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.

Asian Art Museum
Reopened in its Civic Center home in March 2003, the Asian Art Museum is one of the Western world's largest museums devoted to Asian art. Its collection boasts more than 15,000 art objects, such as world-class sculptures, paintings, bronzes, ceramics, and jade items, spanning 6,000 years of history and regions of south Asia, west Asia, Southeast Asia, the Himalayas, China, Korea, and Japan. Previously in Golden Gate Park, the museum's new home in the city's Beaux Arts-style central library was renovated under Italian architect Gae Aulenti and includes 40,000 square feet of gallery space showcasing 2,500 objects at any given time. Add temporary exhibitions, live demonstrations, learning activities, cafe Asia, and a store, and you've got one very good reason to head to the Civic Center.

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.

Nob Hill Inn
San Francisco is a city of contrasts. Resting on 40 hills, the city varies in altitude from sea level to 929 feet. It is located on a narrow peninsula, bordered on one side by the Pacific Ocean and the other by San Francisco Bay, one of the largest landlocked harbors in the world. In the heart of it all is Nob Hill, center of luxurious living in the last half of the 19th century, home of the railroad tycoons and sucessful gold miners. Step through the etched glass doors of the Nob Hill Inn ...

Broadway Manor Inn
NEWLY AND COMPLETELY RENOVATED - 2006The Broadway Manor Inn welcomes you to one of the safest, tourist-friendly neighborhoods in San Francisco. Known for its array of restaurants, shops, tourist attractions & fine art galleries our Russian Hill / Pacific Heights location is just steps from the Cable Car Line and a short walk to Fisherman's Wharf, Ghirardelli Square, Chinatown and famous *Crookedest Street*. You are welcome to enjoy the newly renovated, spacious 100% non-smoking ...

Days Inn San Francisco - Lombard
Very Central and Safe location Five Blocks from Exploratorium and Presidio Park Half Mile from Water front One Mile from Ghirardelli Square and Lombard Crooked Street Two Miles from Fisherman Wharf One Block is bus Stop Three miles from Golden Gate Park Down Town and Convention ...