A Weekend in San Francisco: Where to Stay, What to Do and Where to Eat

If you are looking for a quick way to spend a weekend, San Francisco is a great place to go for good, fresh seafood at low prices, beautiful buildings and lots of options for shopping.

This guide in no way is meant to be comprehensive. Instead, it's a suggested set of options for someone not at all familiar with the city and not sure where to start. Feel free to add your comments about your favorite hotels, restaurants and places to see in the city.

Where to Stay: Given that you are only there for a weekend (which I'm calling Friday through Sunday), you probably want to stay somewhere that is close to major areas and public transportation. I like the smaller, boutique hotels in the city as opposed to the major chains. But, it all depends on your preference.

The Handlery Union Square, at 351 Geary Street, is great in terms of location. If you walk just a few steps down from the hotel, you're already along the cable car route (which will take you to Chinatown, Nob Hill and the Wharf). I also like this hotel because it's easy on the wallet, but fancy. Plus, their service is something you would expect at a pricier hotel. Everyone is so nice and always asks you if you are finding everything okay. The standard rooms are small, so if that's something that matters to you, then beware of that factor (but who stays in their room all day on vacation, anyway).

The Beresford Hotel is another option as a place to stay. This is located at 635 Sutter Street. It's relatively close to the cable cars and Union Square, but definitely not as close as the Handlery.

The Beresford, similar to the Handlery, is easy on your wallet. It's an older hotel, so not as updated as some out there, but you're only going to be there for a couple of nights, so it hardly matters in the scheme of things.

Public Transportation: Once you have checked into your hotel, definitely walk down to the cable car booth (located directly to the right of the turnaround next to Forever 21). Buy a 3-day pass for $18. It turns out to be a deal because the cable car line runs all along the main areas you'll need to get off and on at to visit during your trip in San Francisco. It's slightly more efficient than a bus which has a lot more stops. Although, riding the bus is always fun.

An important thing to note: If you are visiting during the summer, be prepared to wait in horrible lines. In such case, you may want to rethink taking the bus around the city. In such case, you're cable car 3-day pass is also good on the bus! See, it does turn out to be a deal.

Breakfast: For a good, quick breakfast, go to Lefty O'Douls. It is right next door to the Handlery hotel I just mentioned above. They have the best breakfasts for ultra-cheap prices! Plus, I like them because they're not snooty. They remind me of a neighborhood pub, and they've got great sports memorabilia covering the walls. If you're not sure what to get, pick the apple flapjacks with apple-infused sausages on the side. So good....

If you like fancier digs, the Handlery also has The Daily Grill, which has a slick, dark sort of ambiance. A lot of people seem to go their for business meetings.

I definitely think the best thing to do is to eat a hearty breakfast, and make sure you load up on water because you do a lot of walking in San Francisco.

Shopping: If you like to do shopping when you're on vacation, you don't have to travel far in San Francisco to indulge yourself. The Westfield San Francisco Centre is not more than 10 minutes from the Handlery or Beresford (depending on where you stay). This is a beautiful mall just to walk around in. It's spacious and has more than 180 stores to wander in and out of.

If you want something more than just a regular mall, just walk up and down Market Street. You'll find all sorts of regular chain stores.

If you feel a little more on the adventurous side, take the cable car (Powell/Hyde) line to Chinatown. You'll find a variety of gift shops, herbal stores, cloth/craft stores and more in that area. I'd also suggest getting off the cable car in the Nob Hill area where you'll find the area to be much more San Francisco neighborhood than tourist area. You'll find a lot of smaller, locally owned businesses.

Tourist Attractions: If you go to San Francisco and you are only there for the weekend, make sure you go to Fisherman's Wharf. It's a tourist magnet, but you can find the best food there. Take either the Powell/Hyde or Powell/Mason line. If you take the Hyde line, you will be dumped off by Ghirardelli Square. If you take Mason, you'll be dumped off on the opposite end of the Wharf.

Ghirardelli is fun if you need to get chocolate, but there isn't really much to do beyond that.

If you walk down to the Wharf, make sure to stop by the Mechanical Museum. Admission is free. It's a collection of all kinds of coin-operated machines. It's a good place for kids and adults.

Along the Wharf, they offer cruises and tours to Alcatraz, but if you're only there for the weekend, doing a tour really kills off a major part of your day.

Along the Wharf, they have tourist shops, restaurants, the Wax Museum, Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum - everything.

As you are walking along, make sure to stop in at Boudin's for fresh sourdough bread. There's also a huge window where walkers can watch the bakers form the bread into fun animal shapes. If you're interested, Boudin's also offers a bread tour where you can learn about the history of sourdough bread and taste samples.

If you walk farther along, past the Wharf, you will eventually hit Pier 39. This is definitely another tourist magnet. It's basically a collection of shops and eateries and you can also look out across the water and at the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. Stop in at the wine store on the lower level of the Pier. They offer wine tastings.

Lunch Restaurants: If you are in the Fisherman's Wharf area, make sure to go to Fisherman's Grotto for lunch. They are super cheap, but their food is fresh - of course! Get clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl or a crab sandwich. Also make sure to try their popcorn shrimp appetizers. You can eat inside or outside. If you eat inside, see if you can get a window seat looking out at all of the boats.

If the Grotto isn't your thing, there are lines of carts outside for faster food service. You can get a whole crab, which will come pre-cracked for you, or get a seafood sandwich. As you will notice, everyone sells clam chowder in a bread bowl, so make sure you get that at least once before you go.

At Boudin's, the sourdough bread place I mentioned, they have a fancier restaurant in their upstairs area. It's all seafood and some American fare. It's a little pricey though and always seems to be really busy inside, which is somewhat annoying if you are trying to get in and out. To me, it doesn't make sense to pay a lot for every meal in San Francisco. The food is so fresh, that it tastes just as good coming from a cart as it does served on fine China. I guess it just depends on your personal preferences.

Dinner Restaurants: For dinner, it's always nice to go somewhere a little dressy. Try Cioppino's on the Wharf for Italian food. They are moderately priced, though the service is somewhat questionable at times.

I also like the Hotel Whitcomb's (1231 Market Street) Market Street Grill. They've got great service and the waiters/waitresses are attentive. If you are not interested in a huge meal, try their crab cake appetizer which I've had as a full meal. It's a bit on the spicy side, which makes it good. Also try their Cioppino dish.