San Fran Recommendations
bbass2
Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 1,056
My wife and I are headed to the San Fran area for 7 days for our 10th anniversary next year. Neither of us have been there so any recommendations are welcome. We'll head to Monterrey/Mt Carmel area for one night then up to Sonoma or Napa for another night. Right now we're not looking too specific, just trying to get an idea on how much time we need at each place and any hotel recommendations
Comments
beautiful scenery out that way, you going to drive down US-1 and follow the coast at all?
if so get up early take a cup of coffee and some pastries to eat in the car, beat the traffic and you'll have the road all to yourself, beautiful drive.
can't comment on sonoma/napa or san fran --- but for Monterey a couple pieces of advice
1) skip the aquarium, overpriced, super-crowded (even on weekdays) and exhibits are lacking. they had a neat jellyfish exhibit when we were there but nothing special. (shedd aquarium in chicago is 10 times better IMHO).
2) if you're into lighthouses you can take a tour of the point pinos lighthouse (nearby) or ... the one that looked super cool but was closed when we went, point sur light house. about 45 minutes south of monterey ... they have limited tours so check before you go http://www.pointsur.org/
3) food: great pastries at "paris bakery & cafe" at bonifacio & washington st. ... wild plum cafe on munras ave for brunch/lunch ... montrio bistro for dinner (get the calamari)
And since you're a tourist, you must go to Lombard Street, the famous S-curve downhill road. But I've heard they no longer allow cars to drive down it.
Again, if you do have a car, take a trip down US-1. The scenery is beautiful and it has hundreds of miles of free beaches. If you've never dipped a toe into the Pacific before, that's the place to do it. And definitely try to cross the Golden Gate bridge one way or another.
Enjoy! SF is one of the best cities in the world. If I could afford it, I'd move there in a minute.
Can't speak for today, but in regards to Raisin's comments above I was in SF with my wife in February, and we took the car down Lombard street. There was no indication of blocking the road, and there's houses actually ON the slope with garages so I think they'd be hard-pressed to stop people from driving down it. Also worth seeing in SF is the Ghiradelli Chocolate Factory, especially if you want some hot cocoa. For a nice night out in one of the landmark spots, the bar in the Mark-Hopkins Hotel (Top of the Mark) can hardly be beat, but it's pricey for sure. Though I know there's a handful of lauded spots, I can't personally speak for any of the B&Ms in the City as I've never had the chance to patronize them.
Headed north out of the City is where life gets more pleasant, in my book. Just across the Golden Gate you'll find the little town of Sausalito. This is basically my other favorite place in the world (the first being wherever my wife is), and is a charming little town right on the water. If you put this into your schedule, try to find yourself there in the morning. Get breakfast at the Lighthouse Cafe (if you want incredible pancakes) or Fred's (my personal favorite, I recommend the dungeness crab omelette) to eat with locals, but you might find this a tad difficult logistically - they're a bit far from the downtown walkable area, so for either (Fred's in particular) you'll end up driving there, eating, and then likely parking again somewhere downtown. Small somber note, visible directly across the bay from Sausalito is the town of Tiburon, where the late Robin Williams resided and died.
Immediately outside Sausalito you'll find Telford's Pipe and Cigar, the main B&M in the county and a place with a HUGE selection, both of cigars and accessories. Not the most scenic place, nor entirely the most comfortable to sit and have a cigar, but worth stopping in to ogle the selection and perhaps pick up a few sticks. If it piques your interest, on the same exit (but on the other side of the highway) from Telford's is a Ferrari dealership that generally carries a handful of other exotic cars as well.
