You’re visiting a city. Dress like it.

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This came from a San Francisco guidebook from the 1960’s. While some of the information could be questioned (slacks a problem?) the basic point is true: dress like you’re in a city.
A lot of tourists equate traveling with relaxing, and relaxing, to them, means wearing clothes that would be more appropriate for lounging around a pool or a hike in the country. It also means wearing clothes for maximum comfort, which often means “slobby” or “I don’t care.” I’m not suggesting you wear a suit jacket all the time (although I do–that’s my style) but sporting a t-shirt and shorts and gimmie cap while toting a large backpack makes you stand out, and not in a good way.
You won’t be turned away at most restaurants if you dress like you just stumbled out of the backyard hammock, but don’t expect to be given the best table either.
Wear something casual, yet comfortable. There is a lot to choose from. Wear a shirt with a collar. I personally wouldn’t be caught dead wearing a polo shirt (I don’t wear anything that doesn’t have buttons down the front), but millions of men do. I appreciate they were invented to solve the problem throwing something on without effort and still look like you were paying attention to yourself. Special note for men: guys, cover everything below your belt. No one wants to see your legs, and they really, really don’t want to see your feet.
There is such a thing as first impressions, and you will get better service and be given more respect if you don’t dress like you’re treating your time in San Francisco as if it was an extension of a weekend hanging out on your patio. No one is going to treat you rudely, but you won’t get perks either.

San Francisco Twilight Tour

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I don’t do a lot of Twilight Tours, because most guests don’t request them. But when I do, they’re from photographers who want to take night time photos of the city, or people who want to see the city lights.
These were taken by a guests who just wanted to have an evening tour, but as you can see, San Francisco easily lends itself to beautiful views that even an amateur photographer can take to impress friends and family. As a bonus, since the tour is in a convertible MINI Cooper, guests don’t have to leave the comfort of the car to capture the image.

Coit Tower at night. And no, it is not designed to look like the nozzle of a fire hose.

Golden Gate Bridge illuminating the fog.

City Scape with featuring Palace of Fine Arts

Palace of Fine Arts

Grace Cathedral

 

Free Things at the DeYoung Museums Part 3: Excellent Restrooms!

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I’ve posted about 2 free things at the DeYoung museum: the Observation Deck and the Sculpture Garden and Cafe.

This next free thing may be the most important: the free restrooms.

DeYoung Museum Restrooms

 

Golden Gate Park has a number of free restrooms available to the public. These are maintained by the Recreation and Parks department, and, for the most part, are well taken care of and are perfectly acceptable.

But if you have the opportunity, why not go in style? (Sorry, I’ve tried and there seems to be no way to avoid that joke.)

DeYoung Cafe next to restrooms

Inside the DeYoung lobby, just outside the museum café, are excellent museum quality restrooms. As I’ve explained before, unlike the Academy of Sciences across the concourse, you don’t have to pay to go into the DeYoung museum lobby. Inside the lobby is a rotating art display, and is worth visiting for that alone.

It is only available when the museum is open, so on most Monday’s, you’ll have to settle for the restrooms behind the bandshell.

 

 

 

Here’s a bonus photo that makes the restroom entrance look like something from Severance or Backrooms. But they aren’t as unsettling.

Severance or Backrooms restroom.

Free Things at the DeYoung Museum Part 2: Sculpture Garden and Cafe

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On the west side of the DeYoung, the side closest to the Japanese Tea Garden is a free Sculpture Garden and museum café.

People enjoying the outdoor cafe at the DeYoung Museum

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You don’t have to buy anything from the café to enjoy the art. There are several pieces visible around and on the lawn next to the café: the Klaus Oldenberg giant safety pin, some people hatching out of eggs, and a spikey thing that has a rope around to discourage kids from playing on it. No rope around the egg people; they’re fair game.

A large safety pin is part of the garden

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sculptures in the free garden at the DeYoung

Egg person and big faucet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kids playing in the DeYoung sculpture garden

A rope discourages kids from playing on the spikey piece. The egg people in the are fair game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A path behind the back hedges features more art. Down the right side of the lawn is the entrance to the Turrell Skyspace. It’s easy to miss, but don’t. Walk down the path to a round room with a curved bench, and an opening in the ceiling. This hole becomes a frame to viewing the sky, and nudging you to focus on what you can see through opening, instead of taking in the whole scene.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The best feature of the museum café is the large outdoor patio that overlooks the lawn and art. Dining al fresco feels like an indulgence, and The DeYoung wisely made the café available to anyone. Many museums don’t, such as the Palace of the Legion of Honor, and the Academy of Sciences across the concourse. I haven’t been asked, but if asked, I would say this is a design mistake and cuts off a source of revenue, which museums always need.

