Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
189
Fun Facts
Stump the Tour Guide
Nine out of 10—maybe 99 out of 100—locals wouldn't be able to tell you what
the official flower of San Francisco is (the dahlia) or the cit y's official colors (black
and gold). Most San Franciscans don't even know that we have official anything,
but we even have an official musical instrument—it's the piano-accordion
because the very first one produced in the U.S. was built in San Francisco by the
Guerrini Company in 1907.
If you don't have a tour guide to quiz, go ask the hotel concierge.
Fire Engine Tours
All ages.
Suspend y our dignity to don a ratty woolen cap ,
fringed knit scarf, and heavy fireman's jacket, then check your seat belt and prepare to be
amused on a bumpy 75-minute ride in a 1955 M ack Fire Engine. The big r ed shiny
Mack truck drives over the Golden Gate Bridge into Sausalito and back, and it may just
be the most delightful way to cr oss this bridge. Tour guide Marilyn Katzman only quits
talking, singing, and leading cheers when the tr uck passes through streets that require a
modicum of quiet. As y ou move past v arious landmarks and sights, M arilyn tosses out
historical facts and figur es mostly relating to fires and the folks who put them out. The
“captain,” her husband, R obert, chimes in on cue but mostly keeps the tr uck heading
forward, sometimes at speeds resembling a roller coaster. The fire engine is so much fun,
it's regularly rented out for birthday parties as well; my kids still sing the “Big Red Shiny
Mack Fire Engine” song they learned at one of those par ties.
Outside The Cannery on Beach St.
&
415/333-7077.
www.fireenginetours.com. Tickets $45 adults, $35
teens/seniors, $25 k ids 12 and under . Tours Wed-Mon unless it rains . Daily t ours depart at 1pm; t ours
added at 11am, 3pm, and 5pm on other da ys. 75 min. round-trip. Phone for a schedule.
6
Gray Line Tours
All ages.
Orientation tours by bus can be tedious for kids, most of
whom would rather be outside experiencing the city instead of stuck on a bus listening
to recorded commentary. When you don't have a lot of time to visit and you want to hit
the highlights, however, these tours come in handy . Gray Line is the big kahuna of the
industry, with a number of tours around San Francisco and beyond in red double-decker
buses, motorized cable cars, and smaller vans. The “Deluxe City Tour” takes you to Twin
Peaks, M ission D olores, the Cliff H ouse, G olden G ate P ark, and the G olden G ate
Bridge, and there's also an Alcatraz Island option.
Departure points var y by tour.
&
415/558-9400.
www.graylinesanfrancisco.com. Tours offered daily
year-round. Tickets for the Deluxe City Tour #1 are $41 adults, $39 for seniors 60 and up , $20 kids 5-11,
under 5 free.
Local Taste of the City Tours
Ages 6 and up.
For kids who hav e a gastr o-
nomic bent and an adventuresome palate, this could prove an interesting way to see the
city. The brainchild of Tom Medin, a cookbook author and former national par k tour
guide with an interest in preserving local artisans, these neighborhood walking tours will
have your family eating its way thr ough the city. The 3-hour daytime or ev ening excur-
sions focus on a specific SF neighborhood—N orth Beach, Fisherman's Wharf, Golden
Gate Park, Chinato wn, or H aight-Ashbury—taking guests into local bakeries, r estau-
rants, and cafes to sample the food and meet the people who make it. Each tour is fol-
lowed by the option of a full meal at a local r
estaurant. ( Then again, after the N orth
