What are the best places to visit and things to do in the Bay Area?

Question

Things I do now in SoCal:

--LA and San Diego Zoo
--Aquarium of the Pacific, Cabrillo Aquarium, Birch Aquarium
--ScienCenter (lame here in LA)
--Museum of Natural History
--Chinatown
--cultural festivals
--whale watching
--tide pools

I hope this will help give a better idea of what I'm looking for :)

Answer 1

I had a month vacation last year in San Francisco. I was able to see the Christmas tree lighting courtesy of Macy's in Union Square where in people flocked during Thanksgiving at around 6-7pm. I was able to stay there at the Bay area throughtout the whole Christmas season last year. I was also able to stay at the Contra Costa Country x 1 month, particularly in Concord.
I suggest that you begin your tour by having maps of the place prior to getting there and plan your trip wisely so that you can get the best out of your money. ( maps are available at the Visitors area near the cable car area)
First, start your trip at Powell street where the cable car is! It cost $5.00 last year. Dont forget to take a picture! It will give you a birds eyeview of the Alcatraz island as seen in postcards and the trip ends in Fisherman's wharf. At the Fishermans wharf, you can have your lunch at Pier 39. It is well known for its seafoods. You can take a walk of the street after lunch. You can see a wax museum over there. You can also walk over at the Embarcadero, there is a mall over there or you can choose a double decker tour of the city, a trip to Alcatraz, to the Golden Gate , Sausalito and even to Monterey. My friend, Marissa, treated me over to a double decker tour of the city, it cost more or less $25.00. As you wait for the trip to be filled up, go over the street and look for souvenirs. Postcards are cheaper here. The double decker tour will bring you over at the Embarcadero, Moscone Convention Center, you will learn that Levis started over here, go over at Union Square and the entrance of Chinatown. You will see a bird's eye view of the city.

From there, you can chose to walk over the up and down street of Chinatown and see some souvenirs there too. Souvenirs available are miniature cable cars, tshirts, carplates with your name on it, or chose some personalized souvenirs.

Go over famous stores at Union Square.
( Search the internet for your choice)
I suggest that you go back to Powell street
where you can ride the BART ( Bay Area Rapid Transit District). This will bring you back and forth from San Francisco to the neighboring Contra Costa County through the yellow lanes ( where it goes to Rockridge, Orinda, LaFayette, Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, Concord, Pittsburg). The red lanes, will bring you to Richmond-Daly City, green to Fremont-Daly City, blue, to Dublin/Pleasanton-SFO/Milbrae).

I suggest that you drive over & take a walk at the Golden Gate Bridge and see the Japanese Park over there. It has a nice view in the morning and in the evening. I suggest that you see both views. Did you know that the San Francisco Bridge is actually 3 bridges? It consists of a viaduct, a cantilever section & the western suspension. A new western span is under contruction according to the San Francisco Tours sightseeing & winecountry tours page.

For dinner, you can drive downtown, since beauty of San Francisco is different at night time. Go over near the famous up & down streets. Be careful when driving and parking your car there. Also be prepared that it is hard to park & it is expensive! So better get there early. I suggest that you go to San Francisco's little Italy, at North Beach. Here you can see the nightclubs and bars ! There is a museum here, the North Beach Museum which is free of charge consisting of pictures that tell a little history of this neighborhood. Its on the 3nd floor of the Eureka Bank Building . ( open 9-4 Mon-Thurs, 9-6 on Fridays, closed on weekends, located at 1435 Stockton St. ). Drive also over at Sunset blvd and dont forget to drive over at Lombard St., which is the crookedest street not only in San Francisco but also in the world. Dont forget to see the Victorian -style houses with skyscrapers downtown.

San Francisco has big churches. Search prior to going there in what religious section you belong.

It has also lots of museums, the more famous ones, is the Museum of Fine Arts. It has the largest art institution not only downtown but the whole of US. ( www. thinker.org/fam/about/contact/index.asp). See also www. sfmoma.org/ ( San Francisco Museum of Modern Art) .