Like all museum cafes, it is a little bit pricy for what you get, but not insultingly so. This might be because it is open to the general public without requiring admission, and doesn’t have the advantage of holding museum goers hostage to their café and charging over the top.

Since I’m lucky enough to live nearby, I often go the café and sit outside with a book and something to drink, maybe eat. It’s pleasant change from sitting in a coffee shop. If you don’t live nearby, but are in the park and need a break, the DeYoung café and sculpture garden is a welcoming place to spend some time and recharge.

More Free Things
The DeYoung Observatory

Best 5 Free Views

Free things in the DeYoung Museum: Part 1–The Observation Deck

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Most of my guests who venture into Golden Gate Park go to the Japanese Tea Garden. And they should. I’m not a garden guy, but every time I visit I’m moved by the precision and beauty which gives me a sense of tranquility, a state of mind I generally have in short supply but especially these days
Next door is the DeYoung museum, which is not as popular with tourists. I get a fair number of guests who say they are not “museum people,” which is fine, but a quality I don’t share. I love museums, but you do you. Like I said, I’m generally not a garden guy. But even if you’re not a museum person, the DeYoung has three free things that make it worth visiting.

Part 1: The Observation Deck.
The observation deck doesn’t seem like it should be free, which is why most guests, and a lot of locals don’t know about it, even when pay to go into an exhibit.
This twisted tower has a 360 degree view 14 stories over the park, with views of the park, downtown, Richmond and Sunset districts and the entrance of the bay in the distance.

Go into the DeYoung lobby, and near the ticket counter a sign will direct you to the elevator. Take time to enjoy the wire sculptures by San Francisco artist Ruth Azawa in the elevator lobby.

I will grant that this is not the most dramatic view in the city. San Francisco, thanks to the hills, has a staggering abundance of good views. But few are in a tower, enclosed, and don’t require at least somewhat of a climb.

And people who are not museum people or garden guys can agree on one thing: everyone likes a good view.
Free DeYoung thing Parts 2 and 3 arrive soon.

 

Take a tour inside one of the Painted Ladies

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When I take guests out on a private tour of San Francisco, the number one request, right after Golden Gate Bridge, is to see the Painted Ladies. Which, if I’m doing the math right, makes it the second most favorite destination.

The painted ladies.

The Painted Ladies. A simple image that captures the contrast of old and new San Francisco.

George Horsfall's house

You can take a tour of the Blue House on Postcard Row.

This group of Victorians go by many names: The Painted Ladies, Postcard Row, The 7 Sisters, the Full House Houses. Recently, many of my guests have been baffled when they see them because they were expecting a sculpture, or actual naked woman. Really. I blame this on travelers clicking on “Ten Things to See in San Francisco” and only reading the headline as the extent of their travel research.
The reason these Victorians are popular is the image tells a simple, vivid story. Old San Francisco in the front, contrasting with modern San Francisco in the background. The repetition–they are similar, not identical–we find ascetically pleasing. It is an easy photo to take. All that combines in being featured in countless television shows, movie, postcards, and refrigerator magnets.

How to book a tour of the Painted Lady Blue House.

After July 3rd, book by texting 1-415-377-8559

You can get a tour of one of the most famous houses in San Francisco most everyday at 4pm. The story of George Horsfall and his house was featured in the Chronicle, and is worth a read.
I’ve taken the tour and I highly recommend it. Not only is it a chance to experience the inside of a house that, every time you see it on television or a postcard, you can brag “I’ve been in the blue one,” but George is delightful host and an entertaining storyteller. It’s billed as tour, but is really is a rare opportunity to hang out with an interesting San Franciscan as he tells stories about his house, his family, and the history of the neighborhood.

As shown in the photo, you can reserve a place by texting 1-415-377-8559, but don’t use What’s App. $20 per person, and truly worth it.
I write more about how Victorians tell the story of neighborhoods here.

