See the Sights of San Francisco

The precipitous hills in San Francisco make it a city best explored by public transport.
Grab a Muni Passport, and ride the buses, streetcars, Metro, andof coursethe historic
cable cars.
One of the best ays to !et familiar ith the city is to ride the Poell"Mason or Poell"
#yde cable car from Market Street. This takes you throu!h $nion S%uare, up o&er 'ob
#ill, throu!h (hinaton, don to the aterfront at Fisherman)s *harf. Stop o+ at
(hinaton to soak in the uni%ue atmosphere of the lar!est (hinaton outside ,sia. ,nd if
(hinese food sets your mouth aterin!, there are nearly -.. authentic (hinese
restaurants to choose from.
/f you prefer seafood, then you)ll lo&e Fisherman)s *harf. 0&en if you)re not hun!ry, 1ust
stroll around the aterfront lookin! at the 2shin! boats and atchin! sea lions baskin! in
the sun. Out in the 3ay lies ,lcatra4 5the 6ock7, once home to notorious criminals,
includin! ,l (apone.
To &isit ,lcatra4, it)s ad&isable to book the ferry tickets online because they usually sell
out about a eek in ad&ance. 8ou)re left free to ander around the 6ock and the former
federal prison. 3ud!et about to and a half hours for the trip, and be prepared for
chan!eable eather.
/f you can9t !et tickets for ,lcatra4, take one of the many boat trips around San Francisco
3ay. They take you around the 6ock and out to the Golden Gate 3rid!e, another iconic
symbol of the city.
:ust a fe ideas to !et you started explorin! this fascinatin! city.
Tourist Information
There)s no shorta!e of information about hat to see hile in San Francisco. The San
Francisco ;isitor /nformation (enter is the o<cial tra&el and &isitors) !uide to the city,
ith information in => lan!ua!es.
,mon! the many uno<cial sites, the ?onely Planet !uide to San Francisco is packed ith
useful information.
Sightseeing Tours
One ay to see the city is on an open"top bus, a hop"on, hop"o+ ser&ice that o+ers either
prerecorded or li&e commentary. The route !oes o&er the Golden Gate 3rid!e, !i&in!
stunnin! &ies across the city 5as lon! as it)s not shrouded in fo!@7
/f you)re feelin! more ener!etic, se&eral companies o+er bicycle rental. 8ou can e&en
cycle across the Golden Gate 3rid!e on the ide bike path.
,nd for somethin! completely di+erentA *hy not see the city on a Se!ayB
/ma!e (aptionsC
The front seat of a cable car a+ords a !reat &ie of the city
,lcatra4former exclusi&e residence for notorious criminals
?inks
Muni passport
httpCDD.sfmta.comDcmsDmfaresDpassports.htm
Fisherman)s *harf
httpCDD.2shermansharf.or!D
book the ferry tickets online
httpCDD.alcatra4cruises.comDindex.aspx
San Francisco ;isitor /nformation (enter
httpCDD.sanfrancisco.tra&elD
?onely Planet Guide to San Francisco
httpCDD.lonelyplanet.comDusaDsan"francisco
open"top bus
httpCDD.bi!bustours.comDen!DsanfranciscoDcustompa!e.aspx
see the city on a Se!ay
httpCDD.electrictourcompany.comD