You might be tight on budget, but these are just suggestions!
Nearby places to visit:

1. Monterey
Location: an hour and a half drive south along the scenic Pacific Coast Highway
Since the zoos is part of your list, then I recommend that you go here. See the 48 pictures at yahoo travel.

a. Monterey Bay Aquarium, where you can see jellyfishes. Suggested #1 must see or do in Monterey by Yahoo travel.
Location: 886 Cannery Row

b. Baywood Cellars Tasting Room:
Location: 381 Cannery Row
It has won several silver & bronze medals in recent competitions.

c. Monterey State Historic Park
Location: 5 Custom House Plaza
It is one of the city's beautiful attraction which include seing historic period homes dating back to the 1800s.

d. Chris whale watching tours
(www. Chriswhalewatching.com/ )
Location : 48 Fisherman's Wharf
2 hour tour seeing a thousand whales

2. Big Sur
It covers a large area over the Pacific coast. It is admired for its beautiful forests & breathtaking coastline.
Along the way, visit, Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, near Big Sur.

3. Sausalito, Spanish, little willow
Location: It is a city in the San Francisco Bay area situated in Marin County, California. It is at the northern terminus of the Golden Gate Bridge famous for yatching & fishing. It is a local artists community. There is an apartment complex here called " whisky springs." There are many springs here.

4. Napa and Sonoma
These are the wine counties in California in which you can experience free wine tasting. There are also restaurants which offers California cuisine served with their local wine.
What about touring the wineries by coach or sightsee by train? isnt this a new experience?
The Napa Valley is said to be as famous as the vineyards of France for the grapes it produces.

5. San Jose City
Location: 30 miles south of San Francisco
This is the largest city in Northern California & California's 3rd largest city. It is known as "the Capital of Silicon Valley" It has a Chinese cultural garden. ( Location: OverfeltGardens Park)
You can visit the San Jose Museum of Art & Egyptian Museum.
Visit "Great Mall of the Bay Area" in Milpitas, near San Jose. This is suggested among serious shoppers. This is a wonderland of factory outlet stores.

6. Yosemite National Park
Location: half-day drive to the east
in the Sierra Nevada Mountains
Did you know that it is includied as the top ten tour destinations in US by land? and did you know that Yosemite is the tallest waterfall in the US & the world's 5th largest?
This includes exciting scenery in California.
a. Half Dome
b. Yosemite Falls
c. Bridalveil Falls
d. Cathedral Rocks
e. 3500 ft El Capitan

Answer 2

Hi! In SF, I'd suggest:

1. Alcatraz - there are daily tours to take you out there
2. Golden Gate Bridge - beautiful!
3. Chinatown - great dim sum
4. Fisherman's Wharf - kitschy but fun, great seafood
5. Union Square - shopping, yeah!
6. Lombard St. - the crookedest street you're likely to see
7. Golden Gate Park - several cool gardens
8. Exploratorium - beautiful building! swans, too. it's a museum.
9. Muir Woods - enjoy the trees.
10. Winchester Mystery House - touristy, but interesting

What else? Maybe the flea market in San Jose, or Great America if you want something like an amusement park. Oh, and Napa's not too far away if you want to enjoy wine at some of the local wineries. But if you go to Napa, be sure and book a hotel in Napa instead of one of the nearby towns, like Vallejo. The hotels are not as nice outside of Napa, and you get what you pay for.

Have fun in the Bay Area!

Answer 3

Muir Woods, Mount Tam & highway 1 toTomales Bay, Seal Rock & Cliff House

Eat at LittleJoes on Van Ness

Then all the tourist stuff - Alcatraz, Pier 49, Coit Tower, Lombard Street

Answer 4

Go see the Pet Shop Boys November 7th at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.
99 Grove St.
San Francisco, CA 94102
[phone]
Also, read the website: www.sfstation.com to find other things to do and places to stay.

Answer 5

the sacramento zoo or the funderland/fairtale town in sac, not sure if its open around this time of year. but i used to love it when i was younger and lived in sac. The zoo, funderland, and fairytale town are all located around the same area. there's always the piers or even walking across the golden gate bridge would be an incredible experience.

Answer 6

Go to the Peers. Peer 39 is the best because it's by Alcatraz and the seals. There's a bunch of shops and incredible views as well.

Answer 7

Fisherman's Wharf. You should try some calm chowder. They make the best and the bread, the bread is excellent. There is a place down on Fisherman's Wharf where they make good sour dough bread.

Answer 8

Make sure you hit China Town. The Chinese food is amazing.

Answer 9

morecombe bay is much better, try the cockles