Hey guys, will be heading out to the Bay Area early Dec. for a week. Anyone have ideas on what to do and see? thanks
Off Topic: what to do in S.F.
- Thread starter PaBoiler78
- Start date
Alcatraz is interesting to visit by ferry ride. You can get a guided tour or headphones that you listen to while walking thru the prison on your own. Naturally Golden Gate Bridge, Fishermans Wharf, et al.
Outside of SF-there are few options in either Marin County, Silicon Valley or San Jose(about an hour south).When I was out there on business in 2014-Google, Apple and Facebook did not offer any free tours-I stopped by visitor center at Google and was told that they are a strictly "closed campus". There is a place in Mountain View called "The Computer Museum" that might be worth a visit (If you are geeky, I suppose). I saw a CAL vs Stanford football game at Memorial Stadium in Berkley once and it is similar to Ross-Ade- 62k capacity - built in 1923.
The Stanford campus in nearby Palo Alto is the prettiest college campus in America in my opinion.
A tour of Wine Country to Napa, Sonoma or Mendicino will take you a full day and is expensive.
Outside of SF-there are few options in either Marin County, Silicon Valley or San Jose(about an hour south).When I was out there on business in 2014-Google, Apple and Facebook did not offer any free tours-I stopped by visitor center at Google and was told that they are a strictly "closed campus". There is a place in Mountain View called "The Computer Museum" that might be worth a visit (If you are geeky, I suppose). I saw a CAL vs Stanford football game at Memorial Stadium in Berkley once and it is similar to Ross-Ade- 62k capacity - built in 1923.
The Stanford campus in nearby Palo Alto is the prettiest college campus in America in my opinion.
A tour of Wine Country to Napa, Sonoma or Mendicino will take you a full day and is expensive.
Just think you get all that and Pelosi thrown in as a bonus!!!
Other than the obvious (Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge, a meal in Chinatown) take in Fort Point (at the base of the south end of the Golden Gate), dinner at Scoma's on Fisherman's Whart, a quick visit to Coit Tower, a drive to and hike in Muir Woods, and the drive up to Twin Peaks are some of my favorite things I've done in San Francisco.
thanks, the Mrs. and I are not geeky but are wine drinkers and will be going to Napa, some expense is fine due to our bro in law getting us 1st class seats on a newer Airbus w/ his miles and will be staying at his guest house and using one of their extra vehicles. May check in to see if Cal has any home games
I was for an all day outdoor music event in 78 featuring Aerosmith, BOC, Atlanta Rythym Sec., Chris Hilman Band etc.
If you have a sweet tooth, stop by ghiradeli.
It’s fun just to ride the cable cars. Catch them a block from their terminus - they always leave a few seats open. Lombard is a fun Street to walk down. Alamo square park has great views of the painted ladies and skyline.
These are mostly the touristy things to do in addition to what’s already been recommended. I’m assuming you’ve never been there. I love SF, one of my favorite cities.
Visit Sterling vineyard in Napa. Also Keneood and Chateau St .John. i would also recommend a visit to the aquarium in Monterrey.
If you have a full day, get in the car to drive down to Big Sur on the PCH. Hearst Castle is cool if you want to go down further. Reyes Point if you want to drive north.
Sonoma is great and has a winter wineland tour however that may not be until January.
Capitola is a great little town just south of Santa Cruz.
Sausalito is a great town just north of Golden Gate Bridge. The views from atop the mountain at north end of golden gate are amazing. (On a clear day)
Take the Powell street cable car if you've not done so. Get on at Union Square. During the week, if possible.
Check on highway on the coast near Big Sur as it has been closed because of a big Rock slide. My wife and I love SF.
Oh yes, scratch Hearst Castle. However, Big Sur is still able to be reached from SF, just not from SoCal as the closure is south of Big sur. Thanks for pointing this out.
Hearst Castle is cool, but it's easily a two hour drive from San Francisco. Likely more. If you've never experienced California traffic before, be aware that going south from San Francisco through San Jose anytime from 3:00PM to 7:00PM, you need to triple the allotted time (not an exaggeration).
