What Every First-Time Visitor Should Know About Being In The City By The Bay
There’s a lot more to San Francisco than cable cars, Alcatraz and Fisherman’s Wharf. After many visits and with help from a local friend who knows it inside and out, here are PubClub.com’s favorite tips, neighborhoods, bars and experiences for getting the most out of a trip.
By Kevin Wilkerson, Editor, PubClub.com
San Francisco is not the type of city where you can just show up and wing it.
Instead, it’s more like going to see a girl you want to impress. Treat her right and she will reveal part of her inner soul and let you in on some of her best secrets. Go in as if she’s just another stop on the circuit and she’s likely to give you the cold shoulder. And here, that’s literally as well as figuratively.
So here’s PubClub.com’s choices of where to snuggle up to a warm and friendly San Francisco. I know this from not just from first-hand experiences but also because a good friend is from there and taught me a lot of these “insider” cool things to know about it.
1.) It’s San Francisco Or ‘The City,’ Not San Fran Or SF
Locals are very picky about this one – never refer to San Francisco as “San Fran” or “SF.” To them, it’s the full pronunciation, San Francisco. To really fit in, call it what they do, which is simply “the City.”
2.) San Francisco Is The Most European U.S. City On The West Coast
San Francisco is fairly compact, has hundreds of small restaurants and cafes and people actually use public transportation. These attributes are more in line with European cities than American cities, and it provides for a refreshing change of pace from other destinations in the USA.
3.) The Weather Is Chilly – Even In The Summertime. The Best Weather Is In The Spring And Fall
When packing for, and dressing in, San Francisco, remember this key word: layer! Even if it’s warm and sunny when you leave your hotel (or Airbnb) room, have a jacket or sweatshirt with you. Especially in the summertime; when the fog rolls in at about 4:45 it can turn to downright bone-chilling chilly within a matter of five minutes.
The winters are not too bad but the best time to visit is the spring and fall when it’s sunny and in the mid-70s nearly every day and the fog is not as consistent. Still, always layer when dressing in San Francisco, nd anywhere along the California coast, for that matter.
Across the bridge, however, it can be hot, so keep that in mind if you go into Marin County and to the wine country.
4.) Know The San Francisco Neighborhoods
PubClub.com’s favorite neighborhood in San Francisco is the Marina District. It’s along Lombard Street (not the curvy part) and is where many of the city’s singles live and play. Chestnut Street and Union Street are two prime areas to patrol at night if you’re single.
My second favorite area is basically a smaller version of the Marina District called Pacific Heights.
Haight/Ashbury is a stuck-in-time-60s neighborhood, the Mission District is full of techy folks and Market Street is where to find the artsy, “free spirits.” Downtown and Union Square has business people during the daytime, shoppers nearly all the time and youthful singles and fun couples filling up New York-style long and narrow bars at night.
5.) Know These Cool Secret Spots
Perhaps no place, certainly in a city that’s really not all that big, has as many cool hidden spots as San Francisco. It’s as if the city is almost challenging you to find them. If you don’t know about these places, you’ll walk right by them without even knowing they exist. But oh, the rewards!
Here’s a few of PubClub.com’s favorite “secret” spots:
• Brazen Head. This is a dark and late-night restaurant in the Marina District where the city’s chefs go to drink and blow off steam from a busy night.
• Cha, Cha, Cha. This is a great Cuban restaurant in the Haight that can turn lively at the back bar for those who have a couple pitchers of their sangria.
• Fog Harbor Fish House. This Pier 39 restaurant is a jewel in the middle of a sea of tourists. It makes great cocktails and its fireplace patio is the perfect place to drink them.
• Tonic Bar. A hip little bar with a touch of a quirky edge at Polk and Union.
6.) Pier 23 Is The Best Sunny Afternoon Bar
San Francisco is a financial city and each sunny afternoon, workers get off at about 3 and head for drinks on the back patio of Pier 23, a seafood restaurant and hangout bar on the bay. It’s at its most lively, however, on Sunday afternoons when a band plays inside the restaurant.
But for the best bar on Sunday afternoon, jump on the ferry to Tiburon and go to Sam’s. Just be sure you catch the ferry back to San Francisco!
7.) The Tonga Room Is Not The Best Tiki Bar In San Francisco
The Tonga Room & Hurricane Bar in the Fairmont Hotel is one of San Francisco’s most famous bars, in large part because of its five-star location attracts high-rolling businessmen and celebrities. And it’s definitely a cool place with its upscale Polynesian decor and tropical drinks.
But for a true tiki bar experience, head over to the city hall area to Smuggler’s Cove (650 Gough St). This is like walking into the belly of a pirate ship. It’s dark, somewhat cramped and has a multi-page menu of various drinks involving lots and lots of rum.
8.) Tips On Visiting The Key Landmarks (Golden Gate Bridge, Cable Cars, Lombard Street, Pier 39)
You can drive ($10.50, payable on the way back into San Francisco), bike or even walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. Two great viewing places are the lookout on the right just past the bridge and on a hill on the opposite side in an area known as the Marin Highlands.
