I'm going to be in San Francisco August 4-10 for a LinuxWorld conference, and I'm going to have some free time to play, but I'm not interested in the regular tourist stuff (been there, done all that). I'm hoping to find some native San Franciscans or regular visitors who can tell me about things such as:
- Great neighborhoods of old houses or business areas with some really cool architecture that would be good for a walking tour
- Museums that are definitely worth visiting (small or large, traditional or off-beat)
- Restaurants!!! I must have really really really good food every night.
- Shows, plays or concerts in the park, events that are going on that are worth visiting
- Anything else that you think is well worth seeing but is not part of the regular tourist routine.
I'm not going to have a rental car, and I'm going to be staying in the Union Square area, so everything has to be either accessible by public transportation or a not hideously expensive cab ride from there.
Thanks for any advice you can give!
(And there's not been any house updates lately because I haven't been doing diddly on the house, other than getting the attic organized, finally.)
6 comments:
Mmmmm..... LinuxWorld....
Bring me back a penguin.
:p
ooh LinuxWorld... How cool. Are you in to computers?
Yup, computer geek though I'm actually quite new to Linux. I'm an old-school engineering programmer (5 years of college using punched cards then 4 years programming in Fortran and assembler languages), then moved into teaching focusing first on PC apps then networking (primarily Banyan for many years, a smattering of Novell and Unix, and now Linux). I teach CIS at the local community college.
OOooo, SF! I envy you! You won't have any trouble finding good food. Here are some things to check out:
Look at the restaurants listed at concierge.com. This site also has great info on things to do.
Buy yourself a MUNI passport(discounted fare card you can also use on buses, etc.) --you can take MUNI or BART or affiliated transit to just about anyplace in the greater Bay area. BART sells discounted farecards, too, but the MUNI pass is more useful for touring the city, I think. The transit511 site has the best maps, too.
Some places to see:
The Castro (don't miss the leather shops and Good Vibrations)
Union Street shopping district--great little boutique shops and restaurants
Berkeley fun shops and street vendors up by UC-Berkeley
Golden Gate Park especially the Japanese tea house and Dutch windmill (you can rent a bike to get around the park)
The Haightis a fun place to shop and wander around and see some of the painted lady-type Victorians
Other not-so-touristy fun stuff: take a ferry over to Marin County and have lunch along the water. Take a bus out to Twin Peaks for the view (or walk across Golden Gate Bridge for a similar experience). The Embarcadero and Fisherman's Wharf is very touristy, but Ghiradelli Square (at the far west end) is kinda fun, in a kitschy sort of way.
Have fun and eat well! Skip the food in Moscone Center--there are plenty of really good restaurants within a block of it.
Dara, thanks!!! I just changed my hotel from a sterile ordinary hotel near the conference to a wonderful-sounding B&B in the Castro/Noe Valley area. I have some online friends in the area, one who it turns out lives in walking distance from where I'm staying, so I'll have some local advice as well. And another online friend's hubby owns a brewpub, Magnolia's, in the Haight where I'm meeting a bunch of other online friends Sunday.
Thanks for the advice on the MUNI card. It sounds like I can really use one especially since I'll not be in walking distance to the conference, though I've promised Von that I'll take cabs after dark.
I'm finally getting excited about this trip, especially since I switched where I was staying.
first off, have a great time. i concur with the De Young Museum. It is a great addition to the city. I also agree to check out the Ferry Building. Go on Saturday if you can, and grab breakfast at the farmers market. For breakfast try Dotties, Kate's Kitchen, Chow, Magnolia, Luna on Castro. For cheap/moderate dinners try the House of Nan King, San Francisco Brewing Company, Magnolia, Q, Chow, Suppenkuche, Fritz. More spendy but great options are House, Home, Medjool. There are so many, try House, it is awesome. As to 'hoods to walk in, I enjoy Beaua Vista Park and walking around in there. It is hilly with nice houses. If you want fun streets then try Hayes Street, Union Street, Chestnut Street.
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