Flying to SF for work at the end of the month, decided to extend the trip a bit. Now I've got four days to fill. What do I do? I know nothing about the city.>what are you interested in/want to doRelax, discover a new city, bit of photography (land/cityscape). I like walking.
>>2654292Red woods or Yosemite. Also giants game. Don't listen to anons saying it just sucks, there's a lot of cool areas
>>2654295Wasn't intending to rent a car. Red woods should still be doable, any way to get there from downtown?
I mean this with 100% sincerity: if your main hobbies aren’t autistic tech stuff or literally having gay sex go anywhere else in California and you will have a better time than going to San Francisco. It’s dirty, and boring and dangerous and fucking expensive too. Please just go anywhere else for the love of god.
>>2654292Giants game, the pier
>>2654295>>Hey I'm visiting a new city what is there to do in the city>Yeah drive 200 miles away there's some cool areas
>>2654541Classic Dylan
>>2654292Haight-Ashbury is pretty comfy. Also visit Japantown if you're into that stuff. Castro district if fun. San Francisco is a pretty comfy city if you stay away from the Tenderloin.
Golden Gate Park, pay money to go into the Japanese Tea Garden (and Botanical Garden).
>>2654541i mean it is true you need to get 200 miles outside SF and the bay area in general to see anything decent that doesn't appeal to only troons
>>2654586>Also visit Japantown if you're into that stufffor sure>stay away from the TenderloinWhat qualifies as part of the tenderloin? I mean I can see the neighbourhood on google maps but the strict borders rarely represent reality in my experienceAlso, any tips on where to stay?
>>2654292Walk the whole dockside area, Fisherman's Wharf etc. Check out the US naval museum ships. There's a WWII submarine that's really cool. Get some expensive sushi. Go check out 'The Interval' - really nice chill bar that I usually do a little working from when I'm in town. Can get an interesting crowd and there's some great food nearby. Alcatraz is like a half day thing and is pretty cool.Go check out Stanford or Berkeley campus if you have time. I eapeolike Berkeley.
>>2655510>What qualifies as part of the tenderloin?The triangle within Van Ness, California, and Market streets are going to be the generally shittiest area of the city. So basically tenderloin plus Union Square and Financial District. There are some good restaurants there but that's the only thing worth venturing into the area for. >any tips on where to stay?Depends on your budget. Nob Hill has a lot of nice, expensive hotels and is close to a lot of the more popular neighborhoods in the City. Marina might have some cheaper hotels.
>>2654292i live the city. is gorgeous. FIRST get a day pass for the metro. it works amazingly and is so much better than driving. unless you're going outside of sf proper or are going to the Golden gate bridge on the north side. this is pretty much all tourist stuff but its cool anyways. >Chinatown >downtown >Salesforce park>peir 39>golden gate park>Japanese tea garden>twin peaks for best view of the city>DO NO GO TO THE TENDERLOIN THATS WHERE ALL THE BUMS ARE>palace of fine arts
I was in SF for business not too long ago and had a bit of free time (and a comped rental car). I took a drive over to Battery Ridge, its an old military gun battery with great views of the bridge and skyline, and of course you have to drive over the bridge to get there, which is its own experience. Its a short detour with really incredible views. From there you can go to Muir Woods if you want to see nature. I think SF downtown is worth visiting if youre like me and love architecture and like just walking around, otherwise I cant think of anything downtown worth seeing other than Chinatown, which is pretty cool. When I was in Chinatown I saw numerous Chinese squatting and eating, smoking cigarettes, etc, it felt quite authentic. I walked from downtown to Haight-Ashbury because I like the Victorians but thats just me.Honestly im not a huge fan of the city overall. When I did that long walk it was maybe 15 years ago and I distinctly remember some crazy homeless in Golden Gate Park.
>>2654292Muir woods
>>2654292Nappa Valley is nice, but the city is honestly super hilly and kind of boring. Also hella chinks and jeets and from what I understood no attractive women or real night life.
>>2658917I actually forgot about this, the seals are cool thanks for reminding me.
>>2654292Hi OP. born and raised in SF. these are all recommendations for staying in the city or within an hour drive. I recommend getting a car. Yes, parts of SF are incredibly walkable. But if you try to just use the metro you will be stuck visiting the most overrated parts of the city. Rent a tiny smartcar so it’s easier to park, and if you don’t already know, you NEED to be able to parallel park, backwards, on very steep hills. If you have a car you can access so much more, and I say this as someone who loves walking. First, stuff outside the city: Don't do Muir woods. I loved it as a kid but it's too crowded and a hassle. IF YOU WANT the “redwood experience.” do Memorial Park in San Mateo County instead. It's gorgeous, small, and empty. While heading there you can either check out half moon bay (don't go on a weekend) the lighthouse at pigeon point, or if you take the bay-side down you can go to Filoli, which I recommend more; it’s lovely. If you take that way you can also stop at the Millbrae Pancake House, which has amazing Swedish pancakes. other nice stuff close outside but close is:-The marin headlands (tennesee valley is a super easy hike, point bonita lighthouse is terrifying and awesome on a windy day)-Devil’s Slide Trail (on the way, stop at the most beautiful taco bell in the country at Pacifica Beach)-Wat Mongkolratanaram in Berkeley (thai temple that does a great "brunch" on Sundays. If you end up going to Berkeley check out the UC, they have tons of homeless people but great restaurants in the area.
