My Favorite Places to Visit in San Francisco

San Francisco has lots of great places to visit, but these are my favorites, and I've lived here for two decades. Four of them are free; two of them are not, but neither are they prohibitively expensive. Here's the deal - if you visit only these places, you will have a great time and maybe even make the kids in your group (if there are any) happy. I have listed links along with this article on each spot, in the order in which the sites are presented.

Fort Funston

Fort Funston was originally acquired in 1900 as part of the Lake Merced Military Reservation, and had varying roles in both World Wars I and II, the very last as a Nike missile battery location. Today it is simply a great place to hang out, hang glide, walk your dog and/or enjoy the beach. Fort Funston has a spacious parking lot surrounded by sand dunes. Beyond the parking lot and towards the beach, you will see areas designated for hang-gliding, and you might even get a peek at some hang-gliders practicing their sport. As you get closer to the beach, you get a fragrant whiff of a field of wood chips spread across the sand.

This is part of the Pacific Ocean coastline, just south of Lake Merced, and easily one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. Getting down to the beach requires navigation of a long and winding makeshift staircase made of wooden logs, encased on either side by wire mesh fencing. Upward from the beach is a steep bank of sand dunes, fortified by clumps of red and green plants and trees. You can see the coastline for a few miles down south, as it tapers off into the foggy mist.

Haight Street

This site will forever have a place in history as the crucible for the turbulent '60s and '70s. Although the rock 'n roll legends have all moved on, you can still sense their presence everywhere on Haight Street. The area has avoided gentrification so far, but nevertheless has managed to attract an amazing group of vendors, among them tattoo and piercing artists, Tibetan jewelry, clothing stores, restaurants, art supplies, book stores, a movie theatre (indie) and even a bed-and-breakfast inn. Of particular note is the huge assortment of independent clothing designers. If you want to be able to say, "I was wearing her dresses before anyone else knew who she was," shop here first. You cannot top this area for eclecticism, nor diversity of clientele. A lot of the action is on the street, as many of its denizens are dyed, pierced, uniquely dressed or playing some kind of music. This is probably not the area to bring young children, but teenagers will love it and most likely insist on supplementing their wardrobe here.

San Francisco Chinatown

On a sunny day, this is as close to Heaven on Earth as you will get. It is widely touted as the "The Largest Chinatown Outside of Asia." I haven't been to all of them, so I can't vote on that, but I can tell you that this is one of the most luxurious. Due to San Francisco's proximity to Asia, you can get the finest silk, jewelry and home furnishings here that never seem to quite make their way to anywhere else. My favorite stores to visit in Chinatown are the Shanghai Bazaar (747 Grant Avenue, between Clay and Sacramento) and Canton Bazaar (616 Grant Avenue), which are across the street from each other. Even if you don't buy anything, the colors and architecture alone are worth a walk along Grant Street. You can learn a substantial amount of Chinese-American history here -- if you choose to take a tour, you will not regret it. And the food is great!

The Garden Court at the Sheraton Palace Hotel

The Sheraton Palace is one of the few structures in San Francisco to survive the 1906 Earthquake, although as far as I can tell, this is primarily the façade! The interior of the Hotel, although considerably updated, has tried to be as faithful as possible to the original Palace Hotel. This is particularly evident in the Garden Court, which is resplendent with marble pillars and floors, crystal chandeliers, ornate rugs and a very beautiful domed glass ceiling. What I love about the Garden Court is that when I walk into it, I feel as if I am walking into another era (the Palace was originally built in 1875). Amazingly, the food is good. It only serves breakfast, lunch, Afternoon Tea and Sunday Brunch, though -- if you are looking for dinner, Maxfield's, which is down the hall, is the place to go.

Golden Gate Park

You can't make any "best of" list for San Francisco and leave off Golden Gate Park. There's so much to do here, it would be impossible to list everything. It even sports two museums - The De Young and the Academy of Sciences. For the De Young, the first Tuesday of the month is free admission, and for the Academy of Sciences, free admission is the third Wednesday of the month. A favorite spot for children is Stow Lake, which offers paddleboat and rowboat "cruises" for a nominal fee. There are several playgrounds throughout the park and numerous sports facilities, although you have to rent (also for a fee) or bring your own equipment. There are free classical music and opera performances throughout the year - check the Golden Gate Park schedule to find out when.

The Exploratorium

This is San Francisco's only hands-on science museum, where you can study biology, earth sciences and physics. It is has huge appeal to children as well as adults. The Tactile Dome offers an opportunity to explore a textured, sculpted environment in complete darkness. What I love about the Exploratorium is its continued efforts to explain and elucidate how the brain interprets, and thus distorts, the information it encounters. This is one of the "not free" listings, by the way -- for adults, it's $14; youths and students, $11; and kids 3 and under are free. The Tactile Dome is $17. By the way, there is free admission on the first Wednesday of each month.