There are three cable car lines: California Street, Powell-Mason and Powell-Hyde (going up or down Hyde Street is the most thrilling ride; you may want to stop in the Buena Vista at the turnaround afterward to catch your breath and have an Irish coffee in the place that created it). It’s a whopping $9 for a single ride, so you’re better off paying for a full-day ticket. And yes, you can hang over the side while riding the car.
Get off the cable car at the top of Hyde Street and walk down curvy Lombard Street. It’s just as you’ve seen it, a twisting, colorful road. It connects Hyde Street to Levinworth Street and it’s curvy because it’s so steep. Residents live on either side of it so be respectful of them. If you’re in reasonable shape, you can continue walking down to North Beach or Pier 39.
And of course, you can drive down it, as many a rental car has done in the long tourism history of San Francisco.
Some – well, locals anyway – will never go to Pier 39 because it’s “too touristy.” Yes, it is touristy, but it’s also where you can see crabs stacked up in glass cases of restaurants, seals and sea lions stacked up on the docks by the fishing boats, have chowder in a bowl of sourdough bread and even have a good Cable Car Cocktail (keep reading).
9.) You Don’t Need A Car In ‘The City’
The only time you’ll need a car in San Francisco – other than to drive down Lombard Street – is when you’re leaving it, so don’t bother with one while in it. Traffic is tight – especially downtown – and you’ll pay $50+ a day to park in a narrow garage.
Public transportation is good and if you’re downtown or around Pier 39, you can use the Cable Cars and street cars. Also, use your feet.
Or ride a bike. PubClub did this from Blazing Saddles (and not just because I am a fan of the Mel Brooks movie of the same name) and it proved to be a great way to get around, see the city and even get outside of the city.
10.) San Francisco Has A Signature Drink, The Cable Car Cocktail
Yes, San Francisco has a signature drink! Naturally, it’s called the Cable Car Cocktail and while there are various versions of it, it’s an orange rum drink served in a martini glass. There are a few places that specialize in it, from Pier 39 to downtown. Here’s a list of Cable Car Cocktail bars.
Bonus: Insider Tips You Won’t Find Elsewhere
Here’s a few other tidbits that are useful things for tourists to know about San Francisco.
Several museums have special events primarily for singles that include cocktails. PubClub.con has this list of museum nights and another great source of information is the San Francisco Travel events website…Take one of the hop-on, hop-off sightseeing buses. PubClub.com did the Big Bus Tours and it was great (and we know ‘The City’ really well, too). Heck, it’s also great just for getting around town and bar-hopping…If you want to go to Alcatraz, get your tickets well in advance because the tours are almost always sold out…The best place for a good run (or walk) is from Fort Mason along the water, past Chrissy Field to under the Golden Gate Bridge. This is about six miles round trip and is flat and scenic…The last Friday of the month, all the downtown bicycle delivery people ride around late afternoon clogging traffic in an event known as Critical Mass. Don’t attempt to drive during this time…The Giants no longer have a crab as a mascot...The “shrub guy,” the man who hid inside a makeshift bush and would jump out and scare tourists for tips along Pier 39, has passed away, much to the disappointment of many, even those of us who were his “victims.”
San Francisco Q&A
• How many days should I spend in San Francisco?
If you’re just in “the City” then two or three nights is fine. If you’ve going to the wine county, add another day to your trip.
• Do I need a car in San Francisco?
No and you’ll save a bundle not having to pay to park it at a hotel or lot. Instead, use Muni, the historic street cars and even the Cable Cars as your transportation. Plus your feet. San Francisco is generally a safe city for walking, tho be on alert at night around Market Street and Union Square.
• How far in advance should I book Alcatraz tickets?
As soon as you book your flight to San Francisco. I know this from first-hand experience when I walked up to the ticket booth expecting to get tickets only to be told it was sold out and for the next several days, too.
• What’s the best neighborhood to stay?
Downtown and Union Square, Fisherman’s Wharf (if you want to do the Pier 39 touristy things) tho my favorite place is in what locals call Cow Hollow, or the Marina District.
• When is the best time to visit San Francisco?
Weather wise, in the late spring or early fall.
• What’s the biggest mistake first-time visitors make?
One is not getting Alcatraz tickets in advance. Another is standing in long lines at the cable car turnaround points and another is driving beyond the curvy part of Lombard Street and into my friend’s driveway at Levinworth & Lombard; to avoid this situation either turn right or left when you get to the bottom.
Now Hop On The San Francisco Party Bus To…
• Alcatraz: What You Need To Know
• Where To Find The Cable Car Cocktial, The City’s Signature Drink
• San Francisco Travel Adventures
• San Francisco Travel Misadventures: A Travel Blog
• San Francisco Neighborhood Guide
• San Francisco: The One Line Single People Need To Know
Kevin Wilkerson is the founder of PubClub.com, an award-winning journalist and nightlife expert who has covered destinations, events and nightlife for more than two decades. While working as a newspaper reporter, he received an Associated Press award for investigative journalism.
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