[Closed] Things to do in San Francisco.

Experiment with a bit of man love?

I think two weeks is pushing it. I'd be doing an extra national park or two.

Alcatraz obviously, Haight Ashbury and all that guff, some nice museums, Golden Gate, some sea lions, wandering around a bit.

Nightlife and restaurants are ace, but depends on your budget as to whether you'll keep that up.

I haven't been since the 90's but don't go into any bars with leather curtains across the doorway.

Hire a mustang and pretend you are Steve McQueen? It might get you locked up though.

Watch out for talking apes.

Alcatraz.
GG Bridge.
Marin Headlands.
Crissy Field.
Castro.
Ferry Building.
Fairfax.
Skeggs.
Tamarancho.
Stinson.
Mt Tam.
North Beach.
Presidio.
Point Reyes.
Napa/Sonoma.

It's a long list..

Cheesecake Factory on Macy's Roof Terrace in Union Square!

In all seriousness grab an open top bus tour from Union Square as a first step, this will give you the layout of the city and give you an idea of what you might like to see in depth.

We took a bike tour from Pier 39 to Sausalito, it took about half a day and was fantastic. Cycling over the Golden Gate Bridge is a real highlight.

Visit Roaring Mouse Cycles

Museum of Modern Art

If you like beer, find the 'Hopwater Distribution' bar. It's about a block and a half from Macy's and has a lot of good local/microbrewed beers and ales. Yes, it's hipster, but they do make nice beer.

There's a cracking sushi restaurant in the business district too, but I cannot remember the name of it off hand. They have an excellent sake list.

I'd echo Alcatraz, but book in advance.

Get off the beaten track, loads of back street cheap eats, and a real mix of cultures.

Try the Mission District for a good burito and some cracking salsa bars and live music.

Go to the top of the Mark [url= http://www.intercontinentalmarkhopkins.com/top-of-the-mark.aspx ]Look here[/url]for a martini and to see the view.

If you can afford it, hire a car and go up Highway One and see the Redwoods.

Ride the tram
Go and watch the SF Giants (assuming they're at home)
Pier 39 to be a proper tourist 🙂
Cycle over GG
Drink lots and lots of draught Anchor Steam!

Cracking city, enjoy! I'd visit Monterey if you can also.

Hey good thread....I'm doing a fly drive in August from San Fran to San Diego via Yosemite, Monterrey, Santa Barbera, LA, so any tips would be appreciated!

You'll want to do the Napa Valley wine tour then, yes?

Find Herbie

Go camp at China Camp if you want to cut down expenses, can catch ferry from Larkspur into SF.

Chinatown! Food is amazing

Hire a bike and ride over the GG bridge to Marin headlands for some truly sensational views.

But don't go whale watching, it's a total con... the Greys are just passing by on their way to/from the Baja, they're not interested in putting on a show and you get to see **** all!

The best advice I got given was just to wander and see what you stumble upon. China town is awesome and a proper assault on the senses, Haight and Ashbury is the same.

Alcatraz is a must do, Golden Gate park is nice, as is a walk (some of the way) across the bridge. Hire a car and go to Nappa, there's a old reliable geyser out there, we went and were the only people there it was lovely.

Also, buy pizza by the (frankly ridiculous) slice.

I quite fancied trying some of the chowder in a bread bowl they were selling by the side of the quay, but bottled it because I didn't want to risk spending the last days of my holiday repeatedly soiling myself.

House of Nanking

If there a queue, which there usually is, wait

Book Alcatraz well in advance; Bus tour is well worth doing; Eat in small restaurants - some wicked Thai and Chinese; Blue Bottle café is hipster central; Fisherman's Wharf is cheesy but fun. Seriously, there's loads.

RockApe63 - Carmel and Monterey are great - I have family there. Aquarium is brilliant. Big Sur is well worth a stop too, and Santa Cruz is one of my favourite towns in the world.

Your bus was something I hadn't thought about. Good idea. Beer tick! Cycling across the golden gate yes please.
Don't really do shopping but do wandering about.
Defo touristy stuff for a day to to say you did it.
I was thinking of having a day or two then running away to the parks.
Might stay longer. Thanks for the advice.

and Santa Cruz is one of my favourite towns in the world.

Thanks PJ....why is it?

Make use of the city guides. They are free walking tours given my volunteers: http://www.sfcityguides.org

Another vote for a trip to Santa Cruz, oddly I don't remember a fat lot about it but I remember having a nice day.

Ignore what The Thrills said though, they were talking tutty, it's quite a long drive.

