Best San Francisco CA Attractions
Great Sights To See

Here are some of the most unique and interesting and best San Francisco CA attractions. First, we'll help you quickly show first time tourist friends a good time without much work on your part :). Then, we give a taste of some hidden delights in the Bay area most locals have missed.

FIRST TIME TOURISTS

Your first time as a San Francisco tourist will be a rare treat! We guarantee it if you follow our San Francisco tourism guide for first time tourists. You'll find these San Francisco sights are better than a Disneyland for adults!

Fisherman's Wharf - Famous tourist trap, enjoying a nice natural setting, which hides a few neat things within the uproar.   Pier 39, located here, is one of the top three tourist attractions in the U.S. (i.e., third after the two Disneylands).

REPEAT VISITORS

Once you have seen the best known tourist sites there is a wide variety of nearby attractions to make sure you don't miss.

Golden Gate Park SF & map - One of the best city parks in the world. Many nice things to do there.

The Presidio of San Francisco - Large former military headquarters transferred to the National Park Service in 1994. It is bigger and in many ways already better than Golden Gate Park.

Ocean Beach SF & map - Interesting treasures unknown to many locals.

LOCAL TREASURE HUNTERS

This web site is mainly for local enthusiasts searching for the "best of the best" hidden treasures to be found. So, be sure to look at the San Francisco neighborhoods and the towns sections for details of where to go when you are planning to visit a particular area. You can also search the overall site for a treasures of particular interest.

Below are a few examples of very interesting San Francisco Bay area attractions which many locals have never seen.

• The USS Hornet, Alameda. The USS Hornet, one of the most famous WW II Aircraft carriers, gives you a real feel for exciting days of the past. Just walking the flight deck is a thrill.. Our ballroom dance instructor tell us that the old time Big Band bash there, covering 3 dance floors within the enclosed heated hanger deck, is the best place to go for New Year's Eve. Maybe we'll see you there next year.
• Old St. Hillary Preserves, Tiburon. Some of the prettiest natural views and preserves in the Bay area.
• Lyon Street Steps, Lyon St/Broadway St, San Francisco. This is one of the most beautiful spots in the world ... and many locals don't even know how to find it.
• The Vallejo Crest, a small park at the top of Vallejo St., Russian Hill. This quiet private view spot is part of the unique Russian Hill neighborhood . From Vallejo & Jones walk 1/2 block east on Vallejo to where Vallejo St. ends at the top of the hill. After you've enjoyed the view then walk east down the stairs one block to the Ina Coolbrith Park at Vallejo & Tayler. Another way to get there is to start at Vallejo & Columbus in North Beach and walk west on Vallejo. It's four long blocks uphill, with steps, which will make you huff & puff if you're not used to City hills.
• N. Judah Muni Metro ride, San Francisco. For an interesting and very different view of the city take the N. Judah line from the San Francisco Caltrain station, in SOMA by the baseball park, over to Ocean Beach and back. Outer Sunset at Judah near Ocean Beach is developing into one of the more interesting neighborhoods in town, a little Santa Cruz of sorts with several nice coffee houses and restaurants for upscale hippies. It's a find!
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  Montara Point lighthouse, Montara
  Point Montara Lighthouse, Montara - You don't have to go all the way south to Pigeon Point to see a nifty lighthouse. This lighthouse a hostel as well. Definitely check it out.
• Windsurfing, Foster City lagoon. There's no better place around to take windsurfing lessons or to practice in warm waters. Paddle boats and pleasant lagoon side hiking is also available for those who don't want to get wet. This location, near the intersection of Highways 101 & 92, is convenient to the entire Bay area.
• Rosicrucian Museum, San Jose. This is one of the best Egyptian museums in the U.S. and it's free. Many people who live only a couple of blocks away have never been there.

SPORT EVENTS

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  AT&T Baseball Park, SOMA, SF
  The SF Giant's AT&T Baseball park, at the south end of the Embarcadero in SOMA -- has a great Bay view you can see from the upper stands. When we are in the area with nothing to do we'll sometimes wait a couple of innings and get some cheap San Francisco Giant's tickets from a scalper ... just to enjoy the upper bleacher and excellent ball park food for an hour or two. Or, we'll walk to the back of the ball park and watch the game from the free right field viewing area adjacent McCovery Cove.
• Stanford sports - If you like baseball check out the games at Stanford. It's a low key pleasant way to spend a few hours watching one of the top college teams in the country.
  
  Years ago we passed numerous pleasant afternoons enjoying a picnic lunch in the end stands of Stanford's old Football Stadium. Back then, in the days of Jim Plunkett & John Elway, it was just a nice way to picnic. The new stadium, designed with Bill Walsh, is said to be great for spectators.
• San Mateo Jr College football- Now it's more likely that we will take in the second half of a football game at College of San Mateo Stadium, off Hwy 92 between Hwys 101 & 280. It's cheap, the Bulldogs are a football powerhouse (2009 NorCal Champions), and last but not least the view of the Bay is fantastic! From the stands it appears that the football field sits on a large platter perched on the edge of space overhanging the SF Bay. The view is worth worth checking out even if there is no game.

As you can see, we go for the pleasant low-key atmosphere and great view more than for the games themselves. However, Bay Area teams are often highly ranked nationally which makes seeing them even more fun.

OTHER EVENTS

San Francisco Bay Area attractions include dozens of other events to see on most weekends. Many are interesting and others are old hat, like street fairs which are still worth dropping by if you're already in the neighborhood. Below are a few of the more entertaining events worth checking out:

• Dream Machines, Half Moon Bay airport - See a wide array of cars and old warbirds in a fun and funky setting. Held the last Sunday of April every year.
• Fleet Week and the Blue Angels, San Francisco - Over a million spectators watch the Blue Angels each year in October. Also, the kids can see Fleet Week ship parades, ship tours and other exhibits shown around Fisherman's Wharf.
• Bay to Breakers Race - It's the biggest foot race in the world and includes everyone from world-class runners to fat nude walkers. If you don't want to run it, like we used to do, or walk it then do like we now do ... go to Golden Gate Park to watch the finish and the festivities held afterwards. Held the third Sunday of every May every year.
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  Hardly Strictly Blue Grass Festival, Golden Gate Park
  Hardly Strictly Blue Grass Festival - There are many music festivals in SF during the year. This is one of the very good FREE ones and is low-key (bring your dog and picnic blanket), not too crowded, and a lot of fun. In October 2010 it was held on six different stages along John F Kennedy Dr in Golden Gate Park.
• Folsom Street Fair - We've only been to this event once, several years ago, but it was definitely an eye opener. For Gays and/or serious voyeurs only.
• Castro Street Halloween event - This used to be fantastic but newspaper accounts say it is more crowded than ever and sometimes dangerous. However, it's a scene some of our younger friends still attend.
• The Great Dickens Christmas Fair, Cow Palace - Weekends between Thanksgiving & Christmas. This is smaller than the former Marin County Rennaisance Faire used to be but is the same idea ... i.e., 700 local hobbyists who do a fine job putting on a Charles Dickens Victorian London Christmas show. It's convenient and worth seeing at least once.

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We could go on and on. In this web site you'll find many, many more San Francisco attractions and sights to see described along with other treasures in nearby towns.


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