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Flights to San Francisco (SFO) from Los Angeles (LAX) on Asiana Airlines
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on Asiana Airlines, which operates 2 regularly scheduled daily non-stop flights from Los Angeles (LAX) to San Francisco (SFO), departing between 1:45pm and 10:30pm. Usually an Airbus A320 or Boeing 737-500 is flown for this route. The average travel time from Los Angeles, CA to San Francisco, CA is 1 hour and 18 minutes.*
* Some flights must be used with additional international service on this airline.
During your San Francisco vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
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.
Cable Cars
Although they may not be San Francisco's most practical means of transportation, cable cars are certainly the best loved and are a must-experience when visiting the city. Designated official historic landmarks by the National Park Service in 1964, they clank up and down the city's steep hills like mobile museum pieces, tirelessly hauling thousands of tourists each day to nowhere in particular.London-born engineer Andrew Hallidie invented San Francisco's cable cars in 1869. He got the idea by serendipity. As the story goes, Hallidie was watching a team of overworked horses haul a heavily laden carriage up a steep San Francisco slope. As he watched, one horse slipped and the car rolled back, dragging the other tired beasts with it. At that moment, Hallidie resolved that he would invent a mechanical contraption to replace such horses, and just 4 years later, in 1873, the first cable car made its maiden run from the top of Clay Street. Promptly ridiculed as "Hallidie's Folly," the cars were slow to gain acceptance. One early onlooker voiced the general opinion by exclaiming, "I don't believe it -- the damned thing works!"Even today, many visitors have difficulty believing that these vehicles, which have no engines, actually work. The cars, each weighing about 6 tons, run along a steel cable, enclosed under the street in a center rail. You can't see the cable unless you peer straight down into the crack, but you'll hear its characteristic clickity-clanking sound whenever you're nearby. The cars move when the gripper (not the driver) pulls back a lever that closes a pincerlike "grip" on the cable. The speed of the car, therefore, is determined by the speed of the cable, which is a constant 9 1/2 mph -- never more, never less.The two types of cable cars in use hold a maximum of 90 and 100 passengers, and the limits are rigidly enforced. The best views are from the outer running boards, where you have to hold on tightly when taking curves.Hallidie's cable cars have been imitated and used throughout the world, but all have been replaced by more efficient means of transportation. San Francisco planned to do so, too, but the proposal met with so much opposition that the cable cars' perpetuation was actually written into the city charter in 1955. The mandate cannot be revoked without the approval of a majority of the city's voters -- a distant and doubtful prospect.San Francisco's three existing cable car lines form the world's only surviving system of cable cars, which you can experience for yourself should you choose to wait in the endless boarding line (up to a 2-hr. wait in summer).
Pier 39
PIER 39 is a multilevel waterfront complex a few blocks east of Fisherman's Wharf. Constructed on an abandoned cargo pier, it is, ostensibly, a re-creation of a turn-of-the-20th-century street scene, but don't expect a slice of old-time maritime life. This is the busiest mall of the lot and allegedly welcomes 11 million visitors per year. It has more than 100 stores, 11 bay-view restaurants, a two-tiered Venetian carousel, a Hard Rock Cafe, and arcade and aquarium entertainment for the kids. And everything's slated toward helping you part with your travel dollars. It's the place that locals love to hate. That said, it does have a few perks: absolutely beautiful natural surroundings of bay views, fresh sea air, and hundreds of sunbathing sea lions lounging along its neighboring dock.
Make your reservations for discount hotel rooms in the
San Francisco area, including:
Radisson Miyako Hotel
Japantown's Miyako is a tranquil alternative to staying downtown, which is only about 12 blocks away. The 16-story tower and five-story Garden Wing overlook the Japan Center, the city's largest complex of Japanese shops and restaurants (as well as a huge movie complex). The hotel, which underwent a $3-million renovation in 2002, manages to maintain a feeling of peace and quiet you'd expect somewhere much more remote. Rooms are Zen-like with East-meets-West decor. The Western-style (don't think cowboy) rooms are fine, but romantics and adventurers should opt for the traditional-style Japanese rooms with tatami mats and futons, a tokonoma (alcove for displaying art), and shoji screens that slide away to frame views of the city. Two futon luxury suites have Japanese rock gardens and deep-tub Japanese bathrooms. A bonus: Fillmore Street's upscale boutiques are just a few blocks away.
Hostelling International San Francisco--Fisherman's Wharf
Unbelievable but true -- you can get front-row bay views for a mere $22 nightly. This hostel, on national park property, provides dorm-style accommodations and offers easy access to the Marina's shops and restaurants. Rooms sleep 2 to 12 people; communal space includes a fireplace, kitchen, dining room, coffee bar, and foosball. The breakfast alone practically makes it worth the price. Make reservations well in advance.
The Harbor Court
When the Embarcadero Freeway was torn down after the Big One in 1989, one of the major benefactors was the Harbor Court hotel: The 1926 landmark building's backyard view went from a wall of cement to a dazzling vista of the Bay Bridge (be sure to request a bay-view room, for an extra fee). Located just off The Embarcadero at the edge of the Financial District, this former YMCA books a lot of corporate travelers, but anyone who seeks stylish, high-quality accommodations -- half-canopy beds, large armoires, writing desks, soundproof windows -- with a superb view and lively scene will be perfectly content here. A major bonus for health nuts is the free use of the adjoining fitness club, a top-quality facility with an indoor Olympic-size swimming pool. And for the lounger in all of us, there's an evening wine reception and morning coffee, tea, and apples.
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