|
What to See on Your San Francisco Vacation
North Beach
Broadway and Columbus, San Francisco CA
San Francisco's version of the Red Light District, North Beach at night is a bustling neon home to strip joints, bars, cafes and restaurants. Meander through the narrow streets off Broadway and see why this is San Francisco 's "Little Italy." Like is Italian heritage, North Beach still holds onto its 1950s Beatnick legacy with the bohemian City Lights Bookstore at the corner of Columbus Ave and Jack Kerouac Alley. Don't miss Tai Chi in the nearby Washington Square on weekdays or the North Beach Jazz Festival every August.
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco 's bay is curiously shy. It always seems to be around the corner, glimpsed in the distance, seen from afar. It is spanned by bridges, surrounded by cities and suede hills, dotted with sails and crisscrossed by fast-moving ferries, a sight without which no San Francisco vacation is complete. The bay is the largest inlet on the California coast, stretching about 60mi (100km) in length and up to 12mi (20km) in width.
 The beautiful Golden Gate Bridge crosses the 2mi (3km) mouth of the bay. Completed in 1937, the bridge remains the symbol of the city despite competition from modern constructions. At the time of its completion, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world and the 746ft (224m) suspension towers were higher than any structure west of New York City. The Bay Bridge , connecting San Francisco and Oakland, is five times as long as the Golden Gate Bridge, carries far more traffic and predates it by six months, but it's never had the same iconic fame.The bay's other attractions include Alcatraz Island , which operated as an 'escape-proof' prison from 1933 to 1963. Al Capone, 'Machine Gun' Kelly and Robert Stroud, the 'birdman of Alcatraz,' were among the prison's unsavory residents. North of Alcatraz, Angel Island served as an internment camp during WWII; it's now a popular place for walking, hiking, biking, picnics and camping. Both islands are accessible by ferry from Fisherman's Wharf and the Embarcadero.
Pacific Bell Park
24 Willie Mays Plaza, San Francisco CA; Tel. 415.972.1800
Anyone who has seen the Giants play at Pac Bell Park knows that Barry Bonds and other star players are not the only draw. Like a ship in harbor, the three-year-old park is nestled against the bay. Zen moments can be had and baseball forgotten when dizzy seat-searchers realize that yes, the water is right down there. A waterfront promenade allows spendthrift oglers to catch glimpses of the games through a fence. Pac Bell Park, located in San Francisco 's SoMa district, is easily accesible by public transportation.
Palace of Fine Arts
3301 Lyon St., San Francisco CA; Tel. 415.397.5673
If San Francisco had a palace, the beloved Palace of Fine Arts would be the place. Designed by Bay Area architect Bernard Maybeck to be a romanticized Roman ruin, San Francisco 's Palace of Fine Arts is surrounded by lush gardens and a lagoon and the whole dynamic has an otherworldly and transportive effect. Originally meant to be a temporary open-air art gallery for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exhibit, the Palace has been built and rebuilt, a testament to the love San Franciscans have for their ruddy masterpiece. While currently not a gallery, the Palace of Fine Arts ' theater does host film festivals, concerts and performing arts as well as being home to the Exploratorium.
Union Square
A lone Corinthian column surrounded by newly installed palm trees marks SF's mecca for shopaholics. If your San Francisco vacation is incomplete without some great shopping, this is the place to go! Ringed by Macy's, Saks, Neiman Marcus, Nike Town and Levi's stores along with colorful flower stands and street performers. Surrounding streets feature superstores like Virgin Megastore, FAO Schwarz, Gump's and Britex Fabrics along with boutiques for Coach, Bulgari, Cartier, Thomas Pink, Louis Vuitton, MaxMara, Emporio Armani, Diesel, Prada, Celine, Escada, Gucci, Guess, Hermes, Agnes B., Betsey Johnson and Wilkes Bashford.
 Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
701 Mission Street @ Third, San Francisco, CA 94103; Tel. 415.978.2700
Fumihiko Maki's daring architecture is home to eclectic exhibitions, performances and films. The lawn of Yerba Buena Gardens above is great for frisbee throwing. The nearby Sony Metreon, which opened in 1999 has become a major South of Market destination with 350,000 square feet of shopping, restaurants, movie theaters, interactive arcades and attractions, a great destination on your San Francisco vacation.
|
