San Francisco

[mtcefc]

As I am a sucker for punishment, I have decided my trip this year will be the last 9 Cardinal games of the season.

3 games in STL - 3 in San Francisco and 3 in Chicago.

I am fine with St Louis, this will be my ninth visit and it feels like home, I know where to go like the back of my hand.

I am also OK with Chicago.

With San Francisco I am a total newbie.

Probably stupidly I watched this video - https://youtu.be/zAfVNkSRSM4?si=3qiD1eph2wSjT6gF and the Tenderloin area has spooked me a bit.

I realise this is a total overreaction.

I suppose my question is, has anyone been? Any tips for someone on their first trip.

I have been to St Louis loads, Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, Washington DC, Dallas, San Diego and Denver have only seen one "crazy" person one time in Chicago. Infact the only place I have ever had any trouble in my 44 years was 4 miles away from my house in England.

I am only going to be there for 3 days, my plan is to stay in a hotel next to the Powell Station and commute to the ballpark/tourist spots and airport from there.

I suppose like anywhere, the idea is keep your head down, don't look too much like a tourist and keep your eyes peeled.

Any tips/places to see are welcome!

[IMADreamer]

You'll be fine. I like Peter Santenella's videos but he definitely seems to skew towards showing the worse of things. San Fran is like any other place in this country. Don't go to the places you don't belong, like the Tenderloin, and just be aware of your surroundings. You will enjoy yourself. It's beautiful out there.

[mtcefc]

Thanks.

I was really freaking out the other night after watching that.

Same as anywhere like you say, keep your eyes and ears open.

[GeddyWrox]

Yeah, the whole Bay Area is special. The weather is amazing. And there are vibrant communities all over the place. Downtown SF took a big hit during the pandemic and it still hasn't come back, it seems. But look for areas with higher concentrations of high rated restaurants on Google and you'll be in good spots. Berkeley and Oakland, while vastly different vibes, are worth getting to as well. \

If you like hippie/Grateful Dead type culture, check out the Haight Ashbury area. If you like seafood, check out Fisherman's Wharf.

[sighyoung]

I haven't been to San Francisco for many years, but I've visited five times. It's pretty easy to avoid the Tenderloin district, which isn't that large an area. I even stayed in a hotel a block away from it my second time in the city: I needed to be careful, but nothing happened, but yes, avoid. But I walked down Market Street to the Civic Center with a friend, and also up Columbus Avenue to the Fort Mason area. This was years ago, but no problem. And lots of mass transit, whether it's the BART system or streetcars in parts of the city (and yes, there's a streetcar museum).

I've stayed in hotels near Chinatown, near Union Square, near the SOMA district, and near the Embarcadero, and all areas worked out.

It's a tremendously walkable city--again, I was mostly in the Union Square-Chinatown-Nob Hill area, but others can vouch for other parts, too.

Mind you, I was traveling with a group of international scholars twice, and with family twice. Places I got to see: Chinatown, Union Square, City Lights Bookstore, Yerba Buena Gardens, Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Exploratorium, Amoeba Music, saw the Painted Ladies, the Coit Tower, went to Berkeley and toured the campus and a couple of bookstores, and saw the northern portion of the Mission District (there was an alley with lots of artwork). I have a friend who would make a beeline to the Castro district. Next time I go, I'd love to visit Oakland and look for San Francisco's maritime museum. You can tour Alcatraz if you want, too.

As people will tell you, because of the sea, San Francisco is chillier than other parts of the Bay Area. Mark Twain once said that the coldest winter he ever experienced was a summer in San Francisco. Long pants and a warm jacket are recommended--it will be warmer and more humid the farther you are from the ocean. I haven't been to Marin County to the north--it's quite wealthy, but I thought there was some greenery up there, too.

Since San Francisco was the main port in California, it has a tremendous literary and cultural history--Mark Twain and Jack London and Dashiell Hammett and the Beat Poets, just for starters. There's a lot of history to explore there.

I really love it, and would love to go back.

[GeddyWrox]

All that that Sigh just said.

And if you're into wine, it's not a terrible drive up to Napa/Sonoma. When I went, I chose Sonoma over Napa. Just based on hearing it was a little more affordable and less pretentious. Sonoma was really cool.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

Monterey bay is 2-3 hours away and awesomely beautiful. But it would take 1 of your 3 days.

[sighyoung]

There's an old thread on here about things to do in San Francisco. From over a decade ago, but it's not like Godzilla destroyed the place and it got rebuilt: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=53118

I forgot about the MUNI bus system. So you've got MUNI, BART, and cable cars, if you don't want to use Uber or Lyft.

[Donnie Ebert]

If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair.

[Smith Corks One]

Visiting San Francisco for the first time? I’m jealous. It’s probably my favorite city in the nation.

Funny story - my wife moved here from Vietnam in 2017. She frequently complained about how boring and flat it is (“there’s nothing in (southern) Illinois but corn and soybeans. This is not what I thought America was!” First time I took her to SF, almost 2 years later, we’re walking from Lombard Street down to Fisherman’s Wharf, it’s the most beautiful, clear day, and she says, “THIS is what I always thought America was!”

Was most recently there in 2023, with my wife, her parents (their first trip to America, don’t speak a word of English), and my then 2 year old son. We did Chinatown, then they asked if there was a Vietnamese area. I knew there was a Little Saigon in the Tenderloin so we headed that way. It was a small area to begin with, but I guess Covid totally wiped it out. We only saw two restaurants that were still open, and we had to walk through some real sketchiness to get to one of them. Just wide open drug using and dealing right out there on the sidewalks. But you know what happened? Every time we got close to one of the groups, I would hear someone say “kid” and they would stop whatever they were doing until after we passed. I thought that was actually cool. Then we were standing on a corner waiting to cross the street and some psychotic dude started walking towards us spouting some gibberish, and this other guy who appeared to be a drug dealer got up in his face and said, “BACK OFF!”

The restaurant was great, owner was awesome. Said he also owned some houses he rents and was telling us about one he had just bought…a 1 bedroom with 900 square feet for 1.3 million.

Anyway, you’ll be fine.