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Alaska Airlines Flights from Los Angeles (LAX) to San Francisco (SFO)
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on Alaska Airlines, which operates 6 regularly scheduled daily non-stop flights from Los Angeles (LAX) to San Francisco (SFO), departing between 10:00am and 8:55pm, and 2 additional non-stop flights, departing between 7:40am and 8:30pm on select days of the week. Usually a Boeing 737-400 or McDonnell Douglas MD80 is flown for this route. The average travel time from Los Angeles, CA to San Francisco, CA is 1 hour and 22 minutes.
During your San Francisco vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
Cable Car Museum
If you've ever wondered how cable cars work, this nifty museum explains (and demonstrates) it all. Yes, this is a museum, but the Cable Car Museum is no stuffed shirt. It's the living powerhouse, repair shop, and storage place of the cable car system and is in full operation. Built for the Ferries and Cliff House Railway in 1887, the building underwent an $18-million reconstruction to restore its original gaslight-era look, install an amazing spectators' gallery, and add a museum of San Francisco transit history.The exposed machinery, which pulls the cables under San Francisco's streets, looks like a Rube Goldberg invention. Stand in the mezzanine gallery and become mesmerized by the massive groaning and vibrating winches as they thread the cable that hauls the cars through a huge figure-eight and back into the system using slack-absorbing tension wheels. For a better view, move to the lower-level viewing room, where you can see the massive pulleys and gears operating underground.Also on display here is one of the first grip cars developed by Andrew S. Hallidie, operated for the first time on Clay Street on August 2, 1873. Other displays include an antique grip car and trailer that operated on Pacific Avenue until 1929, and dozens of exact-scale models of cars used on the various city lines. There's also a shop where you can buy a variety of cable car gifts. You can see the whole museum in about 45 minutes.
The Exploratorium
Scientific American magazine rated the Exploratorium "the best science museum in the world" -- pretty heady stuff for this exciting hands-on science fair. It contains more than 650 permanent exhibits that explore everything from giant-bubble blowing to Einstein's theory of relativity. It's like a mad scientist's penny arcade, an educational fun house, and an experimental laboratory, all rolled into one. Touch a tornado, shape a glowing electrical current, finger-paint using a computer, or take a sensory journey in total darkness in the Tactile Dome ($15 extra) -- you could spend all day here and still not see everything. Every exhibit at the Exploratorium is designed to be interactive, educational, safe and, most important, fun. And don't think it's just for kids; parents inevitably end up being the most reluctant to leave. On the way out, be sure to stop in the wonderful gift store, which is chock-full of affordable brain candy.The museum is in the Marina District at the beautiful Palace of Fine Arts, the only building left standing from the Panama-Pacific Exposition of 1915. The adjoining park and lagoon -- the perfect place for an afternoon picnic -- is home to ducks, swans, seagulls, and grouchy geese, so bring bread.
Aquarium of the Bay
The latest major addition to Fisherman's Wharf is Aquarium of the Bay, a $38-million, 1-million-gallon marine attraction filled with sharks, stingrays, and more. A moving footpath transports visitors through clear acrylic tunnels. The aquarium ultimately is not a destination in itself, but it's a good place to take the kids if you're in the neighborhood.
Make your reservations for discount hotel rooms in the
San Francisco area, including:
Hilton San Francisco
Complete with bustling conventioneers and a line to register that resembles airport check-in, the Hilton's lobby is so enormous and busy that it feels more like a convention hall than a hotel. The three connecting buildings (the original 19-story main structure, a 46-story tower topped by a panoramic restaurant, and a 23-story landmark with 386 luxurious rooms and suites) bring swarms of visitors. Even during quieter times, the sheer enormity of the place makes the Hilton somewhat overwhelming.After you get past the sweeping grand lobby, jump on an elevator, and wind through endless corridors to your room, you're likely to find the mystique ends with clean but run-of-the-mill standard-size corporate accommodations. That said, some of the views from the floor-to-ceiling windows in the main tower's rooms are memorable, and since the hotel continues with ongoing renovations, you're likely to sleep in newish quarters.Unless you're staying in one of the more luxurious units, the feel and decor are impersonal and plain -- perfect for conventioneers, but not for a romantic weekend. One bonus: A 13,000-square-foot health club and day spa was added in 2003. The Hilton has four restaurants: Cityscape, on the 46th floor, offers classic California cuisine and a breathtaking 360-degree view; Intermezzo serves Mediterranean-style food; The Café offers a buffet; and Kiku's of Japan offers -- you guessed it -- Japanese food.
Union Street Inn
Who would have guessed that one of the most delightful B&Bs in California would be in San Francisco? This two-story 1903 Edwardian fronts perpetually busy (and trendy shopping and bar-hopping stop) Union Street, but it's quiet as a church on the inside. The individually decorated rooms are comfortably furnished with down comforters, fresh flowers, and bay windows (beg for one with a view of the garden). A few even have Jacuzzi tubs. An extended full breakfast is served in the parlor, in your room, or on an outdoor terrace overlooking a lovely English garden. The ultimate honeymoon retreat is the private carriage house behind the inn, but any room at this warm, friendly inn is guaranteed to please.
The Kensington Park Hotel
The Kensington is a spiffed-up fairly old hotel with a cheery, eager-to-please (albeit sometimes short-handed) staff, tasteful accommodations, and extra efforts -- like afternoon tea and sherry -- that show the hotel cares about its guests. Large rooms on the 5th through 12th floors have handsome furnishings, and the bathrooms, though small, are sweetly appointed in brass and marble. As for the views, ask for an upper corner room, and you'll get far more than your money's worth. If you want the full treatment, book the Royal Suite, which contains a canopy bed, fireplace, Jacuzzi, and wet bar. The hotel adjoins popular fantasy -- and fancy -- seafood restaurant Farallon.
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