Frommer's San Francisco 2012 - Matthew Poole [119]
Some people love Fisherman’s Wharf; others can’t get far enough away from it. Most agree that, for better or for worse, it has to be seen at least once in your lifetime. There are still some traces of old-school San Francisco character here that I will always enjoy, particularly the convivial seafood street vendors who dish out piles of fresh Dungeness crab and clam chowder from their steaming stainless steel carts. Also worth a look-see is the wonderful Musée Mécanique at Pier 45, an antique arcade featuring dozens of old-fashioned coin operated amusements, including fortune tellers, an enormous mechanical carnival, and “Laffing Sal,” the guffawing bust that once terrified children outside Playland at the Beach. A walk-through aquarium, a real World War II submarine, a blues bar, and the Rainforest Cafe offer enough entertainment to amuse everyone here, even us snobby locals.
At Taylor St. and the Embarcadero. 415/674-7503. www.fishermanswharf.org. Bus: 15, 30, 32, 39, 42, or 82X. Streetcar: F. Cable car: Powell–Mason line to the last stop and walk to the wharf. If you’re arriving by car, park on adjacent streets or on the wharf btw. Taylor and Jones sts. for $16 per day, $8 with validation from participating restaurants.
Ghirardelli Square This National Historic Landmark property dates from 1864, when it served as a factory making Civil War uniforms, but it’s best known as the former chocolate and spice factory of Domingo Ghirardelli (pronounced Gear-ar-dell-y), who purchased it in 1893. The factory has since been converted into an unimpressive three-level mall containing 30-plus stores and five dining establishments. Street performers entertain regularly in the West Plaza and fountain area. Incidentally, the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company still makes chocolate, but its factory is in a lower-rent district in the East Bay. Still, if you have a sweet tooth, you won’t be disappointed at the mall’s fantastic (and expensive) old-fashioned soda fountain, which is open until midnight. Their “world famous” hot fudge sundae is good, too. (Then again, have you ever had a bad hot fudge sundae?) As if you need another excuse to laze the day away in this sweet spot, the square now boasts free wireless Internet.
900 North Point St. (btw. Polk and Larkin sts.). 415/775-5500. www.ghirardellisq.com. Stores generally daily 10am–9pm in summer; Sun–Fri 10am–6pm, Sat 10am–9pm rest of year. Parking $2.25 per 20 min. (1–11⁄2 hr. free with purchase and validation, maximum $30).
Watching a dessert in the works at Ghirardelli Square.
Golden Gate Bridge ★★★ The year 2007 marked the 70th birthday of possibly the most beautiful, and certainly the most photographed, bridge in the world. Often half-veiled by the city’s trademark rolling fog, San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, named for the strait leading from the Pacific Ocean to the San Francisco Bay, spans tidal currents, ocean waves, and battering winds to connect the City by the Bay with the Redwood Empire to the north.
With its gracefully suspended single span, spidery bracing cables, and zooming twin towers, the bridge looks more like a work of abstract art than one of the 20th century’s greatest practical engineering feats. Construction was completed in May 1937 at the then-colossal cost of $35 million (plus another $39 million in interest being financed entirely by bridge tolls).
The 13⁄4-mile bridge (including the approach), which reaches a height of 746 feet above the water, is awesome to cross. Although kept to a maximum of 45 miles an hour, traffic usually moves quickly, so crossing by car won’t give you too much time to see the sights. If you drive from the city, take the last San Francisco exit, right before the toll plaza, park in the southeast parking lot, and make the crossing by foot. Back in your car, continue to Marin’s Vista Point, at the bridge’s northern end. Look back, and you’ll be rewarded with one of the finest views of San Francisco.
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