 

 

 

 

 

How Victorian Homes Tell the Story and History of Neighborhood

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My private tour guests always comment on San Francisco’s architecture. There is a wide variety to see, but the Victorians are always a favorite. Built mostly between 1870-1900 (give or take a few years), there was a time they were not popular. When people were being lured to the suburbs in the 1950’s, people who stayed in the city wanted contemporary housing, and Victorians fell out of fashion. They were cheap to rent, cheap to buy, and when bought, many single family homes, or structures of 2-3 flats, were torn down to build apartment buildings.
I’m all for density housing. It is necessary for a city to have an abundance of apartments. But did builders have to make many of them so aggressively and deliberately dull? No, they didn’t. But it’s cheaper, easier, and faster to build a boring box, and the city didn’t have building codes to reign in the lack of imagination and effort, and what affect it would inflict on the neighborhood.
I tell my guests that when they see a Victorian, and something next to it very much Not Victorian, that tells the history of the neighborhood, and how and when it changed. In the image below, on the left, it’s not as if there was vacant lot waiting for decades for someone to install this slap-crap of a building. There was a Victorian there, perhaps much like the one on the right, torn down in the 50’s or 60’s
What also annoys me is knowing the builder of this Monument to Dull doesn’t live in anything remotely close to that bland. I’m sure they took the money from building visual insulting housing, and live in something attractive.  If I were elected King of San Francisco, I would make it a law that a builder would have to live in, or directly across from, any residential property they are going to subject the public to for 2 years.

For more about unique San Francisco homes, I write about some whimsical and lovely non-Victorians here.

Victorians tell the history of the neighborhood, and the story of how it changed.

A Victorian and a very Not Victorian

A Hidden Gem Bookstore and Music Venue in an Off The Path but “Officially” Cool Neighborhood

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When I travel I like to explore neighborhoods overlooked by tourists. Neighborhoods at the top of tourist’s list also are also worth visiting–there is generally a reason they are popular. North Beach in San Francisco is a favorite with locals and tourists alike. But even in popular destinations, there are places where you can experience the city like a local. Spec’s in North Beach comes to mind (I write about it here.)

Even better than discovering a local’s spot in well trod neighborhood is discovering one where every spot is a local’s hang. Glen Park is that kind of place. But don’t take my word for it: Time Out Magazine said so, ranking it 35th coolest city in the world.

I don’t make it a habit to go eat there, although there are number of good restaurants. Glen Park is tucked away in a canyon, accessible on public transportation by BART from downtown, or the 44 O’shaughnessy bus from Golden Gate Park. I do make it a point to go see music at Bird and Becket.

Bird and Becket is a small space, the shelves crammed with books and records and books and records piled on top of what can’t fit on the shelves. When they have a band, they set up on a small stage, and folding chairs fill space where shelves roll out of the way. Describing it as “intimate” is an understatement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And after, or before the show, go to one of the restaurants or bars down the street. Like the locals do.

Bird and Becket 

653 Chenery St.
415-586-3733

 

 

The Gravestone Gutters of Buena Vista Park

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Buena Vista Park is on the edge of the Haight Ashbury, and overlooked by most visitors to San Francisco. Most guest stop their journey down Haight St at Masonic, which makes some sense. The interesting retail—head shops, vintage stores, and restaurants end at the intersection of Haight and Masonic.

Buena Vista Park is on the edge of the Haight-Ashbury

But a little over block up Haight, just past Bound Together Books (the Anarchist Collective Bookstore) which you should stop into because I’m going to bet you don’t have such a bookstore in your town, is Buena Vista Park.

It was the first park in San Francisco, but its real distinction are the pieces of gravestones that line the gutters and walkways.

Gravestones line the walkways of Buena Vista Park

Yes really. It’s marble from broken headstones that went unclaimed when San Francisco moved the cemeteries out of the city in the early 1900’s.

Yes really. But that’s another story.

When headstones went unclaimed in the cemetery relocation, the marble was busted up and used for various civic projects around San Francisco. Upgrading Buena Vista park was one of those projects.

 

Most of the pieces are placed writing side down, but either from carelessness or a sense of grim humor, the writing is visible.

It’s a fun treasure hunt as you walk through the park, looking dates and names, most of which are only partially saved. My personal favorite piece simple says “Died.”

What more is there to say?

 

The Gravestone Gutters of Buena Vista park is one of those oddities, a strange treasure, that an adventurous and curious traveler loves to find. That’s you, or you wouldn’t be reading this.

