Going to San Francisco this weekend

Black88GTA

Diamond Member
Sep 9, 2003
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I'm flying to San Fran for work on Thursday, and decided to stay the weekend as long as I was there already. What are some good places to visit, things to see, decent bars, etc? I'll be by myself, which sorta sux, but want to go out anyway :p

Any suggestions?
 

cheapgoose

Diamond Member
May 13, 2002
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Go walk around downtown(Metreon), castro, go grab some grub at chinatown then over to Pier 39 and get some seafood..

there's a couple of "fancy" bars over at the Marina district.
 

Kaieye

Platinum Member
Oct 9, 1999
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I just drove around the tourist spots with my out of town relative. It is dead as a door nail outside and the restaurants aren't doing all that great...
 

ViRGE

Elite Member, Moderator Emeritus
Oct 9, 1999
31,516
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Originally posted by: Black88GTA
Originally posted by: FleshLight
CASTRO STREET

/thread

Heh...most places on Castro Street don't seem to be my type of establishment :Q

Sony Metreon looks sweet, I may have to spend some time in there :). I've already made it a point to try and visit the Rock if I can, but I'm not sure I'll have time.

SuperTool, thanks for the links, I'll have to check those out.
The Metreon is definitely a tourist trap, but none the less, it was worth it to duck in last time I was in SF on a business trip. You can hit up the arcade and kill a few braincells, take a look at their huge Sony store, catch a flick - just avoid the gaming walk of fame at all costs.:p You may also want to stop by the Apple SoHo store while you're there, it's the biggest of them all(2 stories even) and just oozes that Apple vibe that tends to attract people like moths.;) You can check out China Town too, but if you're like me and prefer Americanized Chinese food over the real thing, it's a so-so deal.
 

SuperTool

Lifer
Jan 25, 2000
14,000
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Well, it is Sunday night. People aren't exactly going to go to touristy spots and throw parties just because you are in town :D
 

ed21x

Diamond Member
Oct 12, 2001
5,411
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Palace of Fine Arts

Golden Gate Park

Alcatraz

Ghiradelli Squre

Pier 39

Union Square

Castro St

up and down Market Street

UC Berkeley :cool:
 

0roo0roo

No Lifer
Sep 21, 2002
64,795
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maybe go to the moma. museum of modern art:p its a new facility..kinda neat.

anyways the metreon is way overrated. only real use is for small bit of shopping, or watching movies at the theater. the arcade is the pits, and there really isn't anything else to do there. think apple stores. ooo a company "x" product on display..i can touch it! woo woo!
 

TheNinja

Lifer
Jan 22, 2003
12,207
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My favs:

1. Golden Gate (park on the north side and walk back across it)
2. Marin Headlands (keep driving north on 1)
3. Pier 39 (the sea lions rock!)
4. Cable Cars are ok just to say you did it, they aren't that great to me
5. Lombard Street - it's easily walkable from pier 39. I suggest parking around pier 23 (I think). It's $10 for all day parking and as close to Pier 39 as you can get without paying $20 or more. Then walk all day around the pier, head up to lombard, check out fisherman's wharf for some chowder in a sourdough bowl.
6. Take the ferry to Angel island, rent bikes (maybe $20 a day) and ride around the island (it's an easy ride for the most part) and check out the scenery from it.
7. Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield (1 1/2 hours away)
8. Budweiser Factory 1/2 mile from Jelly Belly - wash it all down with a tall cool bud
9. Head south to Monterrey, 17 mile drive, pebble beach course, etc.
10. Head up to Napa or Sonoma wine country (1 hour or less from SF). Even if you don't drink a lot of wine you'll like it. It is an awesome place
11. Keep going up past Napa to Calistoga (1/2 past Napa) and stay at a small lodge that has mud baths, mineral pools, and massage palor (i didn't do the massage b/c of $$ but the mud was cool ).

I don't know much about the night life there sorry. The Sony Metreon is cool to hang out and I believe there is a club on the top floor but it might be 18 and over which can get annoying b/c of all the little kids.
 

TechnoKid

Diamond Member
Feb 12, 2001
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Originally posted by: TheNinja

9. Head south to Monterrey, 17 mile drive, pebble beach course, etc.

Monterey [Bay] is not 17 miles from San Francisco. Its past Santa Cruz. But, if you take Highway 1 down there, a very nice drive, long, but nice.
 
