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During your San Francisco vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
Ferry Building Marketplace (and Farmers' Market)
There's no better way to enjoy a San Francisco morning than strolling this gourmet marketplace in the newly renovated Ferry Building and snacking your way through breakfast or lunch. Tasty tenants, open daily, include many of the best of Northern California's gourmet bounty: Cowgirl Creamery's Artisan Cheese Shop, Recchiuti Confections (amazing!), Scharffen Berger Chocolate, Acme breads, Wine Country's gourmet diner Taylor's Refresher, famed Vietnamese restaurant The Slanted Door, and myriad other restaurants, eateries, and wine bars.An added bonus and San Francisco favorite is the Farmers' Market, which is open alfresco on Saturdays from 8am to 2pm and Tuesday and Thursday from 10am to 2pm. Drop by to peruse stands hawking the finest Northern California fruits, vegetables, breads, dairy, flowers, and readymade snacks by a few local restaurants. You can also pick up locally made vinegars and oils -- they make wonderful gifts. Drop in on Sunday from 8am to 2pm for the gardener's market, which focuses on plants but also has a bit of produce. Even when the market's closed, the glistening Ferry Building is now a worthy stop thanks to its new restaurants and shops.
Mission Dolores
San Francisco's oldest standing structure, the Mission San Francisco de Assisi (aka Mission Dolores), has withstood the test of time, as well as two major earthquakes, relatively intact. In 1776, at the behest of Franciscan missionary Junípero Serra, Father Francisco Palou came to the Bay Area to found the sixth in a series of missions that dotted the California coastline. From these humble beginnings grew what was to become the city of San Francisco. The mission's small, simple chapel, built solidly by Native Americans who were converted to Christianity, is a curious mixture of native construction methods and Spanish-colonial style. A statue of Father Serra stands in the mission garden, although the portrait looks somewhat more contemplative, and less energetic, than he must have been in real life. A 45-minute audio tour costs $5; otherwise, admission is $3 for adults and $2 for children.
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).
Hotel Diva
Hotel Diva is centered steps from Union Square-the heartbeat of the city's best shopping, innovative restaurants, and live theater. Located directly across from the Curran and ACT playhouses, The Diva offers COMPLIMENTARY WIRELESS HIGH SPEED INTERNET ACCESS AND USE OF OUR FITNESS CENTER. Our striking guest rooms boast a complimentary pair of Diva slippers, luxury waffle robes, custom designed furniture and headboards, two dual line phones with personalized voicemail, color televisions with ...
Omni San Francisco Hotel
Located in the heart of the city at California & Montgomery Streets. With a cable car stop located right outside the hotel, you are just minutes from exciting attractions such as Union Square, Chinatown, North Beach, Embarcadero Center and the Moscone Convention Center. 20 minutes from the San Francisco and Oakland International ...
Hilton San Francisco/ Fisherman's Wharf
San Francisco's world renowned Fisherman's Wharf district. Steps from cable car, Pier 39, Hard Rock Cafe, Ghiradelli Square, Lomard Street ''World's crookedest street'', minutes from the financial district and Union ...
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