Week in San Francisco

If you're visiting San Francisco for the first time, you'll probably want to go to FISHERMAN'S WHARF first. Although it is very touristy, it still has a lot of charm, and even locals like to revisit it from time to time. There are plenty of restaurants to choose from but probably the best of the lot is Scoma's (415-771-4383). It's a traditional seafood restaurant with a great view. Try the Cioppino, a delicious tomato-based seafood stew, San Francisco's answer to French Bouillabaisse. You may hear the yelping of the sea lions outside who have made Fisherman's Wharf their home. Also, there's a new dining experience to try at the Rainforest Café, (415-440-5610), a huge restaurant in the newly refurbished Wax Museum Building at 145 Jefferson Street. There are glowing fish tanks, a naturalist with a live parrot, thunder and lighting, robotic animals, and a 30-foot waterfall. It's already popular, especially with the kids. You can help to protect the rainforests by tossing some coins into the wishing ponds, and the money is then sent to The Nature Conservatory. But you don't have to spend an arm and a leg to have a satisfying meal. Along Fisherman's Wharf, there are plenty of places to buy a delicious crab roll, New England-style clam chowder served in a bowl made from sour dough bread, or delicious calamari, fried or marinated, to name just a few tempting choices.

Fisherman's Wharf

Ghirardelli Square

Dungeness Crabs, Lobsters & Oysters

Rainforest Cafe

There are all kinds of stores for souvenirs nearby, an open market where you can buy Dungeness Crab, a Wax Museum, the Maritime Museum, bars and clubs with live entertainment, fishermen's boats to look at, performance artists and craftspeople selling their wares--lots of diversion. Ghiradelli Square and the Anchorage Center are here for exploring, too, with plenty of restaurants and shops. A restaurant I can recommend there is McCormick & Kuleto's Seafood, 900 North Point (415-929-1730), for superior food, ambiance, service and views.

One of the most popular ways to take in the great views of San Francisco is to take the Beach & Hyde cable car near Ghiradelli Square up and over the hills to Powell Street at Union Square which stops right in front of the grande dame hotel the Westin St. Francis. You might want to take in high tea in the Compass Room there, or get off and explore the fabulous stores, but that's a whole other day! (See Day 5)

You might want to take a boat out to tour Alcatraz Island, home of the defunct infamous prison, or to Sausalito or Tiburon on another day for shopping and dining, or Angel Island for picnics, hiking and biking, or just for a cruise. Many options to choose from! You can take a ferry from Pier 41 right at Fisherman's Wharf with the Red & White Fleet (415-546-2628).

Got questions? Ask wendy@wendy@sanfranciscoandbeyond.com!