I worked at Great America (amusement park) in San Jose as a summer job during college. My parents lived about 20 miles south. If I left at 5:00PM, I'd get home at 7:00PM. If I changed into street clothes, rode roller coasters for a bit, and left at 7:00PM, I'd get home at 7:30PM.
Santa Cruz is a gorgeous area and not quite as far south. There's the Santa Cruz beach boardwalk which is pretty cool, kinda a west coast Coney Island. Also in that area you can take a trip to see redwood trees on the Roaring Camp Railroad (https://www.roaringcamp.com/steamtrain). We took that a few years ago and it was pretty cool.
I always thought the Winchester Mystery House was pretty cool (San Jose). I appreciate it from an architectural standpoint more than anything, but it's still a pretty good tour.
The California Academy of Science (a science and industry museum in San Francisco) is also worth a visit. (https://www.calacademy.org/)
If you do visit the Golden Gate Bridge, be sure to check out the area where they show a cross section of the cables. It's extremely impressive.
I worked at Great America (amusement park) in San Jose as a summer job during college. My parents lived about 20 miles south. If I left at 5:00PM, I'd get home at 7:00PM. If I changed into street clothes, rode roller coasters for a bit, and left at 7:00PM, I'd get home at 7:30PM.
Santa Cruz is a gorgeous area and not quite as far south. There's the Santa Cruz beach boardwalk which is pretty cool, kinda a west coast Coney Island. Also in that area you can take a trip to see redwood trees on the Roaring Camp Railroad (https://www.roaringcamp.com/steamtrain). We took that a few years ago and it was pretty cool.
I always thought the Winchester Mystery House was pretty cool (San Jose). I appreciate it from an architectural standpoint more than anything, but it's still a pretty good tour.
The California Academy of Science (a science and industry museum in San Francisco) is also worth a visit. (https://www.calacademy.org/)
If you do visit the Golden Gate Bridge, be sure to check out the area where they show a cross section of the cables. It's extremely impressive.
Great lineup. Could've done without Aero, but BOC and ARS would have been well worth the trip. Never was much of a Chris Hillman fan.
Lot's of times. Sorry to tell you that while IU's campus is nice, there are so many others that overshadow it by a lot.
I believe a lot of Napa was destroyed in the fire, so who knows about that. Rent a car and visit Yosemite for a day...awe inspiring. Take a trip to Bodega Bay....where Hitchcock filmed "The Birds". Lot's to do but it's become a sanctuary for every beggar in the world.
I believe Sonoma had the fire damage.
Also, snow could be a problem at Yosemite.
Great recommendations though.
TD2, I took the prior message as T.I.C. (or a poke in the eye of our disadvantaged friends to the south), but I could be mistaken.
Check out the city by taking a go car tour. My wife and I spent half a day touring the city in these little things. GPS programmed to give you directions to all sorts of landmarks. You are free to stop and spend as much time at an attraction as you please. Basically, you will be driving an oversized go kart on the streets with cars all around you. We both had a blast.
Did the Dylan Electric bike tour of the town and it was awesome. I’m 52, not in great shape and wife talked me into it. I was glad she did. We covered 20 + miles of the town and when you need the juice, the bikes get you uphill and in locations cars cannot go. It was A + as was our tour guide. Temps are consistent in late November as they are in August. The tour stopped at Golden Gate Bridge and let you walk out on it, but not ride over it. That was one of many stops throughout the day. We saw many of those Go Karts and they looked fun too. Wine country in a day and Muir Woods are awesome to.
Brewcade
Lands End Hike
Sunset bay cruise
Be forewarned - it is apparently not illegal to be naked in public in SF
Lands End Hike
Sunset bay cruise
Be forewarned - it is apparently not illegal to be naked in public in SF
Latest posts
-
Shocker - Braden Smith named Cousy Finalist- Latest: Purdue Grad in Texas
-
-
-
-