you want to go.

If you are a techhead at all (as I am), you could attend a taping of the Screen Savers. There is a link on the TechTV site to attend the show in person. We had a lot of fun, and got to meet Suzanne Vega (as well as talking with the cool people on the show).

The Musee Mechanique is a pretty cool place to go. Here's the link:

http://museemecanique.citysearch.com/

We went to the Exploratorium and the Palace of Fine Arts, near the Presidio. If you get the chance to go, I highly recommend it.

Other places:

the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The Marc Chagall exhibit may still be there, and it's the only place in the US where you will be able to see these amazing paintings.

The Metreon was a blast.

We were told by several locals that a ball game at Pac Bell Park was the thing to do.

Oh, and World's King is right about the mimes.

Walk down Haight St.

Pee on people in Golden Gate Park.

Lurkette, San Francisco can not be seen within day :(

That said a lot of suggestions above have merit.
Personally I think Pier 39 and the Golden Gate are a must. Lombard street is also very nice to have seen once.

(actually just driving around in Frisco makes you feel like you're in a movie :) with all the height differences)

Its been 6 years since I was last in SF, so there are probably many more places I just can't remember.

It's all fun but if you like things like the Japanese garden it is certainly worth your time. I try to visit it every time I go to Frisco. Heck, just riding the cables cars is fun and you see a lot of the city.

The Palace of the Arts is a must see in my opinion. I am bound and determined to get back there one day soon. And I have to second the idea of touring the Napa and Sonoma valley. Even if you aren't a "wine person" you will enjoy it!
Have fun!!!!

Happy hour at Pier 23.
late night at the bars on Polk Street (Buccaneer has great patrons and Royal Oak has HOT bartenders)
Pot Stickers at U-Lee
Cioppino at Scoma
Relax and smoke a cigar at Baker Beach (but dont wander too close to the bridge.... unless you are into that....... you will see what I mean)

- Alcatraz if you can squeeze it in
- Stinky's Peep Show . . . happiest place on earth

Hit the Mission... the Mission District, that is. The most ethnically-mixed part of SF: part South American cityscape, part Chinatown, part dotcom graveyard, part art community. Plenty of art and performance spaces, used bookstores, and tons of good cheap taquerias, bakeries, and restaurants (some not cheap). Kinda gritty, too, you can get into trouble in some places; but the locals can help you out. Especially check out 24th street, from Potrero all the way up into the Noe Valley, which is another cool neighborhood. The Castro's nearby too, another great neighborhood. But the Mission is SF Neighborhoods 101. Best weather in town, too.

Walk, take the bus; best way to see San Francisco. Get a day pass.

jeez, if it were last week I'd meet you there and show you around, but cant, because Im in San Diego now...

North Beach has City Lights Bookstore and Little Joe's is good, but they just moved from Columbus & Broadway to somewhere on Van Ness.

Coit Tower is a good tourist stop, and everything else has been mentioned.

One thing I do occasionally is park at Aquatic Park, and walk from there to Fishermans Wharf, grab a chowder/breadbowl, walk to pier 39, and down embarcadero, do my touristy things, and then go back and hit Ghirardelli Square on my way back. Its a great strip with everything within 10 minutes from one end to the other.

On the weather not, august and september are the best times to visit. You MIGHT need a long sleeved shirt, but that should be it. This time of year the weather is usually very temperate.

Another vote for the Musee Mechanique. Golden Gate Park. Walk by Fishermans Wharf (I don't advocate going there to eat or be a tourist, just to look). I like to take the bus to Buena Vista park (near Haight/Ashbury) and walk from there down to GGP, bus it up to GG Bridge, bus it down to the warf. Walk up thru North Beach and into China Town, then bus back down to Market, where I stay.

1015 @ folsom
best club ever

if you find yourself in sf i'd definately recommend going there, that is if you are looking for something to do in the nightlife there