Top 5 Things to do in San Francisco?

Cheshirecatty

DIS Veteran
Joined
Mar 23, 2013
We will be visiting the Walt Disney Family Museum of course, but after that, we pretty much don't know where to start:confused3!

We're staying near the Presidio, so not near the center of town. Will this be a problem for us as far as driving and parking within the City?

Any thoughts or advice would be HUGELY appreciated!!!:)
 
Check out the new Exploratorium science museum. It was a first of its kind hands on science museum. Before that, science museums had static displays and people weren't encouraged to touch anything.
 
Alcatraz.

Ride a bicycle across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito and ride the ferry back
 
Golden Gate Park.


If you have parking near where you are staying, consider buying a MUNI pass to get around the city.

I know there will be differing views on whether to use public transport in San Francisco or not; but I've never really had an issue with it during the daytime.
 


Fisherman's Wharf
Ghirardelli Square
Alcatraz
CA Academy of Sciences
SF Zoo

Have fun! SF is a great city!
 
Ride the ducks SF city tour. It goes in water & on land & is a really fun tour where you are given these whistles that quack and you go along quacking songs & quacking at people... its a blast!
 
We stayed very near the Presidio in Pacific Heights on our vacation last summer, and ended up walking a lot. Our hotel did not have parking, and this did create an issue, but the hotel's staff kindly moved our car every few hours for us so we could spend the days touring. We tipped them well. :)

If you are a Star Wars fan, LucasFilm has offices on the Presidio grounds too. there is a Yoda fountain in a courtyard in front of the offices, and you are allowed into the reception area too where you can take photos of a life-sized Darth Vader and Boba Fett (spelling?). My daughter loved going there.

Also, the Presidio has its own shuttle service that is free. You can take a shuttle from the Disney Family Museum area over to the Golden Gate Bridge and visitor center. On weekdays there was also a shuttle that took us downtown to the Wharf. I'm sure the Presidio has comprehensive information on their website.
 


Can't help it, but the thread title reminded me of something a co-worker used to say, long time ago:

"There are a million things to do in San Francisco; and half of them are eat".

-Bob
 
gardengirl2790 said:
.... On weekdays there was also a shuttle that took us downtown to the Wharf. I'm sure the Presidio has comprehensive information on their website.

Do you mean downtown AND to the Wharf? The Wharf is not technically downtown (which would be confusing to someone not from there, but they are not the same thing, SF is big on its neighborhoods, lol).

OP, in addition to the great tips you've already received here, check out Golden Gate park, it is amazing! Some spots not to miss include the Japanese tea garden, the Aquarium (I think that was mentioned), the Arboretum, Children's Playground if you have young kids, and the boat park at 31st avenue (they race little motorized speedboats there most weekends and some week days). Also, don't miss a walk on the beach, even if its foggy, a little fog never hurt anyone!
 
THANKYOU!! THANKYOU!! THANKYOU!! We so appreciate your answers!!!

Thanks for taking the time to help us out. We are going to check into EVERY suggestion given, and are excited to know where to start now!

If you can think of anything else, we WELCOME your input!!!:idea:
 
Golden Gate Bridge
Fisherman's warf
Golden gate park (academy of sciences, tea garden, etc)
Ferry plaza farmers market
Chinatown
Ghirardelli square

I know most of these are tourist attractions, but there are still really fun and I still get a kick out of taking out of town guests to these. We could go to the Academy all the time.
 
In addition to the wonderful things already mentioned, check out the Children's Creativity Museum. Used to be called the Zeum. Near SF MOMA if you're in town before June 3rd, when MOMA closes for refurb.

Make sure to visit the great children's playground and the old Playland merry go round by the CCM. It's also across the street from Yerba Buena Gardens, a fun place to take a break or have lunch. Great MLK Jr. waterfall memorial.

If you're in the area and have a sweet tooth, the Beard Papa cream puff store is a must.
 
Double check on the Lucas Arts... Disney announced earlier this month that they are closing the studio :( and many have already been laid off, so probably not an option any longer.
 
We love the Ferry Building. We eat our way through it. Lol. The empanadas are amazing!

I also second (or third) the Academy of Sciences. There's an aquarium down near the wharf as well.

Alcatraz is a lot of fun, too. And we really enjoyed the Bay Cruise that goes under the Golden Gate Bridge.
 
Double check on the Lucas Arts... Disney announced earlier this month that they are closing the studio :( and many have already been laid off, so probably not an option any longer.

Disney only shut down LucasArts Games. It hadn't been profitable in years. That's only a tiny portion of the employees there. There's still hundreds of employees there who aren't going anywhere.
 
Public transport is fine and easy.