You'll be heading north from here to head into the Napa/Sonoma regions, so once you get up there I honestly recommend just taking a nice drive through the countryside. That area is known for being scenic, and while we were in the States this year my wife and I took several weekend rides on the Harley. There's obviously no shortage of places to stop and drink wine, but I recommend the Domaine Carneros House. The place is impressive, well-known and easy to find, and has a majestic view from their tasting terrace. I believe they allow smoking (it's completely outside at least), so this could be an excellent place to enjoy a cigar. Not far from them is a hokey country-looking place called the Fremont Diner that is actually a recently launched soul food restaurant from some guys that I think used to own a food truck. They're always packed, and we enjoyed a stop in there. On the other end of the spectrum, you could plan for a night at the French Laundry, the incredibly-lauded 3-Michelin-star restaurant in Yountville (nearby), or a more casual time at the Bouchon Bakery (by the same people) just down the street.
Depending on how much time you have and where your itinerary takes you, I recommend stopping into Calistoga for lunch (and right outside Calistoga is the Castello di Amorosa winery, a seriously impressive place. If you stop here, rather than paying for the expensive tour try mentioning that you'd like to buy wine, and they will send you to the tasting room. Once through the gates just wander around as you like!). Otherwise, another town that I absolutely love (but that is quite a bit farther north than you're probably heading) is Healdsburg. This is one small town that I could seriously fall in love with - unlike most small towns with just one main street, each turn takes you onto another path of charming cafes, bakeries, arts and crafts, antiques, and of course all the wine you could possibly want. There's also at least two Michelin star restaurants here that I'm aware of.
This has turned into an immense amount of information...but tourism and travel is what I do, and you're headed to a region I love, so I hope that helps! Happy to answer any questions as well :-)
SF I could recommend a million things. There is so much to do and see that it's hard to recommend without knowing what you are in to. The typical touristing things can be fun (pier 39, fisherman's wharf, Lombard St., Union Square, Giradelli Square, Embarcadero and the Ferry building, Chinatown, North Beach). Most of the stuff can be walked to if you stay in a hotel near Union Square. A $10 cab ride gets you most places and cabs are super easy to find. Plus driving in SF can be a pain and parking is even worse. Expect to pay $35-$50 a day for parking at your hotel if you rent a car and park it, plus parking wherever you drive to. Bart and Muni are pretty easy to navigate if you prefer mass transit, plus you get the local flavor of SF(some funny stuff can be seen of the Muni). Generally SF is very safe to walk even after dark, but there are some areas that may best be avoided if you don't like pan handlers and the homeless.
If you are into museums at all I highly highly recommend the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate park. It is also walking distance to the de Young museum which is also amazing for fine art and the Japanese botanical gardens. The Academy of Sciences is huge so plan on being there awhile if you want to see every thing.
If you don't mind taking a ferry then the Alcatraz tour and hiking on Angel Island are both great fun. You can also take a ferry over to Sausalito for lunch or dinner without having to drive.
As far as the Napa Sonoma area goes it really depends on what you are looking for. Downtown Napa is more polished and Sonoma is a smaller quaint little town. I prefer the Sonoma area because of it's closer proximity to the beaches if you decide to drive to the North Coast. Muir Woods is amazing along with Point Reyes and Tamales Bay. You can literally throw a rock and hit 100 wineries from either place so if you are into wine tasting you'll be in heaven.
The food in SF and Napa are both second to only NYC in my opinion so it's harder to find a bad place to eat than it is a great one. In SF you can even get great cheap food if you venture out into some of the neighborhoods. Here is an article about cheap eats in SF. Hint go to the Mission District. Also if you don't mind waiting in line the lunch only spot Swan's Oyster Depot on Polk St. has the best seafood salad and clam chowder in the city, but trust me when I say there is always a line and the place is really small.
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-best-cheap-eats-in-san-francisco-2014-10#ikes-place-has-an-incredible-menu-of-200-sandwiches-1
If you have hotels in mind send me a PM. I've stayed in at least 25 of them and I can give you some pointers on the areas if you like.
I lived there for many years and I go back a dozen times a year so feel free to ask me any questions about the city. You guys will have a blast and happy anniversary.