San Francisco, like New York, is an un-American city. They’re different from the rest. And while New York is characterised by its hurly-burly and take-no-prisoners population, San Fran has gone completely the other way.
Downtown is, of course, reaching for the sky, but elsewhere building heights are limited to only a few stories – meaning that from almost any hill you have a view stretching right out to the city limits.
Having consulted StyleCity guide to San Francisco, I’d arranged one night in The Phoenix Hotel on the edge of the rather gritty Tenderloin area. It’s a funky hotel, pure Americana, and now known as San Fran’s ‘rock hotel’ following stays by Nirvana, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Norah Jones and David Bowie to name only a few.
From here I was able to wander down past City Hall and the Civic Center, and beyond the famous Painted Ladies (a row of vibrantly decorated Victorian houses), to the hippie heaven of Haight-Ashbury – it was here that they used to wear flowers in their hair. The local buses are still sporting them.
A change of hotel in the afternoon meant I had to come back to the city centre. A cable-car took me north, over Russian Hill, where you can hop off to take a quick look at Jack Kerouac’s old home, before wandering across the top of Lombard Street towards Fisherman’s Wharf. Pausing just above Ghirardelli Square offers superb views of the Bay and Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge (often through the mist), and back over the city skyline towards the Coit Tower.
Sauntering along Fisherman’s Wharf is quite different to anywhere else in the city, as it’s so commercialised and trashy. But it’s still greatly enjoyable. The old penny arcade machines made famous in Tom Hanks’ Big have relocated down here and, yes, you can make a wish but the machine does need to be plugged in. The real highlights of the area, however, are the sea lions that live alongside Pier 39.
Next, it’s a walk back into the city, stopping off at the Coit Tower to watch the sun come down over the city, before heading into North Beach, home to the Beats and the Italian population. You can happily wile away the time in the world-famous City Lights Bookstore, but it’s much easier next door in the eclectic Vesuvius bar.
Chinatown, The Embarcadero, the SF MOMA, the Cartoon Art Museum, and the Golden Gate Park will all have to wait another day.
Rough Guide's San Francisco & the Bay Area was invaluable as a map and a guide, and coupled with Lonely Planet’s San Francisco Encounter provided plenty of insight.
Author: James Innes Williams
Date: 22 November 2006