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Northwest Airlines Flights from Vancouver, Canada (YVR) to San Francisco (SFO)
As part of booking roundtrip flights which depart from US airports,
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on Northwest Airlines, which operates 2 regularly scheduled daily non-stop flights from Vancouver, Canada (YVR) to San Francisco (SFO), departing between 4:55pm and 6:51pm. Usually a Boeing 737-400 or Boeing 737-700 is flown for this route. The average travel time from Vancouver, Canada to San Francisco, CA is 2 hours and 24 minutes.
During your San Francisco vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (MOMA)
Swiss architect Mario Botta, in association with Hellmuth, Obata, and Kassabaum, designed this $65-million museum, which has made SoMa one of the more popular areas to visit, for tourists and residents alike. The museum's permanent collection consists of more than 23,000 works, including close to 5,000 paintings and sculptures by artists such as Henri Matisse, Jackson Pollock, and Willem de Kooning. Other artists represented are Diego Rivera, Georgia O'Keeffe, Paul Klee, the Fauvists, and exceptional holdings of Richard Diebenkorn. MOMA was one of the first museums to recognize photography as a major art form; its extensive collection includes more than 12,000 photographs by such notables as Ansel Adams, Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Weston, and Henri Cartier-Bresson. Unfortunately, few works are on display at one time, and for the money the experience can be disappointing -- especially compared to the finer museums of New York. Docent-led tours take place daily. Times are posted at the admission desk. Phone for current details of upcoming special events and exhibitions or check MOMA's website.The Caffé Museo, to the right of the museum entrance, offers very good-quality fresh soups, sandwiches, and salads.No matter what, don't miss the MuseumStore, which carries a wonderful array of architectural gifts, books, and trinkets. It's one of the best shops in town.
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
Shaped like an Art Deco ship, the Maritime Museum is filled with sailing, whaling, and fishing lore. Remarkably good exhibits include intricate model craft and scrimshaw. The collection of shipwreck photographs and historic marine scenes includes an 1851 snapshot of hundreds of abandoned ships, deserted en masse by crews dashing off to participate in the gold rush. Beautifully carved, brightly painted wooden figureheads from old windjammers line the walls. Two blocks east, at the park's Hyde Street Pier, are several historic ships, now moored and open to the public.The Balclutha, one of the last surviving square-riggers and the handsomest vessel in San Francisco Bay, was built in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1886 and carried grain from California at a near-record speed of 300 miles a day. The ship is now completely restored. Kids can climb into the bunking quarters, visit the "slop chest" ("galley" to you, matey), and read the sea chanteys (clean ones only) that decorate the walls.The 1890 Eureka still carries a cargo of nostalgia for San Franciscans. It was the last of 50 paddle-wheel ferries that regularly plied the bay; it made its final trip in 1957. Restored to its original splendor at the height of the ferryboat era, the side-wheeler is loaded with deck cargo, including antique cars and trucks.The black-hulled, three-masted C. A. Thayer, built in 1895, was crafted for the lumber trade and carried logs felled in the Pacific Northwest to the carpentry shops of California. Unfortunately, it's undergoing renovation and isn't slated to return until 2006.Other historic ships docked here include the tiny two-masted Alma, one of the last scow schooners to bring hay to the horses of San Francisco; the Hercules, a huge 1907 oceangoing steam tug; and the Eppleton Hall, a side-wheel tugboat built in England in 1914 to operate on London's River Thames.At the pier's small-boat shop, visitors can follow the restoration progress of historic boats from the museum's collection. It's behind the maritime bookstore on your right as you approach the ships.