Plus, there are good views. But that’s another post.

If you need views now, look here:
Best 5 free views in San Francisco

Another Hidden Gem of Ocean Views Hiding in Plain Sight

San Francisco’s best least known view is steps away from one of its most popular site.

Hidden Gem–Downtown rooftop with comfy furniture, great views, and very few people

Author Shelly Blanton-Stroud Thanks Me In Her Book for Customized Tour

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As a private guide who gives customized tours, I often get to participate in, and help create, tours unique to my guest’s special requests. I took out a couple who met, married, and had a son here, then moved away when he was a few months old. 13 years later they returned to show him the story of their San Francisco life. They gave me a list of where they met, their favorite restaurants, bars and clubs, where they got married, the apartments they lived in, including the one they lived in when he was born. Nice to be a part of a delightful family outing.

An African-American couple asked to take them on a Black History Tour created by SF Travel. Looking it over, it was mostly a collection of anodyne sites that left out what I’m guessing SF Travel considered “controversial” history, such as the destruction of the Fillmore by Urban Renewal. It also didn’t mention Mary Ellen Pleasant, arguably one of the most important Black women not only in San Francisco’s but American history. There is a plaque dedicated to her at Octavia and Bush St. She’s not hard to find, so I’m guessing SF Travel didn’t want to. I filled in these gaps and more for this couple, who appreciated the curation to their interests.

Mary Ellen Pleasant Plaque at Octavia and Bush

I’ve done a tour of the public art all over the city. A tour of staircases. Photographer tours who asked me to take them to the best shots for sunrise, sunset, and nighttime.

Giant Sundial in Ingleside Terrace

Last year, I got a request from writer Shelley Blanton-Stroud, who was researching a novel about the San Francisco Peace Riots. When Japan surrendered in August 1945, ending WWII, San Francisco’s celebration turned ugly. I’d never heard of this incident, and if you haven’t either, it is worth searching out. (Click on the links; that’s what they’re there for.) She researched locations she wanted to see in person. I did a deeper dive into the history of the Peace Riots and came up with several locations and stories to round out her itinerary. She also gave me character backgrounds, and took her to areas of the city they might have lived.

Me and author Shelly Blanton-Stroud at her book signing at Book Passage in the Ferry Building

Being able to customize tours, I get explore parts of the city I rarely visit, and learn more about the history of San Francisco. I love doing research, and was glad to contribute my two cents worth of insight and advice. As a result, I was honored to get a credit in the book, An Unlikely Prospect.

If anyone reading this has a special request for a tour, I’d be delighted to not only take you out, but help research it for you. No book mention required.

Another Hidden Gem of Ocean Views Hiding in Plain Sight

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Sutro Baths before fire

Sutro Baths before

Sutro Barth ruins today

Sutro Baths ruins today

The Sutro Baths, at the western edge of the city where San Francisco ends and Pacific Ocean begins, is a popular site. The ruins are what’s left of a giant glass domed amusement hall that, over its lifespan at one time or another, featured 7 pools, restaurants, an oddity museum, an ice rink, and an indoor beach.
Nearby is the Cliff House, currently shuttered, but was once a destination restaurant for the view and drinks. The food, not so much.

But nearby both, mostly overlooked by locals, and a sure bet unheard of by visitors, is Sutro Heights Park. It is what’s left of the estate of Adolph Sutro, a man who in the 1880’s made a fortune building a tunnel in Nevada, then used that money buy 12 percent of the land in San Francisco. In 1881 he started building his estate, and in 1883 opened the grounds to the public for a dime donation to pay the 17 maintenance workers. Sutro was promoter of getting people to the west side of the city, which in the late 1800’s was not an easy journey.
Ocean Beach and Great Highway from Sutro Heights
There’s more to the story, but the short version is the estate eventually went into decay, and Sutro’s family donated the house and land to San Francisco in 1938. The house was demolished, most of the statuary removed, and it is now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

Pacific Ocean from Sutro Heights
It might be the gate at the entrance, placed to prevent unwanted cars, that makes folks assume the park is off limits to humans, and thus accounting for the sparse attendance.

Sutro Heights gate with lions

But for those who know to venture past the gate, beautiful views await: The Pacific. Ocean Beach, a name which lacks imagination but makes up for in clarity. The Sunset District. The Great HIghway, which is neither. Golden Gate Heights.

