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What to See on Your San Francisco Vacation
Ghirardelli Square
900 North Point St, San Francisco, CA 94109
Shopping and waterfront dining at fine restaurants and shops in historic San Francisco Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory near San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf. The building was saved from destruction in one of the U.S. 's first examples of adaptive reuse.Ghirardelli Square Chocolate Festival takes place in early September.
Golden Gate Bridge
US Hwy 101 San Francisco CA; Tel. 415.921.5858
Arguably the world's most beautiful bridge, the mammoth rust-red deco San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge connects San Francisco with Marin County and can be experienced from near countless angles. Drive, bike, or walk across the two-mile long suspension bridge or get down to the base and look up from the tide pools at Baker's Beach or from a Frisbee toss at Crissy fields, both in the adjoining Presidio.
 Golden Gate Park
Larger than Central Park, the 1,000-acre Golden Gate Park;s treasure trove of attractions includes Stybing Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, a biodiversity hub where 6,000 plant species, including a towering display of California redwoods, thrive; the ethereal Japanese Tea Garden; a children's playground; the Asian Art Museum; MH de Young Memorial Museum; and the California Academy of Sciences, with its aquarium, Morrison Planetarium and laserium. Even more, the open tennis courts, horse stables, baseball diamonds, polo grounds, croquet and lawn-bowling greens, an archery field, a golf course and a fly-fishing pool draw an outdoorsy crowd year-round. For a full experience, follow the green panhandle between Fell and Oak streets straight into the park.
 Grace Cathedral
1100 California Street at Taylor San Francisco CA; Tel. 415.749.6300
The gothic landmark of the west coast, the ornate beauty of Grace Cathedral is home to hidden gardens, curling dragon statues, and a redwood pulpit that has seen the likes of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and the Dalai Lama. The Grace hosts glorious concerts year round and its Columbarium is the only sacred landmark in San Francisco where freshly cremated remains may be laid to rest.
Haight-Ashbury
Keep on truckin' southwest of downtown and you'll hit Haight-Ashbury ('the Haight'), the locus of San Francisco 's brief fling as the home of flower power in the late 1960s. Today, the Haight is still colorful, but its pretty Victorian houses and proximity to Golden Gate Park have prompted increasing gentrification. The compact Castro , to the southeast, is the gay center of San Francisco and one of the best neighborhoods for strolling and watching the streetlife. Haight-Ashbury was the center of '60s psychedelia and despite gentrification and proliferation of stores like Ben & Jerry's and The Gap, it still retains its hippie counterculture credentials, and is dotted with Victorian houses, anarchist bookstores, piercing salons and clothing funky shops.
 Lombard Street
Russian Hill: Between Hyde and Leavenworth Streets, San Francisco CA
A drive over any of San Francisco 's mind-blowing hills leaves the impression that building a city here took some guts. On world-famous Lombard Street, developers chose the easy way out by making a series of switchbacks to ease Russian Hill's 40-degree grade. Half the delight of America 's Crookedest Street is the lush plantings that adorn each inner-curve, and the top-notch views of Coit Tower and the Bay. A traditional San Francisco vacation destination, the street can be prone to tourist gridlock; a good option is to park nearby and make use of the pedestrian staircases.
Lyon/Broadway Stairway
2900 Broadway, San Francisco CA
With more than 40 hills in seven square miles, no wonder San Francisco is home to some of the most scenic stairway hikes in the world. Climb the Lyon/Broadway stairway to heaven and see why the Pacific Heights neighborhood is so named. Reward yourself at the end of this five-story ascension with vim, vigor, and a bird's eye view of prime real estate rooftops, the Palace of Fine Arts, Alcatraz, and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Mission District
Mission Street between 16th and 24th Streets
The heart of San Francisco's predominantly Latino neighborhood is 24th Street, a colorful collection of authentic restaurants, taquerias, Mexican bakeries, produce markets, specialty shops and murals. Mission Dolores at 16th and Dolores streets is the oldest structure in San Francisco (many of San Francisco 's Spanish pioneers are buried on the site). Two blocks away on Dolores and 18th St., the palm tree studded Dolores Park still has a Spanish flavor.
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