>>2661904WITHIN SF though (the most important stuff) here are some recs, and please note that I am someone who can walk for hours up and downhill while still feeling fine: -go to Hyde Street Pier. Smallest national park, amazing real sailing ships with exhibits built-in. they do live sea chanties on weekends on one of the boats. cheap admission. My mom was a park ranger there for years. -While there go to the maritime museum (they have an incredible photography exhibit, one-room, hidden in the back. free admission. -also check out the small "San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park Visitor Center". very cute. free admission. -Avoid the rest of fisherman's wharf & pier 39, except the musee mechanique if you like that kind of thing.-Walk/bike from fort mason, across the marina green and crissy field, all the way to fort point, underneath the GG bridge. if you do it in the morning you will almost always see harbor dolphins or seas. go to fort point (make sure it's open). on a windy/foggy morning it's somehow even more incredible. -GG battery park is okay. -driving through the backroads of the presidio is very pretty. -Coit tower is meh, if you want a great view go to the vallejo stairway. - in that same part of the city, the peppermint stick ice cream at swensen's was always my favorite. -the tonga room and the ROOF GARDEN (hidden away but free admission) at the Fairmont are fun to pop into. while there at nob hill, check out grace cathedral. then walk down to union square, which is abutted by the Westin st. francis hotel. it's very easy to sneak onto the exterior-glass elevators and ride them all the way to the top floor, which has incredible views. this is super fun, please do it. THEN walk through china town at the grant-st entrance, all the way to north beach (red light district and italian neighborhood is there.) The delis there are very good.
>>2661905-skip japan town unless you're nearby. IF you do go there, stop by St. Mary’s cathedral. It’s a very cool modernist catherdral. -drive through Pacific Heights and Presideo Heights just to check out all the mansions. No where also in the united states are mansions built like this, all stacked right next to one another. If you go the Flood Mansion (Convent High School) you can ask the front desk if they will let you tour around the main hall. It’s sick. -If it’s the right time of year, 100% buy tickets to go see the Decorator Showcase. Now for some other walks. It’s a lovely city, if you just pick an uphill direction and walk towards it you’re bound to find a great view and beautiful houses. Some of my favorites. -Start on Cortland, walk to the top of Bernal Peak. Then walk down into the mission. Take either Valencia (cool stores) or Dolores (cool houses) all the way up to Dolores Park. From there, go through the Castro all the way to the top ofCorona heights. From there, you can walk to the height-ashbury or say fuck it and go to the height another day. If you are in the height-ashbury, you can walk to the top of Tank hill, another stellar view. -Stern Grove is a pretty walk, down to the outdoor concert hall.-Stern grove through west portal and up to the top of Mt Davidson (highest point in the city limits). -Bottom of Glen Canyon, through glen canyon (gorgeous canyon smack in the middle of the city) all the way to the top of twin peaks. You can also get to the top of twin peaks starting from upper 24th street, from the 16th avenue steps below grand view park, or from the castro. -Starting from "Crocker trail head" you can hike all the way to the top of San Bruno Mountain. hands down one of the best views of the "entire" city. go on a sunny day.
>>2661906-There is a trail that takes you from the cliff house, down to sutro baths, then along lands end, all the way almost to baker beach. it's a great trail. baker beach is also beautiful, and has a nude section if you want to swim naked. -I also used to swim and surf at ocean beach but I understand it's not for everyone even though it's the largest beach. if you go, either fly kites or talk to the fishermen. If you have time though I always recommend Fort Funston, where the hang-gliders launch from, and THORNTON BEACH, which is the most underrated beach in the area. go on a sunny day and it's stunningly beautiful.-golden gate park: the academy of sciences is expensive, though their aquarium is awesome. skip the deyoung museum. i like the walk around stow lake (free) and the botanical gardens (admission). one of my favorite little treks... in the morning, walk to the end of Heron's Head park. there is a small white stone "bench" at the very end. Turn around and find mount Davidson. if you look, you'll just be able to spot a small white boulder on its summit. Then in the afternoon, after you've done other stuff, drive to mt. davidson and hike up from the "Juanita way" entrance. at the top, you'll just barely be able to find the same white bench at heron's head, 4.75 miles away.most tech people in the city are transplants who think they know the area but really are geographically restricted to what they’ve been told are the “cool” places. SF is genuinely diverse and you can go to a lot of sick art workshops, private land, and other restricted historical sites simply by calling and asking the right people. the art deco society puts on cool events too
>>2661909Thank anon, this is really detailed. I'll see how much of it I can fit into my trip.
hire a bicycle and ride over the golden gate bridge to sausalitoget the ferry over to muir woods go on a long walk via a few landmarks?e.g.north beach -> coit tower -> fishermans wharf -> lombard street -> palace of fine arts -> presidio parki enjoyed sitting up at coit tower after dark, smoked a joint bought legally at a shop nearby (a novelty for a bong), looked at the city lights, and listened to some young hispanic fellas freestyle rapping in spanish