I don’t go there as often as I should, and when I do, and take in the views, promise myself I’ll get back soon. I do better each time.

Golden Gate Heights from Sutro Heights

San Francisco is a city of views. Here are more:
5 Best Free Views in San Francisco

Why You Should Never Book a Hotel through Expedia, TripAdvisor, or any other 3rd Party Site

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If you search for a hotel online, the first choices thrust at you are going to be 3rd party booking sites. They will tempt you with their low prices, and, supposedly, ease of booking.

The truth is these, and others like Viator, Hotels(dot)com are parasites on the travel industry and every vendor—hotel, restaurant, tour company—hates them with burning heat of 10,000 suns and a slice of extra cheese pizza left in the microwave too long. The reason is these companies take a huge percentage of the booking fee, and do nothing productive afterward. They have terrible service should something go wrong with your booking. They are good for research, but that is it. After finding what you want, always book directly. You will get better service, and in the case of hotels, a better price.

When you find a room on one of these bloodsucker sites, call the hotel directly and ask them to match it. Not only will they match it, they will often give you an even bigger discount.Symbol of no third party booking sites

Hotels put rooms on these sites because any room they don’t sell is lost revenue. They’d rather sell it at a discount rather than nothing at all. But the parasite sites take a huge bite of the booking fee, from 15-30%. If a hotel can book directly, they don’t have to pay that fee.

For example, say the usual rate for a hotel is $250, and they have booked some rooms for that price, but there are a lot left over. They will release those room to Expedia and other sites, where they might list it for $210. Once you find out the price, if you call the hotel directly, and ask them to match the Expedia price, they will, and probably less if you ask. That’s because if you book the room through Expedia, using the example above, the bloodsucker company could take $35-65, leaving the hotel with $175-$145 profit. If they sell the room directly to you for $180, they keep it all. The hotel makes more money, you get a bigger discount, and Expedia gets nothing. Everybody wins. Except Expedia, and who the hell cares what happens to the blooksuckers?

I recently did the above when booking a hotel in New York for later this year. I got a substantial discount below what Expedia wanted to charge. I did have to agree to the rooms being non-refundable, but that was worth the significant price cut. I bought $39 travel insurance that will cover the cost of the hotel should I have to cancel. “Have to” is the qualification. There needs to be an unforeseeable event for why you cancel, you can’t just change your mind.

Perhaps the best reason for booking directly is that the money goes the vendor. For many small business, such as tour companies, it makes a big difference. Good Karma will be on your side. And these days we all need every bit of luck we can get.

The Streets of San Francisco–Clement St.

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I often get tour guests who say they want to get away from the tourist places and experience the city like a local. I applaude this impulse, as it shows a desire to treat the city as something other than an amusement park or list of places to check off a list.
Walking a city is the way to experience it like a local. Unlike suburban dwellers, we walk to stores, coffee shops, restaurants, bars.

For many travelers, this doesn’t feel like they’re “doing” anything. (I have opinions on using variations of the word “do” when traveling, such as “We did the Golden Gate Bridge”, but that’s another post.) But wandering a street, you are doing something.

You’re experiencing daily life and discovering places off the usual tourist path.
With that in mind, I will be posting about streets in San Francisco worth walking, and places to be found there.

Richmond District San Francisco

The Richmond District is located between the Presidio and Golden Gate Park. The places mentioned are on Clement St between Arguello and Funston Ave.

First up: Clement St. in the Richmond District
It was known as “Little Chinatown” on maps from the 1950-80’s. In 1947 when San Francisco lifted the racial restriction that Chinese people could only own property in Chinatown, there was a migration to Clement St. There was an abundance of affordable starter homes, and good public transportation back to Chinatown.
While there still are a lot of Chinese markets and shops, the mix of restaurants and stores show off the comfortable jumble of cultures and cuisines.

What will you “do”? Have a cup of coffee or a drink. Something to eat. Shop. Relax. Witness and share the neighborhood life. That’s doing something worthwhile.
These are a few of my favorite spots to get you started, but there’s more to discover.

Green Apple Books—The Best Used (and New) Bookstore in San Francisco

New May Wah–A Grocery Store with Everything You Never Knew You Wanted

The Blue Danube–Good coffee, good food, and the chance to read someone else’s journals.

