Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
7
Walkabouts
Step into San Francisco's story with a free,
curbside view of the city's dramatic past
P
AYING FOR A SIGHTSEEING BUS TOUR MAY SEEM SMART
—
AT FIRST
.
BUT
20 minutes in, as you zip by the 10th thing you would rather be exploring in
depth, and the narrator's facts start jumbling together—was she talking about that
building on the left, or the right?—you realize that a whirlwind tour is no way to
get to know a place.
So be your own leader. With my self-guided walking tours, there's no “hurry
up,” and you can break away at any moment to chase whatever catches your inter-
est. I supply commentary and point you toward adventure. The rest is up to you.
My walking tours cover three important areas in town—and I've been careful
to select routes that won't drag you, breathless, up any brutal hills. The first tour,
Market Street, trails through the historic heart of the city, where you'll learn about
the frightful quake and fire of 1906. The second tour introduces you to two of
the city's most colorful ethnic enclaves, Chinatown and North Beach, for a
glimpse into the here and now of San Francisco life. And the third tour, of the
Castro and the Mission, eases up on the heavy history lessons and gives you a
strolling tour through two of the most famous neighborhoods in America, which
also happen to be two of the most typical residential areas in San Francisco, one
for the affluent and one for our newest Americans.
Walking Tour 1: The Embarcadero & Lower
Market Street
Start:
At the Gandhi statue behind the southern end of the Ferry Building,
located at the northern end of Market Street (Embarcadero BART station,
J, K, L, M, N, T Muni lines, or any F streetcar)
End:
Union Square (Powell Street BART station, J, K, L, M, N, T Muni lines, or
any F streetcar)
Time:
Allow approximately 60 minutes, not including time spent in attractions
or on tangents.
Best time:
Start the tour hungry, because one of the first stops will be the food
stalls of the Ferry Building Marketplace. The prime times there are
Tuesday 10am to 2pm or Saturday 8am to 2pm, when regular opening
hours are augmented by a farmer's market. Otherwise, streets are at their
most lively during business hours.
Worst time:
There's no bad time, but on weekends, the energy drains from the area.
