Hiya,
Has anybody been to san fran? and what did u think?
San Fransico
I have been. I quite liked it. Very pretty location. Lots of good restaurants of different ethnicities and price ranges. Lots of stuff to do outside of the city as well. John Muir Woods in Marin County is one of my favorite hiking spots, mainly because you can get there in 20 minutes (or so) from the city core. Day trips are possible to wineries or along the beach. Weekend trips are possible to Yosemite, Tahoe or Reno.
Greg
Well, I'm not sure I'm unbiased, since I live about 1 and 1/2 hours away by car from San Francisco--but I choose to live in this area because it's my favorite spot in the country. (And since I've visited 49 of the 50 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico, and lived in southern California, Utah, New Jersey, and Maryland, I do know a bit about the other states).
Generally, this area has great weather (normally 65-75 degrees F daytime highs all year round), beautiful scenery (SF Bay, Monterey Bay, 17-mile drive, Big Sur, and the Redwood Forests), and a cosmopolitan aura (easy to walk around lots of the areas--unlike LA and Chicago which are too spread out,or Philadelphia and Detroit which are too dangerous and dirty--I suppose SF's a lot like NY and Boston in this way).
Also, there are lots of things to do just outside of town--there are wineries north in Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley, or south in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Monterey, and Paso Robles. The golfing on the Monterey Peninsula is the best in the world (the Pebble Beach links--which has four courses--is ranked the #1 golf resort in the US--there have been four U.S. championships played here including Tiger Wood's incredible 15-stroke victory in 2000).
The Gilroy Garlic Festival usually attracts over 150,000 people. It's held the last weekend of July. Smaller festivals in the area include ones for artichokes, strawberries, raspberries, strawberries, olives, apples, and pumpkins.
The sailing is top-notch. Breezes during the summer months generally run 15 to 25 knots with 7 to 10 foot swells. The surfing is good, and in March all the top-notch surfers come to challenge the 30 to 50-foot breakers at Mavericks in Half Moon Bay (see the movie "Riding Giants" for more info on this). Generally 15,000 or more people turn out to view this "unofficial" world championship of giant wave riding.
There are redwoods both north and south of town. Muir Woods to the north and the Big Basin and Cowell Redwood Parks are south of town.
As for San Francisco itself, Chinatown in San Francisco is the largest collection of chinese people living anywhere outside of China itself. Fisherman's Wharf is fun, and a great place to get yourself a "walkaway" crab or lobster salad or a clam chowder. The city is a mix of eclectic, diverse, and tech-savvy. Shopping is fantastic with all the top shops down near Union Square. The town is a mix of old Victoria homes and newer condos and townhouses. People gather at small coffee shops and restaurants all over town and conversation seems to be the city's #1 pasttime. (except maybe baseball when Barry Bonds is playing--the MVP of the league 4 of the last 5 seasons--unfortunately he's injured now).
Alcatraz is an interesting diversion, as is the Golden Gate Bridge, the cable cars, and the Fine Arts Center or Exploratorium.
Also, it's about a 4 hour drive to Lake Tahoe--(water skiing, snow skiing, and gambling), 3 to 4 hours to the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Yosemite and Sequoia national parks (largest and oldest trees in the world). You can even go gold mining in these mountains since there's still a lot of gold that wasn't found during the original 1849 gold rush.
The major sunning beach is south at Santa Cruz where there are free concerts every Friday at the Boardwalk, and where there's also an amusement park. Santa Cruz also holds a Shakespeare festival every summer.
Anyway, come on out--I'll think you'll like it here--and find something to keep you busy.
Enjoy.
I thing Cal touch on everything. I myself ,live about a 45 min drive from the "CITY". It's a great city, it may not get the hoopla like NY or LA, neverless an awesome place to visit. In fact the bay area in general is pretty sweet.
M.
I loved San Fransisco and will definitely go back to visit some day soon. It was my first time visiting America and I wasnt sure what to expect, but it was great!
A really chilled out city, and I was sorry to leave after nearly a month there.
I wont bother repeating all the stuff Calcruzer has already mentioned. Alcatraz was one of the highlights for me - I booked in with an evening tour and it was worth it. Plus, the view of San Fran twinkling in the dusk on the ferry back was really memorable.
I also drove up with friends to Lake Tahoe for a few days. We also visited Yosemite (which I cant recommend enough!!) and did a tour of the Napa Valley. So, if you do tire of the city, there are plenty of other places to see.
I love San Francisco! Its a great place! I spent a month there visiting all the tourist places and also going off the beaten track. If you've got some time on your hands, then just walk it all. I know that the hills can be a bit steep but the views from the top (and the sense of achievement) are great. You also see lots of random little stores that you wouldn't necessarily see on the cable cars. A must see is the Haight district which propells you back to the sixties pretty much, Chinatown and a night out in the Castro district
Quoting samsara2
I loved San Fransisco and will definitely go back to visit some day soon. It was my first time visiting America and I wasnt sure what to expect, but it was great!
razz:
I have lived here now over 32 years and love the city with all its blemishes and which one does not have a few? The homeless are a sore point but they love it here for the mild weather. There really is something for everyone and like said, if you tire of the City [how???], the outlying areas are chunk full of super day or longer trips. It is beautiful country. And where can you drive over a bridge north and in a few minutes be around farms and cows, trees taller than any where else on this orb?
I love SF. Especially Citizen Cake. Thats All! I mean. I go there as much as humanly possible and financially possible
I live in San Francisco, so I know I'm not biased. But, I think it is a lovely and beautiful city. I love living here. The people are so friendly and there are plenty of fun things to see and do. I'm all about Citizen Cake too. It's delicious.
We'll be coming to the S.F. area with a child(under age 10). What are some inexpensive kid friendly things to do and places to eat? Thanks Calcruizer (and others) for all the points of interest!