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Perched above the city, in Corona Heights Park, this small, welcoming complex is primarily a petting zoo, with farm animals, raccoons, reptiles, and birds. But it also offers hands-on experience with woodworking, pottery, painting, theater, photography, model railroads, storytelling, gardening, and more. The aim is to teach children respect for nature and the environment, as well as for their own innate gifts.

Once catering to Country & Western loving males, it’s now house music, but still pretty gay. The decor remains Wild West with a great patio.

All red and tiny, as the name implies, this joint lures devotees with its classic cocktails.

This delightful event recreates Elizabethan England, with all its ribaldry and rowdiness.

Long a business favorite, it’s just near the top of Nob Hill and handy to everything Downtown. The stained-glass dome in the lobby gives it a grand feel. Marble baths and canopy beds in some rooms, complimentary limousine service, and every comfort seen to.

Steeped in California’s literary and artistic traditions, this great little hotel boasts an intellectual air and decor that suggest 1920s salon society. Still, the rooms have the very latest touches, such as voice mail, CD players, and writing desks for guests to pursue their own creativity.

These 1948 murals by Russian artist Anton Refregier trace Californian history.

A rambling mansion on its own verdant bluff, overlooking the Pacific. The perfect retreat from which to enjoy the Bay Area.

Part of hippie legend, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix died of heroin overdoses in 1970.

One of the best Thai restaurants around. You can’t beat it for freshness and flavor – but it’s very, very spicy.