My San Francisco

"What's there to do in San Francisco? What shouldn't I miss?" SF has something for everyone, so tailor your trip to your interests! Here's my general thoughts.

Of course there's the usual tourist attractions -- Golden gate bridge, alcatraz, pier 39, Alamo Square, lombard st -- which in my opinion range from really cool (views of GG bridge) to silly (lombard st), but my favorite way to see SF is just to put on some walking shoes. The city is geographically small, but very varied. In one day and a general Westward direction, you can get a giant breakfast burrito in the bustling mural-lined Mission, do some vintage shopping on Valencia, visit an old Spanish mission, go to boutique-lined Hayes valley, up Haight St to the famous Haight-Ashbury, enjoy a couple hours in Golden Gate Park (home to lakes, museums and even buffalo), before crashing a nighttime bonfire on the beach. Alternatively, you can start in downtown, get some tiramisu and coffee in North Beach, get dimsum in old Chinatown, see the view from Coit tower, oggle at big houses in Pac Heights, see the beautiful palace of fine arts, visit the Legion of Honor art museum, and go to the golden gate bridge in time for sunset.

A lot of SF is in its atmosphere, its diversity, and its refusal to be stereotypically American. All that, and I haven't even mentioned City Hall, the Castro, the Tenderloin, the shopping, the weekend-trip possibilities, or the nightlife.

Have fun!