Best Dim Sum in San Francisco and it’s not in Chinatown—Xiao Long Bao

The Beautiful Weirdness of Paxton Gate. Discover Everything You Never Knew You Wanted.

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I didn’t realize I wanted, perhaps needed a raccoon archer until I saw one.

An Archer Raccoon.

When not able to dig through trash cans, raccoons will hunt for prey.

Fossilized critters.

A snapshot of a death assemblage.

Same with an Ammonite Mortality Plate. In case you’re wondering what Mortality Plate is, it’s a fossil containing a lot of creatures that died in the same place at the same time. I’ve found such plates described as “a snapshot of a death assemblage.”

Like a lot of items at Paxton Gate, being rare and strange, they come with a hefty price. The Mortality Plate is $6,000, and the Archer Racoon will set you back $1440. Worth every penny if you have it spare.
Should you not have such disposable income, there are things on the lower end of the price range. Glass eyes used for taxidermy are cheaper than a latte and muffin.

For your garden or living room, there are a variety of carnivorous plants. I’ve always marveled that the survival instinct in all living things is so powerful a plant evolved to eat flesh, and now I can be reminded of the wonders of nature while ridding my apartment of flies.

Pitcher plants waiting for dinner.

Pitcher plants are just one variety of carnivorous plants available to enhance your home or garden.

Photography is not only allowed but encouraged.
Located on Valencia Street in the Mission, even if you don’t find something to buy, Paxton Gate should be visited. The experience will give you something to talk about over your burrito.
And if you can’t visit in person, the website will be your new favorite rabbit hole.

Paxton Gate Sign.

Paxton Gate

824 Valencia St. btw. 19th and 20th St.

11-7 every day except Tuesday (Closed)

415-824-1872

paxtongate.com

4 Great Wine Bars. Two neighborhood favorites, and two hidden gems

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I love a good wine bar. There are few pleasures I enjoy more than sitting with a glass of wine and a book. Sure, I could do it at home, and I do, but being in a public space lets me appreciate the city experience more.
Here are 4 of my favorites:

InoVino in Cole Valley is a regular haunt. It is a wonderful 3rd space. https://www.smallcarbigtimetours.com/inovino-a-friendly-neighbory-hood-wine-bar/

Hotel Biron–Wine Bar and Art Gallery https://www.smallcarbigtimetours.com/hotel-biron-small-wine-bar-and-art-gallery/

Amelie–a lively bar at the foot of Russian Hill https://www.smallcarbigtimetours.com/amalie-a-lively-wine-bar-with-great-selection-of-wine-and-cheese/

San Francisco Wine and Cheese — walk too fast and you’ll miss it. https://www.smallcarbigtimetours.com/san-francisco-wine-bars/

More to come!
Interior patio of San Francisco Wine and CheeseInoVino wine bar in Cole Valley

5 Best Free Views in San Francisco

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San Francisco is a city of hills, and therefor views abound. There are also several buildings with excellent views. And unlike Manhatten, which is flat and indugling in a view can cost up to $79 most of our views are free. Sure, there are places where you might be charged at little (Coit Tower–$10 for non-residents), or need to buy a drink (the Top of the Mark and other rooftop bars), but the best views don’t cost you a dime.
Here are the 5 best free views in San Francisco.

  1. A hidden gem in Golden Gate Park. The Observation Deck at the DeYoung Museum
  2. A downtown rooftop that you might have all to yourself. 343 Sansome Street.
  3. Beautiful steps, beautiful view. 16th Ave Tiled Steps
  4. If you’re at the 16th Ave Steps, go a little higher for a panoramic city view. Grand View Park 
  5. A view just above Golden Gate park that even most locals don’t know about. 400 Parnassus

San Francisco has no shortage of views, but these will get you started.
More to come.

The free view from the observation deck of the DeYoung Museum in Golden Gate park. Free

San Francisco’s best least known view is steps away from one of its most popular site.

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Grandview Park lives up to its name. It’s a bit of a climb to get there, but the result is worth it. You’re rewarded with a panoramic view of San Francisco that few locals and fewer visitors make the effort to see.

The 16th Ave Tiled Steps

The 16th Ave Tiled Steps. Climb to the top for a view of the Pacific, then continue on to Grandview Park.

