San Francisco Travel Guide

The Ferry Building is more then just the place to catch a ferry to neighboring Sausalito, Tiburon, and the East bay. Built in 1896 with a 230-foot high clock tower, the Ferry Building and adjacent square hosts an amazing European style farmer’s market Tuesday and Saturday mornings, featuring produce, meats, and other culinary delights from small local producers. San Francisco originals like sourdough bread and Scharffen Berger chocolates can be found here as well, and the building itself hosts specialty food shops and restaurants open 7 days a week. The surrounding waterfront area provides a great retreat from the busy city life for bike-riding, jogging, picnics, and many benches to soak up the sun and watch the passing sailboats.  « hide

Union Square is the heart of San Francisco and has developed into the core for commercial and tourist activity. Tiffany’s, Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, and Nike Town are just a few of the storefronts that saturate and surround the square centered around a colossal 97-foot Corinthian column. In addition to the big name stores, you can find many small boutiques in this prime shopping district, second only to Rodeo Drive on the west coast. Stop by the TIX Bay Area box office, located in a booth on the square, for same day ½ price tickets to performances at nearby theaters all over the city.  « hide

Located in the trendy and hip South of Market region (SoMa), the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art lives in a building befitting its name. Lined with a brick façade, a black and white tower rises from within attracting visitors to come in and enjoy the eclectic collection of 20th century art. Works from Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock, Georgia O’Keefe, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Frida Khalo, Diego Rivera, and many more highlight the permanent collection, and the museum regularly houses excellent temporary exhibits.  « hide

Golden Gate Park offers a tree-lined, lake-filled utopia for relaxation and an escape from the busy city life. Looking at it, it’s hard to believe that this luscious and beautiful park was built over barren sand dunes. Locals enjoy the park in many ways; take a stroll, a jog, a bike ride, or even rollerblade the paths from Upper Haight along the rolling grassy hills beneath the Dutch Windmills all the way to Ocean Beach. If you can, stop by on a Sunday when the park roads are closed to traffic and the city really comes out to play. Covering over 1,000 acres, walking in the park can become an all day activity. If that’s not your cup of tea…enjoy a relaxing visit at the Japanese Tea gardens or bask in the sun outside one of the oldest flower conservatories on the west coast. Many people enjoy picnics at Stow Lake, or going to have a gander at the Bison pen. That’s right buffalo in the middle of San Francisco. The park is also home to the architecturally striking De Young museum, with notable collections of American painters and South American, Oceanic and African indigenous art, and the future home of the California Academy of Sciences. Whatever you do, be sure to bring a sweater with you, even when it’s sunny downtown, you may find that a rolling wall of fog and cold can come pouring into the park, so be sure and check the weather before you plan your picnic or walk.  « hide

A hidden gem for both kids and adults, the Exploratorium provides a chance to explore, touch, smell, look through, and hear 100’s of different experiments. A great activity inside the Exploratorium is the Tactile Dome, where you get the chance to see with your hands as you climb around complete darkness trusting your sense of touch to guide you through.  « hide