What are the must-do things if you’re in the city for <48 hours? Is Alcatraz really worth the time on such a short trip?

No. Go to Haight Ashbury and hang out with all the stoned Veitnam Vets instead

Hire a pushbike from near the quay, take a ride over the golden gate, explore for a bit then come back on the ferry. Lovely way to spend a few hours if the weathers half decent.

Oh, and I liked Alcatraz. C’mon, hell of a history! Al Capone’s cell? Birdman? All the (attempted) escapes. Lots of storys per square mile.

Go to treasure Island at night for an amazing view of the city

Shopping trolly (cart) down Lombard street. Smell the sealions at the pier. And fish and chips there too.

Pier 39 for some food and drink – got to Bubba Gumps for food. I really enjoyed alcatraz. Go for a ride over the Golden Gate bridge and down into Sausalitto, head up the main road a fair way and there’s alittle mexican place on the left hand side. pennies for some awesome grub!

we had 48hrs in SF en route to Oz with our 2 young kids 7 & 6yrs, we did a boat trip that went under the GG bridge and round Alcatraz island, went to the aquarium at Pier 39 and did a couple of bus trips.

The best one being a converted trolley bus mounted on a bus chassis and a great tour guide/driver who did an excellent job of scaring us silly on the mentally steep hills whilst at the same time doing a great commentary!

If the kids had been older, I would have liked to have walked a bit more to explore, but the kids were tired and spangled with jetlag

Ooh and clam chowder in a hollowed out round loaf of bread. Made me wish I liked seafood, looked yum. +1 to the riding of the cable cars; (trolley busses) cheap as chips and absolutely iconic! Theres a couple of hours fun right there. God I wish I was back there now!

if you have a car, Half Moon Bay is worth a visit. One of my fave places anywhere.

make sure you ride the cable cars.. theyre ace! 8)

I liked alcatraz.. had been wandering around all afternoon thinking.. i know this place.. its all so familiar..! it was only when i got back to the UK and talking to my brother about it that i discovered it was from playing tony hawks pro skater on the playstation!!

explore china town..

go see lombard street..

go to golden gate park.. the japanese gardens are nice and so was the museumy thingy was fun to wander round the aquarium and butterfly house

eat a ghirardelli ice cream sundae.. then collapse due to sugar overload..

have a wander around fishermans wharfe.. reminded me a bit of an american version of blackpool before it turned into the hell hole it is now..

i think i was there for about 3 days and easily managed to fit all that in.. 😆

SF is easily the nicest city I’ve ever been to. Even better than Wolverhamton!

ride the powell-mason cable car from one end to the other when you arrive. good way to start. takes you up and over the top. jump off at lombard street, walk about and then jump back on to go down to the piers (really touristy area but probably has to be done). take a walk round to get the boat over to alcatraz (need to book in advance!) – takes a couple of hours but gives a good view of city / GG bridge looking back. Once back on dry land, hire the bikes from their and cycle over golden gate bridge. (you can do a round trip and get ferry back across the bay if you dont fancy the cycle back.) Trip over the bridge is a must.

Try and get to Haight Ashbury etc, lots more to see other than just the tourist spots…

Get a super burrito at some point from one of the numerous mexican places (can’t remember the brand name). Also, one of the best pizzas ever is from an italian (fracis ford coppla’s favourite – see google again sorry).

SUCH a good city.

Check out Rodeo & Baker Beach. Go for a run round the Presidio. Walk along the Coastal trail near China Beach. Go to Sausalito for lunch. Alcatraz. Trams. Anchor Brewery Beet tour. So much to do…

I used to live there, what a place..

Modern Art museum if that’s your thing. (Edit – MOMA, that’s the one)
Ride the street cars.
The bike across the bridge mentioned earlier is good.
The delis and bakeries in the Italian area (next to Chinatown).
Alcatraz is fun – but not as good in 2004 as it was when I first went in the mid-80s.
Coit Tower gives good views over the city and bay.

Go for breakfast at the Pork Store Cafe. After that you won’t need to eat for 48hrs! Blazing saddles rides are worth it, as is the trip to Sausalito. I’ve enjoyed Alcatraz twice. Buy a kite at the Pier 39 Kite Store, walk along the bay to Marina Blvd to fly it. Shop at Market St. Go to MOMA

Oh and visit Chrome, the coolest bike bags in the world 8)

+1 golden gate bridge bike hire. cycle to sauslito. have a salt beef sandwich and get the ferry back.

When will you be there Chickadee? I’m currently sat in Atlanta airport waiting for a connecting flight to San Francisco for a conference.

Go see the guys at Roaring Mouse

iDave – Member
if you have a car, Half Moon Bay is worth a visit. One of my fave places anywhere.

plus1 iDave. Love the drive along 92 from 101. Half Moon Bay Brewing Company for some good beer or Tres Amigos for great mexican food.

A good walk in SF is from Fisherman’s Wharf to the Coit Tower. Just head for the tower going through the back streets (very safe) and you get a good feel for the place. The view from the top of the tower is spectacular.

Head to North Beach which is quite close to Fisherman’s Wharf for some great nightlife.

I’d say definitely do Alcatraz. It’s great. Haight Astbury was OK, but quite a lot of people trying to sell you hippy sh*t and not many actual hippies.
Ride the trams, find one of the traditional Italian coffee shops, eat seafood at one of the wharves, Golden Gate Park.

Have fun, it’s a great city.

http://magnoliapub.com/

this place was fantastic,good burgers with proper chips and really good beer.it was half price beer on tuesday afternoons. its on haight and ashbury and at the entrance to golden gate park which is well worth exploring.the best food we had on our trip was in some grotty cafe in chinatown where you didn’t even get a plate,awesome dim sum.

This is all good stuff for me as its the first port of call on our honeymoon in june !
Can’t wait

Bike over the bridge / boat back and Alcatraz. Alcatraz gets booked up days in advance a lot of the time so do your homework before you turn up to the ticket office.

id forgotten about coit tower.. some good views from there and some cool murials inside..

and yeah.. book in advance for alcatraz.. i booked online before i went..

alcatraz cruises online booking

Lots of good suggestions, but as this is an MTB forum, how about going for a ride in Marin County, maybe Mount Tam, where it all began?
Stoked SF will meet you off the early ferry from SF that gets Sausalito about 8am, and provide everything you need – bike, helmet, pads, gloves, whatever. Uplift up Mount Tam for a 2 or 3 hour blast finishing back in Sausalito about 12. Hard to beat if you’re in the area.