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San Francisco – Getting
to Know "The City!" Locals simply refer to it as "The City." As if any other city really matters. Oh, actually one other does, but it's way on the East Coast and people don't mind sharing the phrase with New York. This is San Francisco and don't dare call it "San Fran" or "SF," for to be singled out as a tourist is, well, oh so NOT San Francisco. Sure, San Franciscans are a bit snobby when it comes to their town – "nowhere else will you find so many great restaurants and live in a place with so much to do" they boast – but deep down they are still Californians at heart and harbor soft spots to those not fortunate enough in their minds to live in this wonderful place. And it is a wonderful place. This page will let you get to know "The City" with information on its different neighborhoods, the people, the social atmosphere, transportation and weather. Sports News – 49ers to Share Stadium With Raiders? The San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders are not cozy neighbors. But could they be sharing the same stadium? The 49ers 'planned new facility in Santa Clara at the Great America amusement park south of the City, is in potential danger of being at least delayed, if not altogether altered. Construction is due to begin in 2010 with an opening in 2012. So as an alternative, some are suggesting the 49ers share the estimated $900 million cost with the Raiders. It certainly makes for interesting local bar conversations. Arrival and Orientation San Francisco is served by two airports, SFO (San Francisco International) and Oakland. Many frequent visitors prefer to go in and out of Oakland because they can use BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) to get to town. SFO has been recently remodeled and talk is now centered on extending the runway farther out into the bay to try and minimize the too-frequent fog delays. SFO is roughly 20 minutes from downtown by car or taxi and is now serviced (thankfully) by BART. Many people prefer to fly in and out of Oakland across the bay; this is about 45 minutes from downtown via BART and about a half-hour by car. Once in the city, it's easy to lose the sense of direction. That's because there is water on three sides and it's hard for first-timers to get directional bearings . The water you see only has a one-in-three chance of being adjacent to Fisherman's Wharf. Most of the streets are in a grid pattern, which is nice, but some (most notably Columbus) go in a diagonal direction. Without getting too complicated, use these streets as boundaries: Van Ness to the North, Market to the West and The Embarcadero to the South and East (it curves around the land). This will at least keep you centered in the heart of the city. San Francisco is only seven miles wide, but it can take 45 minutes to get from one side of it to the other because of the traffic. The Social Scene
San Francisco's nightlife landscape is cool and laid-back with big-city sophistication. While it has large dance clubs and trendy spots, San Francisco is really all about its intimate bars and clubs. These places have either live music or great character and history; there are seemingly hundreds scattered all over town. To really experience the true San Francisco, it's a must to go to a few of these spots. A couple of examples are the Red Devil Lounge and the Gold Dust. The people are as extreme as the City's famous hills. Well-dressed businessmen, expression-filled young adults, gays, tourists, Deadheads and yuppies all make up the social landscape. Rarely do they get out of control, for although San Franciscans know how to have a good time, they are generally far to mellow or social conscious to go overboard. This isn't exactly Cancun on Spring Break. The Neighborhoods San Francisco is truly defined by its neighborhoods. They are as distinct as the people who live there. Here is simplified look at these areas and while some residents may argue this isn't perfectly precise, don't be swayed; it's close enough for our purposes: Downtown/Financial District – This heart of San Francisco's business district. This is where the famous Pyramid building is located, Chinatown, shopping-friendly Union Square and Market Street. It's also bordered by the Embarcadero. SoMa – South of Market, or "SoMa" to locals, is home to San Francisco's dot-com culture and most of its dance clubs. Pac Bell Park, where the Giants play, is in this area. The Mission District, with its many small restaurant/bars, is not too far away. Marina District ("The Triangle") – The young and fun party here. Trendy shops and restaurants line Union Street (not to be confused with Union Square) and includes the famous "Triangle," so named because years ago it had three of the city's hottest bars all located across the street from one another (of which only one of the originals remains). People from Los Angeles and other party-seeking visitors-in-the-know go here while in town. Russian Hill – One of the city's most desirable locations
to live is this upscale community. It's also where some of San Francisco's
most notorious hills are located. Russian Hill basically encompasses
