Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Mayor of Castro Street, by Randy Shilts. The story of Harvey Milk: midlife
transplant to activist to martyr for a nascent civil-rights cause.
The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan. A look at the life and traditions of modern
Chinese-American women.
Roughing It, by Mark Twain. He was frank and sardonic long before it was
cool, and his descriptions of the city, the mines, and the earthquakes still resonate
today.
FILM & TV
You'll find no shortage of movies that were shot in and around San Francisco. In
fact, your first exposure to the city was likely through the romanticized images of
a silver screen. To acknowledge the city's double life as a setting for entertainment,
there's even an excellent van tour offered to remind you of them (p. 127). But
these are some of the most notable, or ones that were mostly shot on location and
not in Hollywood soundstages.
Bullitt (1968). This Steve McQueen potboiler contains a legendary, if geo-
graphically jumbled, street chase.
Mrs. Doubtfire (1994). This feel-good family comedy was shot on location
among the prettiest town houses.
Dirty Harry (1971). If you can stomach the violence, you'll get a good look at
the city in this Clint Eastwood revenge pic.
Vertigo (1958). The city may not ever be shot better than it was in this
Hitchcock classic with Jimmy Stewart.
Basic Instinct (1992). This is only one of a long line of popular noir movies
shot around the city.
Escape from Alcatraz (1979). Clint Eastwood plots to you know what.
Foul Play (1978). This screwball thriller—a personal favorite of mine—was
shot all over town, including at City Hall.
What's Up, Doc? (1971). Glimpse the skyline before the Transamerica Pyramid
went up and the ugly elevated highways came down.
The ABCs of San Francisco
Area Codes The area code for the city
area is 415 (if you're dialing locally, a pre-
ceding 1 is not necessary, but the 407 is),
although you may encounter the 510
code, which covers the East Bay, and 650,
for the Peninsula south of town. Napa and
Sonoma are in 707. To dial outside of the
United States or Canada, dial 011 before
the telephone number. Calls to numbers
that begin with an 800, 866, 877, or 888
area code are toll-free.
ATMs & Currency Exchange See “Money
Matters,” earlier in this chapter.
Business Hours Offices are generally
open on weekdays between 9am and 5pm,
while banks tend to close at 4pm.
Typically, stores open between 9 and
10am and close between 6 and 7pm
Monday through Saturday, except at
malls, which stay open until 9pm. On
Sunday, stores generally open at 11am
and rarely stay open later than 7pm.
Drinking Laws The legal age for the pur-
chase and consumption of any sort of
alcohol is 21. Proof of age is often
requested at liquor stores, bars, clubs,
and restaurants, so be sure to carry photo
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