Photography by Kevin Foxby |
San
Francisco and the Bay Area Attractions |
|
| Alcatraz | Cable cars | Carmel | Castro |
| Alcatraz
is now a national park, from 1934 to1963 a maximum-security prison
housing Al Capone and the likes. Ferries depart from Pier 41 daily.
Tickets sell out quickly, advisable to buy a day or two ahead. EuroUSA guide available for groups |
First Cable
cars operated in San Francisco in 1873. 3 lines remain: Powell-Hyde,
Powell-Mason, and California streets. Daily 630AM till 1230AM ____________________ Cable Car Museum and Powerhouse 1201 Mason Street at Washington Street 415 474-1887 Open daily 10AM-6PM |
A former artists colony on
Pacific Coast 2 1/2 hours drive south of San Francisco. Art galleries,
Carmel Mission, Pebble
Beach, 17 mile drive, Carmel valley resorts, start for seanic
Coast Highway 1 to Big Sur
and south. Road information call 1 800 427-7623Point
Lobos. Carmel is home to both Doris Day and Clint Eastwood ____________________ |
Castro, the largest gay and lesbian community is a vibrant, upscale area. Castro Street around 18 St and Market St. Lesbian and Gay Freedom Day Parade third weekend of June, Castro Street Fair early Oct and Halloween Parade on Oct 31. Streetcar F on Market Street. KLM Muni metro stop Castro. Crusing The Castro walking tour with Trevor Hailey |
| Chinatown | Coit Tower | Exploratorium | Fisherman'sWharf |
|
The oldest Chinatown in the US, this world famous and colorful 24 square block area downtown is home to 40,000 people of Chinese origin. Grand Avenue and Stockton Street shops. Dim sum. Restaurants. Temples. Saturday night market at Portsmouth Square New Year's parade and festivities in January and February |
This 60 meters tall fluted,
concrete pillar on top Telegraph Hill was built in 1930 to honor
Firemen and named after Lillie Hitchcock Coit. Depression Era murals
inside the tower. Elevator to the top. Open May-Sept 10AM-730PM
daily 415 362-0808 |
Exploratorium Inter-active hands-on technical museum at the Palace of Fine Arts, 3601 Lyon St. Closed Mondays. Hours 10AM to 5PM. Wednesdays until 9PM 415 563-7337 415 EXP-LORE |
50 fishing
crews still operate from the wharf, now a tourist mecca for shopping,
dining and sight seeing. Sea lions, Maritime Museum, Pier
39, Aquarium
of the Bay, WaxMuseum, Ghirardelli
Square. Musée Mécanique |
| Golden Gate Bridge | |||
| Golden
Gate Bridge This symbol of SF was built between 1933 and 1937, the span is 4,200 ft or 1,350 meters. 6 car lanes, a promenade and bicycle path. Vista points on both sides. Fort Point fort from1860s under San Francisco side. Marin Headlands across the bridge for great views, mountain biking and hikes. Blue
& Gold Fleet boat tours under the bridge from Fisherman's
Wharf's Pier 39 start 10AM daily Bike over the bridge. Bike rentals at Zap 2715 Hyde Street in Fisherman's Wharf 415 931-0234 Buses 28 |
 Courtesy of San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau |
||
| Golden Gate Park | HaightAshbury | Japantown | Lake Tahoe |
|
This beautiful Victorian park, larger than New York's Central Park took 20 years to built in late 1800s.Visitor Center at Beach Chalet, 1000 Great Highway, 415 751-2766, open 9-6 daily. California
Academy of Sciences has an aquarium, planetarium and an earthquake exhibit; a room shakes 5.1 on
Richter scale. Under renovation. Exhibits are Japanese Tea Garden, Conservatory
of Flowers, de Young Museum of Art (under construction, opening
in October 2005), Strybing Arboretum. Model yachts, Bison. Tennis, biking, rollerblading,
9-hole golf course. Horseback riding at Park Stables Bikes, rollerblades and equipment rental at Stanyan and Haight Street shops______________________ |
Hippies, Flower Children
and Summer of Love of 1967 made Haight
Ashbury world famous, still a center for alternative youth culture.
Good shopping for used LPs, clothing, musical instruments, and renting
bikes, rollerblades and skateboards. Bars and cafes.
|
Nihonmachi, a modern Japanese shopping and entertainment center. Home to 12,000 Japanese. Geary at Laguna. Bowling www.jtowntaskforce.org ___________________ |
Year round resort, a mountain lake in the Sierra Nevada 4 hrs drive
East of San Francisco. Squaw Valley, Heavenly and a dozen top ski
resorts. |
| Lombart Street | MarinHeadlands | MarineWorld | Metreon |
|
The crookedest street in the world, a must see. Between Hyde and Leavenworth Streets, a few blocks from Fisherman's Wharf Cablecar Powell-Hyde |
Part of the Golden Gate Recreation area, beautiful vistas over the ocean, San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate on the Marin side of the bridge. Visitor Center Miwok Stables |
Sixflags Marine World in Vallejo is America's only combination wildlife park, ocnarium and theme park. 32 thrilling rides, 35 exotic animal attractions, and 10 shows. Seasonal |
SONY METREON
entertainment center has 15 movie theaters, IMAX,
a Sony PlayStation, shops including Microsoft and Discovery Channel,
and 8 restaurants at Yerba Buena Gardens, Mission and Fourth Streets
|
| Monterey | Muir Woods | Napa Valley | Oakland |
|
Monterey was California's first capital found by Spanish in 1602. Historic buildings, Fisherman's Wharf, Cannery Row, Aquarium 800 756-3737. Beach, snorkeling. Pacific Grove. 17 mile drive. Golf and tennis. 2 hrs south of SF Monterey info |
Muir
Woods National Monument with giant ancient redwood trees that
grow up to over 115 meters tall and reach 2,000 years of age. |
Napa
Valley America's premium wine district, home to Falcon Crest and
over 250 wineries. Hot balloon rides, mud baths, outlet shopping.
