San Francisco, CA + Add a trip

William Stout Architectural Bookstore

A very dangerous place to visit - I never leave without multiple purchases.

Beautiful, interesting books on architecture and design are stacked in enticing ziggurats, and the staff are very helpful - leading to more book-buying!

Make sure to go downstairs to the design department - it's a little hidden.

The Mission for sunshine!

San Francisco has some crazy micro-climates that really change the character of the neighbourhoods. Most days The Mission is a great sunny antidote to the darker or foggier parts of the city. Come for the sunshine, stay for the murals!

Wave Organ for mellowness

Several pipes leading in and out of the bay, their open ends focused in a concrete amphitheatre for the sound of the water. Go during high tide for maximum enjoyment.

More than food

San Francisco has great places to eat, but it is much more than that. Great areas to stroll: - Union Square - Fillmore - Marina - Embarcadero - Mission - Union Street - North Beach

Great areas to visit outside the city: - Sausalito - Berkeley - Napa - Sonoma - Palo Alto - Half-moon Bay - Santa Cruz - Carmel - Monterrey

Great museums: - SfMOMA - Legion of Honor - deYoung

Great little neighborhoods: - Castro - Noe - Nob Hill - North Beach - Pacific Heights

Medjool

Not the cheapest address but great bar in the Mission. The roof terrace is amazing!

Chestnut Street

Great street for non-chain-store shopping. Check out Dress for lots of cool LA labels and excellent service.

Dinner at Da Flora

Tiny, romantic spot combines funky décor and friendly service with Italian food that rivals anything in North Beach. For a main course, try the linguine with mushrooms and white truffle oil. Extensive Italian wine list; excellent, homemade desserts

toys on Haight!

Avoid Kid Robot - everything's behind glass, and while the salespeople aren't mean, they're more involved in surfing the web than engaging you. Instead, go to Giant Robot! Tons of cool little toys and stationery from Japan, gorgeous T-shirts (and yes, in big man sizes!), plus printed matter from mini-comics to art books. The store's on the small side, but it can fit about 10 browsers without probems.

Ace food at Pomelo

The mushroom ragu with sage .... yummmmm

Farmer Brown for gourmet soul food

Great restaurant, a little tucked away but just off Market. We loved the decor and the food was hearty, tasty and mostly locally produced. There's often a live DJ.

Check out E&O Trading Co for great Asian fusion & grill

BATS for great IMPROV theater

Bay Area Theater Sports is one of the top improv theater companies in the world. Located in scenic Fort Mason, right on the bay, with easy and free parking (unheard of in San Francisco), BATS presents at least two shows a week, ranging from short-form improv, to full length improvised musicals. The shows are ALWAYS funny and also the best value in SF, with tickets costing a mere $15.

PRICELESS ENTERTAINMENT FOR EVERYONE, even if you travel on a budget.

The Mission for alleys full of street art / graffiti

Take a walk through these streets and peek in all the alleys for some of the best graffiti and street art in the US. Don't miss Fabric8 while you're there, a neat little boutique/gallery with fantistic urban art.

New knees

For walking

Teatro Zinzanni

Opera, comedy, circus and dining - all in one. Needless to say no more. For your great San Francisco night out..

Best graffiti in town: Clarion Alley

Bernal Hill for great views

The top of Bernal Hill has great views of the city, downtown, on a clear day you can see the golden gate bridge, the marin headlands and the bay bridge into the oakland hills. Behind you, you can see down the bay into the southland...

Bistro Elan

Best restaurant in Palo Alto area - family-run, cool french.

Cafe 2223 in the Castro

This is one of my favorite new places to go when I am up in San Francisco. Located on Market Street in the Castro area. The food is terrific, Modern American. The service including bartender Jacob is awesome. Make sure you take the time to visit this great restaurant. You won't be disappointed. The first time I went they were just opening. The second time and third time it was packed and everyone at the bar was commenting on how the great the food is. Go visit.