You can definitely drive to the wharf or downtown easily as well - might be different driving than where you are from, but no biggie really. You can park at the garage at 5th and Mission for Yerba Buena, Union Square, even Ferry Building if you don't mind a little walk. Where near the presidio are you staying? If you can get to Geary, the 38 goes straight downtown. Garages are expensive I guess... I used to think that when I moved here 13 years ago, but now I'm like - oh great, under 30 bucks, that's a steal! If you are going to the big areas you can find a parking garage - other places, like say you want to go to the Mission or a smaller neighborhood, parking can be more challenging. You should easily be able to park in GGP too - but that is pretty close to the presidio so depending where you are staying you may more easily get a bus or walk.

Last year my kids were begging to do the hop on/off bus tour and we actually really enjoyed it! Their favorite is the golden gate fortune cookie factory in Ross Alley in Chinatown - they went there on a field trip and loved it! Just literally a small hole in the wall. Those cookies are yum.

I like the exploratorium better then the academy - looking forward to the new opening and will probably take our visitors there this summer.

Be sure to take a walk at Crissy Field when you are at the Disney museum. Best views in the city in my opinion when it's not foggy. :)

When are you coming? Please keep in mind in the summer it can be cold. And I mean like cold in the 50's. Especially on the west side of the city. Layers, layers, layers. No one ever wears shorts, unless it is super hot, and that is maybe like 1 day a year! Seriously it can be freezing especially near the water. Don't be an idiot tourist shivering in a tank top at the wharf. And the weather can change quickly - I never ever go anywhere without my fleece jacket - even when it seems warm and sunny - you go like 2 miles away, the fog rolls in, and BANG! Freezing.

Have fun!!

Kim :)
 
Public transport is fine and easy.

You can definitely drive to the wharf or downtown easily as well - might be different driving than where you are from, but no biggie really. You can park at the garage at 5th and Mission for Yerba Buena, Union Square, even Ferry Building if you don't mind a little walk. Where near the presidio are you staying? If you can get to Geary, the 38 goes straight downtown. Garages are expensive I guess... I used to think that when I moved here 13 years ago, but now I'm like - oh great, under 30 bucks, that's a steal! If you are going to the big areas you can find a parking garage - other places, like say you want to go to the Mission or a smaller neighborhood, parking can be more challenging. You should easily be able to park in GGP too - but that is pretty close to the presidio so depending where you are staying you may more easily get a bus or walk.

Last year my kids were begging to do the hop on/off bus tour and we actually really enjoyed it! Their favorite is the golden gate fortune cookie factory in Ross Alley in Chinatown - they went there on a field trip and loved it! Just literally a small hole in the wall. Those cookies are yum.

I like the exploratorium better then the academy - looking forward to the new opening and will probably take our visitors there this summer.

Be sure to take a walk at Crissy Field when you are at the Disney museum. Best views in the city in my opinion when it's not foggy. :)

When are you coming? Please keep in mind in the summer it can be cold. And I mean like cold in the 50's. Especially on the west side of the city. Layers, layers, layers. No one ever wears shorts, unless it is super hot, and that is maybe like 1 day a year! Seriously it can be freezing especially near the water. Don't be an idiot tourist shivering in a tank top at the wharf. And the weather can change quickly - I never ever go anywhere without my fleece jacket - even when it seems warm and sunny - you go like 2 miles away, the fog rolls in, and BANG! Freezing.

Have fun!!

Kim :)

I was there today and took my kid to the new Exploratorium for the first time. It was nice and sunny. Tons of tourists wearing shorts and I can't say it was a problem. It did get a bit windy at late afternoon, but it was about as ideal weather as I'd expect for mid April in San Francisco. Of course I was carrying an extra fleece shirt and even a waterproof/windproof rain jacket in case it got really windy.

What is tricky for the tourist to navigate is meter parking. As a revenue booster, San Francisco MTA recently started enforcing meter hours on Sunday. It's only 12-6 PM, and it's typically a 4 hour limit (may be 1 hour weekdays). If you arrive before meters operate, you can prepay so that your parking period starts at the beginning of the enforcement period. Older meters used to be dumb ones that didn't care, took your money, and operated oblivious to the enforcement hours. The Sunday rate is the same as weekdays/Saturday and varies by location. A lot of people found themselves with warnings as they did a trial period, then they hit parkers with real tickets.

The other thing is that the San Francisco Port Dept operates meters close to the waterfront. These have been 7-days a week as long as I can remember. They charge maybe $2.50/hr from 9 AM-7 PM then 50 cents an hour until 11 PM. It's hard to describe the difference, but you'll know when you look at the rates and time of operation. They use different equipment (pay stations [that don't give out receipts] and single meters with lots of buttons) than the city ones. However, their equipment takes credit cards (the buttons are used to select the amount of time and to authorize the charge).

Of course I took public transportation. ;) If I did drive in, I'd just park someplace where I could leave my car all day (there are places) that are reasonably close to public transportation.
 

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