OT: San Francisco tour suggestions

[Joey Cupcakes]

Try one of the FOOT tours. Very entertaining!

http://www.foottours.com/

[Joey Cupcakes]

[quote Silencio]I would completely avoid Fisherman's Wharf, if at all possible. Nothing to see down there and no good restaurants, either, though the Musée Mechanique is pretty fascinating.
Mostly true- you don't want to eat anywhere near Pier 39, at least. A. Sabella's food is excellent, though (if overpriced).

Absolutely true about http://www.museemechanique.org/ (near Pier 45, close to where the tour boats for Alcatraz take off). One of my favorite unique spots in this city.

And did I mention the http://www.foottours.com/ tours? (OK, so a friend of mine runs the company...)

[Joey Cupcakes]

[quote Buzz]eat at the corner of Geary & Van Ness.
Yay Tommy's Joynt! (Pretty sure you're not talking about Mel's)

[Joey Cupcakes]

[quote Don Kiyoti]Cassie,

Can you still walk around under the bridge? I did that when I was there in '83. I encountered a pelican who'd run into a cable and was just laying there. After awhile he got up and seemed ok. There was a bunch of bridge maintenence stuff piled there. This was on the Marin side.
You can still drive to Fort Point on the SF side.

This is where Kim Novak jumped into the bay in Vertigo. (In fact, consider doing the Hitchcock Tour. http://gocalifornia.about.com/cs/sanfran...tigo_2.htm

[Joey Cupcakes]

[quote cassie]I agree with what vision63 said about "jaded".

Lots of Bay Area residents haven't been to many of the land marks and sites for a long time. And in many cases, they may never have been. And that goes for some in my family. Those in that category generally do not keep up with all the changes and, in most cases, improvements. Therefore, they may pooh-pooh a new visitor's exuberant choices.

I guess we may all be guilty of taking our own for granted at times
Pier 39 is not a landmark, it was built very recently for the specific purpose of being a tourist trap. Nearby Fisherman's Wharf at least looks like it used to be real.

[Joey Cupcakes]

[quote fmgtech]I can remember being in San Francisco back in the late 70's and driving around on the Marin side. I don't really remember exact directions but we woundup driving through some one-way tunnel and winding up above the bay where there were some large gun bunkers and military type barracks. Supposedly they were to defend against a Japanese attack. It was very interesting and somewhat surreal.
You're talking about the Marin Headlands. Best over-the-top view of the GG Bridge and the City you can get without going to the top of Mt. Tamalpais (also recommended.)

Hey hotdog, have we given you enough to do yet?

[Joey Cupcakes]

...and if you're in a car, don't forget driving up to Twin Peaks for the best view (if it's not foggy) of the eastern part of the city and the Bay.

It was a great place to look at the Oakland Hills Fire in 1991...