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US Airways Flights from Los Angeles (LAX) to San Francisco (SFO)
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on US Airways, which operates 8 regularly scheduled daily non-stop flights from Los Angeles (LAX) to San Francisco (SFO), departing between 7:00am and 10:30pm, and 9 additional non-stop flights, departing between 6:00am and 8:09pm on select days of the week. The average travel time from Los Angeles, CA to San Francisco, CA is 1 hour and 23 minutes.*
* Some flights valid for this market only.
During your San Francisco vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
Alcatraz Island
Visible from Fisherman's Wharf, Alcatraz Island (aka "The Rock") has seen a checkered history. Juan Manuel Ayala was the first European to discover it in 1775 and named it after the many pelicans that nested on the island. From the 1850s to 1933, when the army vacated the island, it served as a military post, protecting the bay's shoreline. In 1934, the government converted the buildings of the military outpost into a maximum-security prison. Given the sheer cliffs, treacherous tides and currents, and frigid water temperatures, it was believed to be a totally escape-proof prison. Among the famous gangsters who occupied cell blocks A through D were Al Capone, Robert Stroud, the so-called Birdman of Alcatraz (because he was an expert in ornithological diseases), Machine Gun Kelly, and Alvin Karpis. It cost a fortune to keep them imprisoned here because all supplies, including water, had to be shipped in. In 1963, after an apparent escape in which no bodies were recovered, the government closed the prison. In 1969, a group of Native Americans chartered a boat to the island to symbolically reclaim the island for the Indian people. They occupied the island until 1971, the longest occupation of a federal facility by Native Americans to this day, when they were forcibly removed by the U.S. government (see www.nps.gov/alcatraz/indian.html for more information on the Native American occupation of Alcatraz). The next year the island became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The wildlife that was driven away during the military and prison years has begun to return -- the black-crested night heron and other seabirds are nesting here again -- and a new trail passes through the island's nature areas. Tours, including an audio tour of the prison block and a slide show, are given by the park's rangers, who entertain guests with interesting anecdotes.Allow about 2 1/2 hours for the round-trip boat ride and the tour. Wear comfortable shoes (the National Park Service notes that there are a lot of hills to climb on the tour) and take a heavy sweater or windbreaker, because even when the sun's out, it's cold out there. The excursion is popular and space is limited, so purchase tickets as far in advance as possible. Blue & Gold Fleet (tel. 415/705-5555; www.blueandgoldfleet.com) operates the tour; they accept American Express, MasterCard, and Visa, and there's a $2.25-per-ticket service charge for phone orders. You can also buy tickets in advance from the Blue & Gold ticket office on Pier 41 or online at www.telesales.com. Alcatraz night tours are also available and are a more intimate and wonderfully spooky experience. Check the Blue & Gold Fleet website for updated prices and departure times.For those who want to get a closer look at Alcatraz without going ashore, two boat-tour operators offer short circumnavigations of the island.
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.
Wells Fargo History Museum
Wells Fargo, one of California's largest banks, got its start in the Wild West. Its history museum, at the bank's head office, houses hundreds of genuine relics from the company's whip-and-six-shooter days, including pistols, photographs, early banking articles, posters, a stagecoach, and mining equipment.
Make your reservations for discount hotel rooms in the
San Francisco area, including:
York Hotel
Even as a local, I drop by the York frequently because it's home to the Empire Plush Room, the city's best jazz and cabaret club that also features Va Va Voom, a cheesy-fun burlesque show. But for the visitor, the hotel, built in 1922 and boasting a role in Hitchcock's Vertigo, is a boon because it's a hell of a deal. Awarded three diamonds by AAA, the hotel has ridiculously helpful staff, a workout room, and promotional rates, which include a continental breakfast served in the spacious lobby. Rooms swathed in terra cotta and green are abundantly cheery and come loaded with nice touches like dark-wood writing desks, newly upholstered and comfy chairs, alarm clocks, tub/showers, and walk-in closets.
The Mosser
"Hip on the Cheap" might best sum up The Mosser, a highly atypical budget hotel that incorporates Victorian architecture with modern interior design. It originally opened in 1913 as a luxury hotel only to be dwarfed by far more modern sky rise hotels that surround it. But a major multimillion-dollar renovation in the fall of 2001 transformed this aging charmer into a sophisticated, stylish, and surprisingly affordable SOMA lodging. Guest rooms are replete with original Victorian flourishes -- bay windows, high ceilings, hand-carved moldings -- that juxtapose well with the contemporary custom-designed furnishings, granite showers, stainless steel fixtures, ceiling fans, Frette linens, and modern electronics. The least expensive rooms share a bathroom but are an incredible deal with rates starting at $60. The hotel's restaurant, Annabelle's Bar and Bistro, serves lunch and dinner, and The Mosser even houses Studio Paradiso, a state-of-the-art recording studio. The location is excellent as well -- 3 blocks from Union Square, 2 blocks from the MOMA and Moscone Convention Center, and half a block from the cable car turnaround.
The Wharf Inn
My top choice for good-value lodging at Fisherman's Wharf, the Wharf Inn offers above-average accommodations at one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world. The recently refurbished rooms, done in handsome tones of forest green, burgundy, and pale yellow, come well stocked. But more important, they are well situated smack-dab in the middle of the wharf, 2 blocks from PIER 39 and the cable car turnaround, and they're within walking distance of The Embarcadero and North Beach. The inn is ideal for car-bound families because parking is free (that saves $25 a day right off the bat).
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