In addition to the traditional San Francisco tourist attractions you already have in mind to visit, here's a list of high recommendations, some outside of the city. Please note that San Francisco is cooler than Wine Country. Wear varying layers and always bring a jacket or windbreaker. This city can randomly get windy and our climate is cooler, unlike typical summer temperatures.

Non-Walking Tours
Fun, fast ways to see the city without getting lost.

Bay Quackers Amphibious Duck Tour
2800 Leavenworth Street, San Francisco
707.942.9687
Cool (but a little cheesy) tour in an amphibious vehicle that drives on land and then turns into a boat and takes you on the bay. Take a jacket, as San Francisco tends to be cool.

GoCar GPS Guided Tours
325 Mason Street, San Francisco
415.431.DUCK
We make fun of these little two-seater cars, but I secretly want to drive one. It's a quirky way to see the city with a GPS-guided tour. You must wear helmets. Have fun!

Open Top Sightseeing
1995 Evans Avenue, San Francisco
1.877.332.8689
Cruise through the city on an open top double-decker bus and learn more you will learn more about its mixed culture, exciting constructions, beautiful nature and history.

Muir Woods
A serene, picturesque forest with the tallest, most enormous trees you've probably ever seen. If you finish early, definitely check out The Tourist Club, started by German Nature Friends in 1912 that I hear is like a German Beer Garden with spectacular views, but you have to bring your own lunch. There is food at Muir Woods.

Mount Tamalpais
Countless, well-marked hiking trails in open and forested areas and a beautiful winding drive on the way. In the area, stop here at Mountain Home Inn in Mill Valley and grab a bite or a drink on the outdoor deck while you take in the stunning outdoor view. The Pelican Inn is quaint too, but doesn't have the views.

Golden Gate Bridge
A must see! Driving north on US Hwy 101, cross the Golden Gate Bridge and take the very first exit (Vista Point) to the right and park for great views with pedestrian access to the bridge. For breathtaking postcard views, get back on Hwy 101 North and go just a few hundred feet to Alexander Exit and cross under US 101 to the opposite side, and drive up the hill as far as you want for the most stunning postcard views ever. If driving south on US 101 from Napa Valley, take the Sausalito Exit just before reaching the Golden Gate Bridge.

Pacific Coast Highway 1
Highly recommended to take US Hwy 1 South to Half Moon Bay (about 24 miles) for stunning cliff-side driving like in car commercials. If you have an entire day, take it all the way to Big Sur.

Coit Tower and Telegraph Hill and The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill
This tower offers great panoramic views and if you take the Filbert Street steps (a lot of steps) down, you'll see lovely gardens, stunning views and perhaps even the famed Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, the inspiration for an award-winning documentary film. They are in the trees anytime until late afternoon.

Fisherman's Wharf (or Pier 39)
A mecca for tourists, you'll find a lot to do here. Visit the Aquarium of the Bay, see the famous sea lions, eat fresh crab on sourdough bread, visit Ghirardelli Square and catch a cable car here. Click on the "Things To Do" and "Discount Coupons" link on the following website:

Alcatraz
The audio tour is essential to really understand anything about the jail. It's a pretty cool island, just don't overspend your time there. The ferry to and from has a view of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Palace of Fine Arts
Featuring a classical Roman rotunda with curved colonnades in an idyllic park setting, you can picnic, stroll by the lake or visit the Exploratorium's hands-on science exhibits in the museum.

Haight-Ashbury Neighborhood
If there's any area of San Francisco that evokes images of the long-gone '60s hippie culture, this it. Our first year in San Francisco we lived at 649 Ashbury Street (between Haight and Waller Streets), on the first level of a blue Edwardian building. Janis Joplin at one time lived in the pink house next door to the right (if you're facing the building) and the purple Grateful Dead house is just up the hill a bit, across at 710 Ashbury Street.

Conservatory of Flowers
Located in Golden Gate Park, this is a spectacular living museum of rare, beautiful tropical plants. The building is a gem of Victorian architecture that opened in 1879 and North America's oldest existing public conservatory.

Union Square
After the great earthquake of 1906, this area became the premier shopping district, and the site of the world's first underground parking structure in the 1930s. This large central plaza is a great place to meet, enjoy coffee or just let the world go by. Catch a ride nearby on the cable car and go to Fisherman's Wharf and Ghiradelli Square, but don't wait in the long, tourist lines down at Powell and Market Streets. It's better to just get on near Union Square or further up the hill on Powell Street.

The Westfield Mall
Beautiful, two-year-old mall with every store imaginable in a four-level historic building at 865 Market Street near Powell Street. Includes Bloomingdale's, Nordstom, a movie theatre, awesome food court and Beard Papa's Cream Puffs...yum.


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