Don't bother with the Haight - there's nothing to see. Unless you like wandering round a gentrified neighbourhood..

House of Nanking

If there a queue, which there usually is, wait

This is sound advice.

Also, breakfast in Tiburon.

Drink at Vesuvio's and pretend you're Steinbeck.
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Get drunk in the bar flashy recommends, I had a great night in there.

Walk the length of Market from the bay to the Civic centre to get a feel for the real SF, homelessness, homeless with mental health issues, rich to poor in the space of a block.

I was there for 2 weeks with work and I saw some crazy sites.

Imagine standing in the street blocking a fire truck and then smashing your acoustic guitar to pieces in the path of the truck all the while screaming your head off about something unintelligible. There's a lot of people there needing help.

Also look up Second Amendment brewery, mikeller there were others but the names have slipped my mind.

The Toronado bar in Lower Haight is also worth a visit if you're into beer.

Walk the length of Market from the bay to the Civic centre to get a feel for the real SF, homelessness, homeless with mental health issues, rich to poor in the space of a block.

There's a lot of people there needing help.

Agreed. Sadly. 🙁

@RockApe63 - it's just very cool and good fun. Admittedly I haven't been back in quite a while, but it's very outdoor and sport focused - obviously Santa Cruz skates, bikes and boards are from there, as are O'Neill. Steamer Lane is great just to watch locals surfing and there's plenty or easier breaks if you want to get in the sea. I seem to recall Ron Wilkerson (old school BMXer and founder of Wilkerson Airlines and 2Hip) opened a cool little café there too; it's also where Bontrager started out. Like Prawny, I can't really remember specifics, but it's just stuck as somewhere I really, really liked.

Now I hope it's as remembered. 😉

Don't bother with the Haight - there's nothing to see. Unless you like wandering round a gentrified neighbourhood..

Get over yourself 🙄

If you're game for 4 hours or so on a road bike and are handy enough on long, endlessly twisty descents on glorious two lane tarmac with coastal views to die for, hire a road bike (plenty of places hiring decent bikes, I got a Specialized Roubaix from Columbus Cycles).

The route I did took advantage of my jet lag and left our hotel at 5am, headed for the bottom of Lombard Street and rode up it (33% in places). Crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and grabbed breakfast and coffee in Sausalito.

Headed out along the Camino Alto (gorgeous wee warm up, brief climb, glorious short descent) and grabbed a second breakfast and coffee in Fairfax, across the road from the Marin Mountainbike Museum.

From Fairfax you can follow the Fairfax-Bolinas road up and over some amazing ridges and hills before an epic windy descent down to the Shoreline Highway. Follow the Shoreline Highway and grab a third breakfast and even more coffee in Stinson.

Ride back up and over the Panoramic Highway but hook a hard right down the Muirwoods Road, through the Muirwoods, past Stinson Beach, and retrace your steps back to Sausalito. In Sausalito grab a ferry back to San Fran via Alcatraz with a Lagunitas IPA in your hand.

Best day on a bike ever. 😀

Hire a car for the day, drive over Golden Gate and get to Muirwoods National Park - mystical place when not busy. Point Reyes is also nice to visit - there's a seasonal elephant seal colony and the chance to spot migrating whales and very different atmosphere to the city.Cruising the coastal highway and the roads up to Muirwoods and Mt Tamalpais is a good way to kill some time.

Get over yourself

Where was the need for that?!

I thought manners were free - perhaps not round your way....??

I lived in SF for a couple of years & the Haight was a place that most locals & I avoided....tourist trap in my opinion & nothing special to see at all.

Head to Castro/Soma/Mission if you want to see a real slice of SF life.

Sorry, it came across as a bit of a dismissive, 'holier than thou' sort of comment, I had a great time in Haight living out all my 'Hendrix was 'ere' fantasies so I guess I took it a bit personally, I retract my neck 😉

but really, nothing to see? Two excellent CD shops, a tobacco store in Jimi Hendrix's 'Red House Over Yonder'* lots of awesome graffiti and at least one surprisingly friendly and down to earth pub, all in a few hundred metres of street. Definitely worth a visit, at least to form your own opinion rather than trust a jaded local 8)

*I willingly suspended any disbelief

Avoid agressive panhandlers. We seemed to spend quite a bit of time doing that.

Chinatown yes, but explore the backstreets and look for where the locaks are eating, cheap dim sum shops were amazing.

Hire a mountain bike and head over to Marin County. Avoid the Tenderloin.

Treasure island at night for that classic view of the city

Bike museum in Fairfax, ride up mount tam, ride repack.