|
|
| Home > City Guide - San Francisco - Sightseeing | ||
|
||
|
Sightseeing Sightseeing Overview Regularly voted Best City in the USA, in national polls, San Franciso is a visual feast that offers something for every eye. Grand vistas of the Bay and the city are provided by the many hilltops and landmarks, such as the 55m-high (180ft) Coit Tower, on Telegraph Hill. Works of art are on display in a myriad of museums. For the more contemporary tastes, the high-tech offerings of Yerba Buena, and the Pacific Bell Park, home of baseball’s San Francisco Giants, are yet another side to the city. But it is where mankind and nature meets that this implausibly diverse city comes into its own. A visit to the Golden Gate Bridge, which used enough wire to go around the earth several times over and was hailed as impossible to build, is a must. Golden Gate Park covers 400 hectares (1000 acres) and is the largest manmade park in the world, thanks to Scotsman John McClaren, the extraordinary gardener who tamed the sands of San Francisco and created the magnificent park. Then there is Alcatraz, the stuff of legend, Grant Street, the city’s oldest, running the length of Chinatown, Haight-Ashbury, which rekindles memories of Flower Power and the Beat Generation, and Fisherman’s Wharf, at the edge of the Bay, offering hundreds of resident sea lions, cheap souvenirs and, always, something to eat. Tourist Information San Francisco Visitor Information Center Hallidie Plaza, Lower Level, Powell Street and Market Street Tel: (415) 391 2000. Fax (617) 960 9216 or (800) 220 5747. E-mail: vicl@sfcvb.org Website: www.sfvisitor.org Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0900-1700, Sat and Sun 0900-1500. Passes The San Francisco CityPass (website: www.citypass.com) allows free admission to four attractions – the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Exploratorium, Palace of the Legion of Honour, California Academy of Science and Steinhart Aquarium – as well as a seven-day Muni Passport (see Public Transport in Getting Around), including cable cars and a Bay cruise. It costs US$34.75 (concessions are available), is valid for nine days and can be purchased from the attractions on the day or online in advance. |
||
