Recently I visited San Francisco for a weekend Trip. Here is a quick tip guide.
Lets assume you land in San Francisco Airport which is what I did. First lets go through places to go, followed by Getting around modes & finally some Tips
Places To Go in don't miss order :)
1. Golden Gate Bridge
Probably the best of the city is taking a walk across the Gorgeous Golden Gate Bridge. You can get a MUNI Bus to a spot near the bridge n take a walk and/or take a Blue & Gold Bay Cruise on boat. If you have time and want to make the most of it, go for renting a bike that you can use to ride along the bridge to the other side,VISTA point from where you get a better perspective of the City. Bikes are available for Rent near Pier 39.
2. Coit Tower
This is a nice tall pillar like Tower closer to the city from which you get a great view of the City/the Golden Gate & Bay Bridge. You can also catch view of Crookedest Street,Rocket shaped Building etc.
3. Pier 39/Fishermans Wharf
A very popular shore side area with lots of things to do, there is an aquarium around "Aquarium of the bay", nice chocolate shop full of varieties "Giradhelli Chocolate Shop" & lots of other fun activities. The Bay Cruise start from nearby this spot.
4. Alcatrac Jail
The best way to view this place is via Bay Cruise, its a historic Jail with a proper Holywood Movie style feel to it. Probably not worth enough to drop by and take a tour so a boat ride across it should suffice.
5. Exploratorium
Its a science museum, although I didnt get a chance to go inside for a science freak there might be things to keep u interested. The small pond n dome near it are also nice picnic friendly spot.
6.MOMA - Museum of Modern Art
Another interesting spot in downtown is the Modern art museum, Its a well laid out, non clutering type museum full of art, From Sculptures to Photos to Fun Videos this place can keep a museum/art person engaged easily for an hour or two. Even better, its there right in the centre of the downtown. A park opposite to it in the middle of buildings is also a nice place to relax for a moment.
7. Crookedest Street
This is exactly as the name suggest. Take a walk near the most crookedest street you would have probably seen in ur lifetime. :)
8. Civic Center
Another place to drop by as part of visit would be this Civic Center. Its a nice capitol type building. I didnt visit inside but the view from front is good.
9. Market Street & Rail Road Ride
You will pretty much end up visiting this road somehow or the other. This is a main connection street with a lot of shops/public life & attractions. Just a quick walk few block will give a nice wholesome experience of the people n the culture. Taking a Rail Road trip might be another fun way to cover this place.
10. Aquarium of the bay
This is small but a nice aquarium with two long subway type view of the fishes with a tunnel under water. Not a majestic one but they have some pretty neat fishes giving a good view from within the tunnel. Make it if time permits.
Other Places:
There are few other places in SF which I couldnt make it,but might interest you like the china town, few more museums, Presidentio park, couple of beaches along the coast.
17th Mile Drive is an scenic drive for people with time in their pocket. If you got couple of days make sure to visit Yosemite National Park as well..you wont regret visiting Yosemite for sure.
Getting Around Places
1. BART - To get to city from Airport
2. CalTrain - To go to near by cities
3. Muni - Covers most of downtown with 100s of buses n train routes
4. RailRoad Trains - For Tram ride covers 3 major roads
Other Tips
What I did is pick up a San Francisco City Pass for around 60$ which included entrances to 6 places including Bay Cruise/MOMA & 9 days unlimited bus Ride on Muni Buses/Trains. Would highly recommend this for entrances & mainly getting around city in Buses. No cash change needed & can quickly hop in & hop out of buses.
You also have Bus SightSeeing which should take you around if you are not a "on my own on my legs" type person.
If you have Heavy luggage & want to get rid of it I would suggest dropping it in GreyHound Bus Depot near 1st Street-Market Street junction for 4$ for each 4hours. Quiet safe but ofcourse dont leave any highly valuables in the bag.
If you are traveling directly to City from SFO Airport: Take the Bart Train from Airport(Accessible via connection train from terminal) to Civic Center/Union Square. You should be able to connect to most places from here.
Have a Nice Trip...