Many people know about the 16th Ave Tiled steps, and with good reason. They’re not only beautiful, but a tribute to neighborhood vision and organization. These steps were not a city project, but the idea of people who lived next to a long concrete stairway.

When you get to the top, you have a view of the Pacific. This is where most people stop. But turn to your left, and you’ll see short concrete staircase that leads up to Grandview Park.

Concrete steps leading up to Grandview Park

At the top of the 16th Ave Tiled Steps, turn to your left, and walk up this short staircase.

At the top of those stairs, you see wooden staircase, longer than the steps you just climbed, but shorter than the tiled steps.

Grandview Park steps

Take this staircase to the top of Grandview Park. It is not as difficult and steep as it looks.

Green bench at the top of Grandview Park.

Sit on this bench, and enjoy the view you’ve earned.

The top is the aptly named Grandview Park. There is a green bench to relax in after your climb. Sit, and enjoy the 7 mile panoramic view of San Francisco from the Pacific Ocean to downtown.

This is a view that is even unknown to most San Franciscans, and thus gives you bragging rights for being more than just a tourist when you return home.
If you visit the tiled steps, take the time, and effort, (and it is effort because it is a lot of steps), to experience this view.

When the kids need a playground, The Koret Playground in Golden Gate Park is an oasis for parents and children.

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Traveling with kids can be difficult sometimes. I guess–I don’t have kids. But I have friends do and I’ve witnessed countless parents dealing with a meltdown of their  precious darlings. When you’re traveling with kids sometimes you need a playground to let them burn off energy.

Or ride a Merry Go Round.
Merry go round in Golden Gate Park
Opened in 1888, The Koret Playground, originally called the Sharon Quarters for Children, is considered the first public playground in the United States.
The carousel is open from 10-5pm, and the snack shack nearby is open 9-5pm.
There are long concrete slides. When the park was being remodeled a few years ago, planners wanted to remove the slides, citing them as a possible hazard. I’m all for safety, but there is less danger in these slides than letting your kid run around IKEA. Fortunately, people who lived in the area for decades and grew up sliding on cardboard down these slides lived to tell the tale convinced the planners to keep them.
Concrete slides in the Koret Playground in Golden Gate Park
Letting the kids play and run around may get them in the mood for a nap. Plus it’s fun. And the playground is enjoyable for parents, with plenty of seating near play equipment.
When you need to take a break–the kids will let you know when that is–Koret Playground is an oasis.
A pleasant place for parents and kids--the Koret Playground in Golden Gate Park.
The playground is a 10 minute walk from another place the kid’s, and parents, would like: The Free Gold Watch Pinball Parlor

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Hidden Gem–Downtown rooftop with comfy furniture, great views, and very few people

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Downtown San Francisco has many public spaces known as POPOS: Privately Owned Public Occupied Space. These are located in office buildings and hotels, and are available for the public to enjoy during operating hours, which vary from location. The the public rooftop of 343 Sansome St. is one of the best hidden gems in the city, but few people know about it.

To get up there, go to the 15th floor. You may have to check in with the bored security guard and tell him where you want to go. The other floors are only available by touching a keycard to a number pad, but the 15th floor is open to everyone.
It is open during business hours, so figure 8-6 weekdays. 9-5 just to be sure.
The are nice views of downtown, even if somewhat constrained by the number of taller buildings nearby. The roof itself is nice, with a tiled floor. The furniture is high quality and comfortable, not the usual functional but uninviting metal chairs and table tops.
I was downtown the other day and bough a gyro from the outstanding halal cart at the corner of California and Montgomery. Looking for somewhere to eat it, I remembered the 343 Sansome was just a few blocks away. Getting a nod from the sullen security guard, rode the elevator up 15 floors. I had to roof to myself. A perfect lunch setting.
4 seasons obelisk and plants on rooftop of 343 Sansome
This is the sort of place I would love to discover if I was visiting another city–a hidden gem that even few locals know about. It gives you bragging rights for being an active explorer and good traveler.
As a bonus, the lobby of the building is also a public space. Again, good, comfortable furniture, and includes a modern water sculpture to settle your nerves should they need settling. Easy access to the lobby right off Sacramento St.
The lobby of 343 Sansome St. Chairs, table, water sculpture
This is another example of free views in San Francisco, such as this panoramic view of Golden Gate Park or the view from the DeYoung museum observation tower.
They are called hidden gems for a reason: you have to know where to find them.