Top 10 Tips For Visiting San Francisco
Top 10 Tips For Visiting San Francisco
1. Use public transportation or take taxis. San Francisco is very small (49 square miles) and full of one-way streets that aren't well marked (if marked at all). It's difficult enough to get around if you live there. It's likely to be a frustrating and potentially trip-ruining experience if you are visiting. In addition, parking is limited and expensive. Your best bet is taking taxis or, if you're feeling a little adventurous, using the Muni Bus System. It's $1.50 to ride it and you must have exact change. Ask the bus driver for a transfer when you get on board. Transfers are good for three hours (I'm pretty sure). There's a site called trip planner that can help you a lot with that endeavor. 
2. Pack for every kind of weather. Weather changes in San Francisco not only from day to day and from hour to hour but also from area to area. One day it might be warm and sunny, the very next day over cast and chilly. You might be lodging in a place that's sunny but going to a place that ends up being freezing. All in the same day. The sunniest areas of the city are toward the east - North Beach and Potrero Hill are quite nice. The nearer to the beach you get, the colder, windier, and foggier it gets. I live in the Outer Richmond and trust me, there's a reason why the property value of beach-front homes in San Francisco is less expensive than a lot of other San Francisco neighborhoods. As Mark Twain said "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." Layer your clothing. Please. I met a couple of penguins and even they layered their clothes in San Francisco.
3. The Haight is dirty. There. I said it. I know it's got an incredible history. I know it might be on your top places to visit, and I respect that. And don't get me wrong, I spend plenty of time in the Haight. Cool bars. Great yoga studios. Fun restaurants. Cool hippied-out drum circle in the park. Go ahead, go to the drum circle. Dance in circles. Visit famous the Haight Ashbury corner. But you have to know that it's greasy in the Haight. 
There are a lot of crack smokers and homeless people there and tourists stick out like sour thumbs. If you do go, especially at night, just watch where you're going, don't talk to strangers, and hold on to your wallet.
4. Walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. Really. It's neat. But layer your clothing. It gets windy out there.
5. Go in October, not in the summer. San Francisco has an Indian summer. 
June July and August are hit or miss. September and October are beautiful and you'll have a much higher chance of remarkable and warm days when you visit. BTW, I have a theory about San Francisco and sunny days. Because the architecture was built around fog it is outstanding on sunny days. Bright colors for the fog make for amazing days for the sun.
6. If you must go, make reservations for the Alcatraz tour way in advanced. The trips are almost always sold out, and especially on weekends and holidays.
7. Bring your walking shoes. I think one of the best ways to see a city is to walk it and because of its size and cool architecture, San Francisco was made for this kind of tourism. Plus, you'll get a great work out walking all of those hills and won't have to feel guilty indulging in a glass of wine or your favorite dessert at the end of the day (or the beginning if that's your fancy. After all, you're on vacation.)
8. Visit China town. They have a fortune-cookie-making factory there. And be adventurous and go down one of the alleys and up one of the narrow stair cases to a restaurant where there are no other tourists. The food is safe. And probably a lot better than any of the other Chinese restaurants in the main tourist zone of the town.
9. Go to the top of one of the many hotels by union square. Sip a glass of wine. Enjoy the view. Then return to your less outrageously expensive hotel that's a little bit outside of Union Square that's every bit as nice. Revel in the money that you saved. Scheme before going to sleep about what you're going to do for fun the next day with the money.
10. Visit Golden Gate Park. It's full of wonderful surprises, such as bison, wind mills, tea gardens, rollerskaters dancing to French disco music, 
and waterfalls, not to mention the De Yeung museum. Go to a festival in the park too - they're a lot of fun. http://www.parks.sfgov.org/wcm_recpark/GGP/GGPEvents.pdf
