San Francisco - Alison Bing [41]
You can still catch a ferry here Click here, and on that rare warm, sunny day, it might qualify as a highlight of your visit. Ferries go to Jack London Sq in Oakland and to Sausalito and Tiburon in Marin County. To get to Napa, hop on the Vallejo ferry here and transfer to the Napa Valley Vine bus at the Vallejo terminal.
JUSTIN HERMAN PLAZA Map
Market St & the Embarcadero; 2, 6, 7, 9, 14, 21, 31, 32, 66, 71, F; & Embarcadero
The plaza across from the Ferry Building may not be much to look at – what’s Vaillancourt Fountain supposed to be, anyway, a cubist large intestine? – but for years Justin Herman has been popular with lunchtime concert-goers, Critical Mass protesters, ice-skaters at the outdoor rink in winter, and internet daters screening their dates from behind the fountain’s wall of water.
BENIAMINO BUFANO’S ST FRANCIS STATUE Map
cnr Taylor & Beach Sts; 15, 37, 49, F
A winsome statue of SF’s favorite saint by its favorite sculptor – so what’s it doing in a parking lot? Technically this was only a model for Bufano’s massive black granite St Francis in Grace Cathedral, but there’s something so SF about this version with exposed toes hanging ten like a surfer. When looking for wharfside parking, divine guidance is mighty handy.
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FISHERMAN’S WHARF
Where once Italian fishermen in Genoese feluccas trapped unsuspecting sealife, San Francisco traps unwitting tourists. Hapless hordes trawl the boardwalks here shivering in their ‘I escaped from Alcatraz’ T-shirts, attempting to walk off meals of gloppy clam chowder served in sourdough bread bowls – until a notorious ‘Bush Man’ of Pier 39 lurking behind some eucalyptus branches jumps out, roars ‘Ugga bugga!,’ startles unsuspecting passersby into dropping their soup, then hits them up for change. On Fisherman’s Wharf, it’s better to come prepared: hit specific attractions before heading to the Ferry Building for far more inventive, digestible seafood.
Sea lions laze the day away sunbathing and posing for photo ops on Pier 39, where an aquarium, carousel and carnival-style attractions keep little kids wide-eyed. Many of the ships you’ll see docked on Pier 45 are actually museums, giving naval-gazers a chance to check out tall ships, submarines and WWII warships. Bring your quarters to consult the spooky mechanical fortune tellers and save the world from space invaders at Musée Mécanique Click here. Most Fisherman’s Wharf sights worth seeing are on the Embarcadero or Jefferson St.
The wharf is on the city’s northern shore, where Columbus Ave and the Embarcadero converge, with North Beach to the south. Immediately to the west is Ghirardelli Square, a former chocolate factory that’s currently being reinvented with boutiques, sweet shops, a tearoom and wine-tasting rooms. To heed the siren call of Marina boutiques and the natural wonders of the Presidio beyond, head west on Bay St. For dinner, head down the Embarcadero to the Ferry Building, or splash out for sumptuous multicourse meals at nearby Gary Danko.
SEA LIONS AT PIER 39 Map
California Welcome Center 415-981-1280; www.pier39.com; Pier 39, Beach St & the Embarcadero; Jan-Jul & whenever else they feel like it; 15, 37, 49, F
Beach bums took over San Francisco’s most coveted waterfront real estate in 1990 and have been making a public display of themselves ever since, canoodling, belching, scratching their naked backsides and gleefully shoving one another off the docks. Naturally these unkempt squatters became San Francisco’s favorite mascots, and since California law requires boats to make way for marine mammals, yacht owners have to relinquish valuable slips to accommodate as many as 1300 sea lions who ‘haul out’ onto the docks between January and July, and whenever else they feel like sunbathing.
MUSéE MéCANIQUE Map