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts/Yerba Buena Gardens
The Yerba Buena Center, which opened in 1993, is the city's cultural facility, similar to New York's Lincoln Center but far more fun on the outside. It stands on top of the northern extension of the underground Moscone Convention Center. The center's two buildings present music, theater, dance, and visual arts. James Stewart Polshek designed the 755-seat theater, and Fumihiko Maki designed the Galleries and Arts Forum, which features three galleries and a space designed especially for dance. Cutting-edge computer art, multimedia shows, traditional exhibitions, and performances occupy the center's high-tech galleries.More commonly explored is the 5-acre Yerba Buena Gardens, a great place to relax in the grass on a sunny day and check out several artworks. The most dramatic outdoor piece is an emotional mixed-media memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr. Created by sculptor Houston Conwill, poet Estella Majozo, and architect Joseph de Pace, it features 12 panels, each inscribed with quotations from King, sheltered behind a 50-foot-high waterfall. For most, this pastoral patch is a brief stopover to the surrounding attractions. New to the gardens in 2004 are seasonal free outdoor festivals held on varied dates from May through October. It's definitely worth discovering whether you can catch one of these, as performances include dance, music, poetry, and more by the San Francisco Ballet, Opera, and Symphony and others; see www.ybgf.org for details.On the periphery of Yerba Buena Gardens are a number of worthy individually operated excursions. In the Children's Center, Zeum (tel. 415/777-2800) includes a cafe, interactive cultural center, bowling lanes, ice-skating rink, fabulous 1906 carousel, and interactive play and learning garden. Sony's Metreon Entertainment Center (tel. 415/369-6000; www.metreon.com) is a 350,000-square-foot complex housing great movie theaters, an IMAX theater, a bountiful gourmet food court, interactive attractions (including one that features Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are and surprisingly exciting virtual bowling), and shops. As part of the plan to develop this area as the city's cultural hub, the California Historical Society opened at 678 Mission St. in 1995 and is home to a research library and a publicly accessible California photography and fine arts collection.
Make your reservations for discount hotel rooms in the
San Francisco area, including:
The San Remo Hotel
This small, European-style pensione is one of the best budget hotels in San Francisco. In a quiet North Beach neighborhood, within walking distance of Fisherman's Wharf, the Italianate Victorian structure originally served as a boardinghouse for dockworkers displaced by the great fire of 1906. As a result, the rooms are small and bathrooms are shared, but all is forgiven when it comes time to pay the bill. Rooms are decorated in cozy country style, with brass and iron beds; oak, maple, or pine armoires; and wicker furnishings. The immaculate shared bathrooms feature tubs and brass pull-chain toilets with oak tanks and brass fixtures. If the penthouse is available, book it: You won't find a more romantic place to stay in San Francisco for so little money. It has its own bathroom, TV, fridge, and patio.
The Huntington Hotel
One of the kings of Nob Hill, the stately Huntington Hotel has long been a favorite retreat for Hollywood stars and political VIPs who desire privacy and security. Family owned since 1924 -- an extreme rarity among large hotels -- the Huntington eschews pomp and circumstance; absolute privacy and unobtrusive service are its mainstays. Although the lobby, decorated in grand 19th-century style, is rather petite, the guest rooms are quite large; they feature Brunschwig and Fils fabrics and bed coverings, antique French furnishings, and views of the city. The lavish suites, so opulent that they've been featured in Architectural Digest, are individually decorated with custom-made and antique furnishings. Prices are steep, as you would expect, but special offers such as a Romance Package, which includes champagne, sherry, and limousine service, make the Huntington worth considering for a special occasion.The Big Four restaurant offers expensive contemporary American cuisine. Live piano music is played nightly in the lounge.
The Juliana Hotel
A European-style boutique hotel in the best possible way, the Juliana is hard not to like. Completely renovated in 1996 and again in 2001, rooms are trendy-French, with yellow and pale-blue-striped wallpaper, and candy-striped yellow-and-red upholstered chairs. It's vibrant and cheery, for sure, but not the kind of place where you'd want to nurse a wicked hangover. With coffee available in the lobby in the morning and wine at night (included in the room rate), there's no real reason to leave. Guest rooms and bathrooms can be on the small side, but the junior suites have plenty of space and lovely homey touches.
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