Nov 3, 2004
10,491
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Ghiradelli Soda Fountain has a crapload of awesome desserts. The crab is also good... Alcatraz is worth checking out as well as Fisherman's Wharf
 

0roo0roo

No Lifer
Sep 21, 2002
64,795
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Originally posted by: TechnoKid
Originally posted by: TheNinja

9. Head south to Monterrey, 17 mile drive, pebble beach course, etc.

Monterey [Bay] is not 17 miles from San Francisco. Its past Santa Cruz. But, if you take Highway 1 down there, a very nice drive, long, but nice.

heh yea, a good 2 hours away:p but theres a bubba gump there:) and well the aquarium where kirk once went to.
 

modedepe

Diamond Member
May 11, 2003
3,474
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Originally posted by: TechnoKid
Originally posted by: TheNinja

9. Head south to Monterrey, 17 mile drive, pebble beach course, etc.

Monterey [Bay] is not 17 miles from San Francisco. Its past Santa Cruz. But, if you take Highway 1 down there, a very nice drive, long, but nice.

17 mile drive is a windy road around pebble beach that tourists always visit :p
 

AlienCraft

Lifer
Nov 23, 2002
10,539
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Originally posted by: Black88GTA
I'm flying to San Fran for work on Thursday, and decided to stay the weekend as long as I was there already. What are some good places to visit, things to see, decent bars, etc? I'll be by myself, which sorta sux, but want to go out anyway :p

Any suggestions?
Check out the Aquarium on Fishermans Wharf. I set up the Diver to Docent in the Tunnel sound system. Let me know if it is still operational. Maybe I can get some repair work when I come back in December.

Go up to Diamond Heights or McClaren Park for the views and pics of the city. Also Yerba Buena Park is good for views, but go in the daytime. At night it is a "Gay Cruise" zone, unless you're into that.... :eek:.
Walk across the Golden Gate Bridge and take pics, Go to the Marin Headlands on the Marin side and get the Million Dollar Commercial photo ops of SF. Drive down along the Great Highway and visit Ocean Beach and watch the sun go down. Have dinner there at The Chalet. Noisey, reasonabley priced and good food. Or The Cliff House is re-opened, that is always good.
SKATES Resturant in Berkeley has GREAT seafood and is right on the water. You can see the Golden Gate from there. You can also see what Scott Peterson saw as he launched his undersized Fishing boat on the bay, that fateful day.
There is a Brazilian Resturant on Market two blocks up from Van Ness that is GREAT!! I've forgotten the name, but I'll try to get it for you if you're interested. It's a fixed price and they bring all the different entrees to your table and you just keep eating until you need a cart to get out the door. My new GF took me there and I spent $80.00 for dinner for two with dessert and wine and espresso / latte and tip. I was impressed.
Slims on 9th st will have quality entertainment as will The Fillmore on Geary. There are a multitude of Resturants out along Geary and Fillmore around Japantown. Stay away from THE STUD and THE END UP, unless you want to dance until 6:00 or 8:00 am and are comfortable in a predominatly gay crowd. Young people like it because there seems to always be a line out the door and around the corner.
If you go along The Booby Bars on Broadway, just ask any of the doormen if "Big Ed" is around and if you find him, tell him Allen sent you. It may be good for a free admission or at least he'll tell you which clubs to avoid. I've forgotten which clubs he does web site maintenance for other than The Hustler Club, but he does IT work for several of them up there.
Good luck. Have fun. Take pics.
 

Black88GTA

Diamond Member
Sep 9, 2003
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Wow, lots of great suggestions here! :thumbsup: Thanks all, I'm going to have to start making up an agenda...that's a lot of stuff to see in 2 days...
 

TheNinja

Lifer
Jan 22, 2003
12,207
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Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
Originally posted by: TechnoKid
Originally posted by: TheNinja

9. Head south to Monterrey, 17 mile drive, pebble beach course, etc.

Monterey [Bay] is not 17 miles from San Francisco. Its past Santa Cruz. But, if you take Highway 1 down there, a very nice drive, long, but nice.

heh yea, a good 2 hours away:p but theres a bubba gump there:) and well the aquarium where kirk once went to.

I should have clarified. It's not 17 miles away, it is at least 2 hours as mentioned. One of the attractions down in that area is called "17 mile drive". A drive that follows the coast line and has some cool sights to see as well as pebble beach, and the lone cypress tree.