Hangin' Out With Al and Dave

Is this still the United States? It's like a fantasy world.

tips

clam chowder is goooood

Quick stop in SF

All the murals floating around, esp. in the alleyways in the Mission.

City Lights Bookstore <www.citylights.com> 261 Columbus Ave San Francisco, CA 94133 - (415) 362-8193 Open Daily 10am-12am

great selection, atmosphere, and for a bit on the wild side, just step outside! to the left, chinatown, the right, girlie bars...

If you have a little bit of time you could take a san francisco bus tour of the area. I would recommend the 6 day west coast tour

IMO, William Stout architectural Bookstore is an excellent place to explore for bookworms, boasting of an interesting collection of works on art and architecture....great to spend some quality time...

There is lot to do in SF. Talking about the museums only there are a lot of museums to explore the culture of SF including architecturally stunning Museum of Modern Art, Legion of Honor, San Francisco Cable Car Museum, Cartoon Art Museum of San Francisco, Musee Mechanique etc.

IMO, hiking along Lands End is unique - views of the ocean, cliffs, etc. are amazing.

Don't expect the cafe to have anything substantial to eat, but they do have lovely cakes, inspired by art. Here's an article on the pastries in SFMOMA http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/25/DDDQ1886VH.DTL

it's huge, loud and awesome.

Website: http://www.missionhs.org/

Hiking the coastal trails of Lands End.

I have a thing for Oriental stuff, so when I was going around the Golden Gate Park I had to check out what this Japanese Tea Garden was all about. I had seen a couple of pictures in my guide book and on the internet and I thought this would be a great place for photo ops, so when I got to the entrance I was a bit thrown off about the idea of having to pay to get in. Not that it was much – $5 – but, I guess I’m just a cheap bastard. But you go to San Francisco for a few days, and you want to see this thing that looks interesting and it starts to weight on your conscience like “it’s just money, when are you coming back to see this again”.

Check for more at http://atlasparasite.com/2009/07/08/japanese-tea-garden/

I live around the corner from Mission Dolores but still didn't go to visit for almost a year. When I did I was really impressed. It's really pretty beautiful and has a real sense of patina and age that is rare in the US. Reminded me a lot of churches I went to in Greece and Spain when I was a teenager. The new church is grander in scale, but not quite as interesting, but the whole place is definitely worth an hour wandering around.

It's of historical value I guess, but I'm not sure generally it's a place I'd specifically go to visit.

All in all this is a pretty epic bookshop for those interested in design and architecture. Lovely area too, with good little bars and restaurants nearby.

The new church is grander in scale, but not quite as interesting, but the whole place is definitely worth an hour wandering around.

San Francisco has some crazy micro-climates that really change the character of the neighbourhoods. Most days The Mission is a great sunny antidote to the darker or foggier parts of the city.

San Francisco has some crazy micro-climates that really change the character of the neighbourhoods.

San Francisco can be windy and foggy, so make sure you can see the Island from the ferry boat location. If you can't see the island you won't be able to see the views of San Francisco--and this is a very pretty view. Also it can be VERY cold (wind + cold water) on Alcatraz so bring a jacket and maybe a hat.

The prison/museum is quite interesting.

Visit Crissy field and walk from the Yacht harbor to the Golden Gate bridge and back. There is a coffee place (the Warming Hut) near the bridge. This is one of the most spectacular walks in the city where you can appreciate: the Golden Gate bridge, the ocean/bay, the Islands in the bay, the architecture of the city, beautifully reclaimed landscape of Crissy field, and all the people walking along. It is one of my favorite walks in the world.

Alcatraz is freezing so rug up! Also do the audio tour. I havent been keen on these before but it gives you a total sense of what it must have been like. Worth every cent. They do regular trips daily and you can stay on the island as long as you need and catch the ferry back. We booked on the day with no problems

Well curated men's clothing store featuring Heritage Brands. Quality products and a helpful staff.