Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
WEST & EAST SAN FRANCISCO
It's too bad that the
Palace of the Legion of Honor
(Lincoln Park, 24th and
Clement;
%
415/863
-
3330; www.thinker.org/legion; $10 adults, $7 seniors 65
and over, $6 kids 13-17; Tues-Sun 9:30am-5:15pm)
is such darn trouble to reach:
on the far west of town, in Lincoln Park on the Pacific Ocean. Its Beaux Arts
home is beautiful, as are the views of the sea and of the Golden Gate Bridge. Its
sculpture of August Rodin's
The Thinker
is a copy, but its presence in the
museum's outdoor Court of Honor is theatrical. The museum is otherwise filled
with nice but hardly seminal works, such as European paintings, 18th-century
English and French porcelain, and plenty of decorative arts. A trip here is worth
it if you're already in the neighborhood, which you'd probably only be if you were
coming off the Golden Gate bridge in a car, or if you want an excuse to contem-
plate the ocean. Bus no. 1 reaches the edge of the park from Sacramento Street,
but then you'll have to walk through the park for about 20 minutes. Your Muni
transfer will get you $2 off. One bonus: Your ticket here will also get you into the
de Young on the same day.
The 100-acre
San Francisco Zoo
9
5
(Sloat Blvd. at 47th;
%
415/753
-
7057; www.sfzoo.org; $11 adults, $8 seniors 65 and older and kids 12-17, $5 kids
3-11; daily 10am-5pm),
a nonprofit zoological society also co-operated by the
city, has sailed through some rocky waters lately; in late 2007, a tiger escaped from
its enclosure and killed a young man before police moved in (although, in fair-
ness, he was widely reported to have been part of a group of kids that was taunt-
ing the animal inside its enclosure). Still, the question of how the zoo managed to
operate with a tiger barrier that was discovered to be shorter than the federal stan-
dard has given animal-rights activists new ammunition in trying to shut the place
down. They're making it seem worse than it is. It's actually a very nice zoo, and
one of the country's best, with nearly 1,000 animals of some 245 species, and its
location near the sea makes for a good day out if you combine it with a stroll
down Ocean Beach. Among the habitats are a grizzly bear “gulch,” a 3-acre space
devoted to some of the milder creatures of the African savanna (the giraffes are
popular), and a lemur forest visible by an elevated pathway. You'll also find a chil-
dren's zoo featuring lots of petable critters and inside that, an insect zoo. Consider
renting a Zoo Ranger, a $7 handheld device that, when triggered by GPS, shows
a movie clip that teaches how the zoo takes care of its residents, as well as back-
ground info about them. Feedings are generally in the morning and in the late
afternoon, but there's usually something going on most of the day. Conveniently,
the L Taraval streetcar line goes down Market Street right to it, and if you show
your transfer, you'll get $1 off admission. Ultimately, it is a zoo, though, albeit a
good one, so weigh for yourself if it's worth missing other, more “local” sights for
a trip.
If California history gets you going, there's a large—7
3
⁄
4
acres on 4 city
blocks—museum on the topic located across the bay in Oakland. The
Oakland
Museum of California
(1000 Oak, at 10th, Oakland;
%
510/238
-
2200; www.
museumca.org; $8 adults, $5 seniors 65 and older; Wed-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun
noon-5pm; BART to Lake Merritt)
is light on antiquities and heavy on artworks,
photography, and generalized chatter about nature. There are quite a few artifacts
of native people, and the facility has been around since 1969, giving it plenty of
