Gnarfgnarf sights of San Francisco, California

Gates of Chinatown

SF seals on Pier 39

Misty day on the Bay

WWII sub at Fisherman's Wharf

SIGHTS

The best way to see SF is by municipal transport or "Muni". It goes just about everywhere underground and aboveground.

Alcatraz / "The Rock"

Ferry: 9.30-2.15 (fall-winter-spring), 9.30-4.30 (summer)

Admission: $9.00, more expensive for evening tours

Special feature: Sean Connery and Clint Eastwood

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Most famous penal colony in the World, after the soviet Gulag. Don't swim across, there are big fish in the water and strong currents. Take the ferry from Pier 41. Ask for the Count of Monte Cristo's cell. Buy a t-shirt "Property of Alcatraz Penitentiary" to bring home to your loved ones.

Chinatown

Enter through the gate at Grant and Bush Streets.

Admission: Free, depends on how many souvenirs you buy.

Special feature: moon cakes

Most famous Chinese district in the US. Very tourist friendly. Many visitors are surprised by the "Asian" culture of SF. In fact, people of Asian origin just form the majority of the city's population. Hence many parts of SF would qualify as a Chinatown elsewhere. If you drink and want to feel like an international spy, stop by the Buddha Bar (sacrilegious!) or the Li-po (Grant and Jackson Streets ) for an ice cold Tsing Tao beer. Not so far, the Far Easter Liquidation Center liquidates just about any cheap trinket made in China, including memorabilia of Bruce Lee's classic flicks.

Fisherman's Wharf

More like a touristman's wharf, but still a good place to get sea legs for natives of SF. Eat seafood freshly unloaded off the fishing trawlers, while you watch the seals snooze on Pier 39. Watch out for the Kelpman, who makes a living jumping unexpecting tourists. He usually hides in a bed of seagrass between souvenir ships.

Golden Gate Bridge

Admission: Free

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Featured in countless movies, ads and TV shows, the bridge was completed in 1937 and spans a distance of two miles to connect SF to Marin County, where the rich folks live. From its 750 feet tall towers, 007 saved the world from destruction. You can park your car and walk or bike across the winds and the mist.

Golden Gate Park

N-Judah line

Admission: Free

Big urban park for strollers, joggers, lovers, and skaters. Plenty of grass and trees, and plenty of activities. Do not miss the Asian Art Museum, the California Academy of Science (in particular the Steinhart Aquarium), and the Japanese Tea Garden. Take advantage of the fact that all museums are free on the first Wednesday of each month.

California Academy of Science

N-Judah line

Open: 9.00-18.00 (20.45 on 1st Wednesday of month)

Admission: $8.50 (free on 1st Wednesday of month)

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3 in 1 mega museum: Natural History Museum, Morrison Planetarium, and Steinhart Aquarium. Check it out, as other museums, on the first Wednesday of each month for free. If you have limited time, go for the Steinhart Aquarium, very well-kept, excellent displays with complete taxonomy and giant exotic fishes.

Haight-Ashbury and Castro

Special feature: walk around two of the more famous neighborhoods of SF.

Flower power and rainbow power. The hippies used to leave around here, and they still have some shops selling world peace paraphernalia to tourists, unfortunately Victorian houses tend to be expensive and the real hippies have moved on. Local bands that made a name for themselves in the 1960s include the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane. The 1970s saw the gay revolution in SF. The Castro district is home to the gay community, and a good spot for strolls, bars, and restaurants.

Palace of Fine Arts & Lombard Street

Lombard Street is the "most crookedest street in the World". It swerves eight times. That's all really. Not far is the rococo and pinky Palace of Fine Arts, built at the beginning of the last century to celebrate SF's recovery from the 1906 fire. The palace faces the marina and has lots of grassy space for a nice picnic.

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

Open: 10.00-18.00 (21.00 on Thursday)

Admission: $9.00 (free on 1st Tuesday of month)

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The SFMOMA was completed just a few years ago to house the usual and unusual works of Matisse, Polock, Warhol and many other artists of the last century.