Day tours from San Francisco. Napa Valley Wine Train EuroUSA Wine Country Guide |
The city and port in the East
Bay next to university town of Berkeley. Jerry Brown is the mayor.
Museum of California,
Jack London
Square, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Floating White House
USS Potomac,
Aircraft Carrier USS Hornet in Alameda daily from 10-5. Red &
White Fleet from Fisherman's Wharf Pier 43 1/2 and from Embarcadero. 510 521-8448 Alameda Oakland ferry |
| Pier 39 | Presidio | Russian River | San Jose |
|
Pier 39, the
main attraction in Fisherman's Wharf. Shopping, dining, sea lions,
Under Water World Aquarium, Hard Rock Cafe |
Presidio, original Spanish military site of 1776, today a National Park including Fort Point, Baker Beach, the Presidio Museum of Military. 18-hole private golf course. By the Golden Gate Crissy Field park |
An area where San Franciscans escape the fog and cold in summer, 2 hours drive north over Golden Gate Bridge on I-101. Guerneville. Wineries. Redwoods. Nearby Alexander Valley and Healdsburg has great wineries and restaurants EuroUSA Wine Country Guide |
Bay
Area's largest city with over one million inhabitants, 60 km south
of San Francisco. Silicon Valley, The
Tech Museum of Innovation, Great
America Amusement park, Sharks
Ice Hockey team. Moffett Field Museum Tue-Sat 10-2. ID650 603-9827. EuroUSA Silicon Valley Guide |
| Santa Cruz | Sausalito | Silicon Valley | Sonoma |
|
A beach resort and college town on Monterey Bay south of San Francisco on Highway 1. One and half hour drive south of San Francisco. Boardwalk and Wharf. Surfers. |
Quaint town across the Bay. Ferries from Embarcadero Golden Gate 415 455-2000 and from Fisherman's Wharf Pier 41 Blue & Gold Fleet 415 773-1188 info or 415 705-5555 charge by phone. Marina and houseboats. Shopping and Dining |
Largest concentration of computer and internet companies in the US. Vast area south of San Francisco and Palo Alto from Stanford University to San Jose. Home to thousands of hi-tech companies including Apple, Cisco, Google, Hewlett Packard, Intel, Nokia, Oracle, Palm, Sun, 3COM. EuroUSA Silicon Valley Guide |
Historic town in the Wine
Country an hour's drive away north of San Francisco. 150 wineries,
Jack London Park. Spanish Mission. Bear Flag revolt in
1846 made California a republic for 3 weeks. Oldest winery Buena Vista.
Beautful coast with Fort Russ built by Russian fur traders and hunters.
Point Reyes where Sir Francis Drake stopped in 1579. FAHA, Finnish
American Home Association has vappu, midsummer and other festivities.
EuroUSA Wine Country Guide |
| Tiburon | Union Square | USS Hornet | Victorians |
|
A quaint town across the Bay. Main Street and the historic Ark Row. Blue & Gold Fleet ferries from Pier 41 in Fisherman's Wharf |
San Francisco's heart and an upscale shopping area. Department stores Gumps, Macy's, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstroms, NikeTown, Virgin MegaStore, Apple, Borders Books, Banana Republic, DisneyStore, Diesel, Eddie Bauer, Gap, Old Navy, Levi Strauss. Cablecars to Fisherman's Wharf on Powell St. Art shows on weekends, events |
USS Hornet in Alameda is a 300 meters long aircraft carrier used in WW2 and in the recovery of Apollo 11 & 12. Open daily from 10-5 except major holidays Service provided by the Blue and Gold Fleet from San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf Pier 41, the Ferry Building, and Oakland's Jack London Square.Disembark at Alameda Ferry Terminal and transfer to AC Transit #50. For rates and schedules, call 415 705-5555 |
14,000 beautiful wooden houses built during the late 1800s. Postcard
row, the most famous along Alamo Square on Steiner St. Victorian Home Walking Tour |
| Yosemite National Park | Zoo | ||
| The most beautiful place on earth, this National Park lies 5 hours drive east of San Francisco. North America's highest waterfalls, giant redwood trees, hiking, skiing and mountain climbing. Awahnee luxury hotel, Wawona or motel and tent accommodation. |
One day or longer tours from San Francisco. Yosemite |
San Francisco Zoo's
newest exhibit Puente al Sur includes a giant anteater Sauna. Also
of interest are gorillas and koalas, lorikeet feading and a worthog
exhibit. Over 1000 animals altogether. Open daily 10AM-5PM. Sloat
Blvd @ the Great Highway. 415 753-7080 |
EuroUSA guides available for groups for all San Francisco Area attractions and longer tours |