the area around Hyde, Columbus and Washington streets. There's a small
pocket of cool bars along the midsection of Polk Street. Haight/Ashbury – Get lost in the 1960s in this former home of the Grateful Dead. This is a place of tie-die shirts, hippies, vintage clothing stores and an unusual collection of bars. Castro Street – The city's famous gay scene is centered here. By the way, some uneducated souls feel that San Francisco is all gay and that it's not suitable for "straight" people. Or, they feel that straight guys will have a field day with the ladies because the town is all gay. Wrong! Getting Around
See those things at the bottom of your legs? That's right, your feet. You will be using them a lot. San Francisco is a great walking city. There are shops to see, tiny bars to duck into and or restaurants to check out. Plus, the streets are alive with action. Plus, the traffic blows. It's virtually impossible to progress more than a block a minute in a vehicle. Being a taxi driver or delivery person here must take a heck of a lot of patience. Save the driving for trips across the Golden Gate, to the wine country or down the coast. Cabs are plentiful and not too expensive. Distances are short, so expect to pay $7-10 for a ride. The famous cable cars are mostly for show; they really don't take you anywhere. Still, they are a pretty cool treat. Make your way to Lombard Street to check out the twisty street, then hitch a cable car ride down toward the Hyde Street Pier. At the turnaround sits a historic bar, the Buena Vista, famous for its Irish coffee drinks. San Franciscans have a love-hate affair with Muni, the bus and rail system. Among their complaints is that it's unreliable, but still they use it like a crutch. Foot-weary tourists can also find Muni is a blessing. The buses pretty much go everywhere for a couple of dollars and a new train line along the Embarcadero is convenient for access to downtown, Pac Bell Park and Fisherman's Wharf. BART is another mass transit system that serves the city (and actually operates the train to Pac Bell Park, so it's necessary to get off MUNI and then onto BART.) Locals are quite helpful in assisting visitors to navigate the public transportation. Then there is "Critical Mass." For some reason, on the last Friday of each month every downtown bicycle delivery person in town rides around for two hours at the end of the business day, bringing traffic to a standstill. Why they do so is to question why San Francisco is so tolerant of freedom of expression. If you are trying to get out of town, make a dinner reservation or meet a hot date, be sure to be on your way before 3 o'clock. Otherwise, park it and go to a bar.
The People Part of San Francisco's quirkiness is that, despite the fact it is a great tourist city, the locals don't really enjoy tourists. Rather, they tolerate them. (Okay, they do enjoy laughing at them for wearing shorts and tank tops in the summer). Traditionally, they have been a bit smug about where they live and have been known to quietly look down at people who live elsewhere. That's traditionally. Now, with tourism playing such a huge role in the city and many people having moved from different areas, those attitudes are pretty much a thing of the past. To best fit in, act like you belong, say something nice about the city and enjoy the fact you are in one of the most European cities in the States outside of New York. Oakland? It, too, is right on the water, has professional sports teams and some ritzy neighborhoods. So, is Oakland worth a visit? For the answer to that question, we now refer to the words of the legendary Jim Murray, the late, great sportswriter of the Los Angeles Times: "Oakland is this kind of town," he wrote."It costs $2 to go from Oakland to San Francisco across the Bay Bridge. Going from San Francisco to Oakland is FREE!" The Weather There's a famous line about the weather here (attributed to Mark Twain): "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." There's much truth to the statement (although it's some matter of local debate whether or not Twain actually should be credited). The weather can be chilly any time of the year or time of day. Even on nice days, when the sun hides behind a cloud the temperature can drop 10 degrees or more. At about 5, the fog often rolls in off the bay interrupting an otherwise lovely, warm day. It's always wise to carry a jacket, sweater or sweatshirt. Many a tourist has been caught fighting off sudden chills because they went out wearing only shorts and a t-shirt (or even a tank top. Burr!). The best weather in San Francisco is in the fall. Temperatures are in the upper 70s and its usually sunny. The late spring is pretty good, too. Outside the city, in Marin County or the wine country, for example, it can be 10-20 degrees warmer. Time Zone San Francisco is GMT -8. When to Go San Francisco's weather is best in the fall and late spring. In fact, it's awesome. The annual Bay to Breakers race is in late May and in the summer there is some kind of street festival/party nearly every other weekend. .
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