DK Travel : San Francisco : Places of interest

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Nob Hill

With the advent of the cable car, San Francisco’s highest hill was quickly peopled with the elaborate mansions of local magnates – in particular, the “Big Four” who built the Transcontinental railway (see Leland Stanford) – and the name has become synonymous with wealth and power. The 1906 earthquake, however, left only one “palace” standing, now the Pacific Union Club, which still proudly dominates the center of the summit. Today, instead of private manses, Nob Hill is home to the city’s fanciest hotels (see Hilltop Hotels) and apartment buildings, as well as Grace Cathedral.
Noe Valley

Once a simple working-class neighborhood, the 1970s brought hippies, gays, artists, and other Bohemian types to its slopes and it soon became an attractive alternative to other, more established quarters. In its heyday it was known as both “Nowhere Valley” for its relative remoteness, and as “Granola Valley” for its nature-loving denizens. Lately, it has been taken over by middle-class professionals, who value the area for its orderliness, but 24th Street still hums with activity and is lined with cafés, bookstores, and the occasional oddball shop.
North Beach

This lively neighborhood is the city’s original “Little Italy” and is still noted for its great Italian restaurants and cafés, mostly lined up along and near Columbus Avenue. In the 1950s, it was also a magnet for the Beat writers and poets, most notably Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg (see Writers), who brought to the area a Bohemian style which it still sports today. This is a great place for nightlife, from the tawdry bawdiness of Broadway strip joints to the simple pleasures of listening to a mezzo-soprano while you sip your cappuccino (see North Beach Views).
North Beach Views

The panoramic views from both the hill and the top of the Coit Tower are justly celebrated. The wide arc sweeping from the East Bay and the Bay Bridge to Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge is breathtaking.
Oakland

Gertrude Stein’s famous dictum about her home town, that “there is no there there,” is being challenged these days by a very proactive new mayor, Jerry Brown. Oakland’s image, notorious for racial unrest and crime in the past, is being cleaned up to present a more visitor-friendly face, and there has been an influx of creative types who have moved here to flee the high rents of San Francisco. Oakland’s attractions include huge Lake Merritt, which offers a range of recreational possibilities, a beautiful Mormon temple and its Museum of California (see Oakland Museum Features).
Ocean Beach

Most of San Francisco’s western boundary is defined by this broad sweep of sand. Although sublime when viewed from Cliff House or Sutro Heights, the beach is dangerous for swimming due to its icy waters, rough shore breakers, and, most of all, rip currents that are powerful enough to drag even strong swimmers out to sea. Nevertheless, hardy surfers in thick wetsuits are a common sight, and in fine weather sun-bathers and picnickers materialize.
Oceanfront Parks

Lincoln Park, Land’s End, and Sutro Heights Park are large green areas that overlook and hug the coast all along this northwestern corner of the peninsula. Stupendous Lincoln Park is the work of the indefatigable John McClaren (see Golden Gate Park), and features coastal trails affording some of the best views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Land’s End is a surprisingly rugged and wild stretch along the coastal cliffs that features a stony, picturesque cove, stretches of broad sand, and truly spectacular hiking. Gardens, statuary, and walls of the old Sutro estate still decorate Sutro Heights Park, dominating the entire coastal scene from its dramatic vantage point.
Pacific Heights

A grander, more exclusive residential area is hard to imagine. Commanding as it does heights up to 300 ft (100 m) overlooking the magnificent Bay, everything about it proclaims power and wealth. The blocks between Alta Plaza and Lafayette Park are the very heart of the area, but the grandeur extends from Gough to Divisadero and beyond. On a sunny day, there’s nothing more exhilarating than scaling its hills and taking in the perfectly manicured streets, the to-die-for views, and the palatial dwellings. The Spreckels Mansion, a limestone palace in the Beaux-Arts tradition, on Washington and Octavia streets, is the brightest gem of the lot, now owned by novelist Danielle Steele.

Typical house, Pacific Heights
Palace of Fine Arts and the Exploratorium

The sole survivor – with a lot of help from restorers – of the many fantasy monuments built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition, the Neo-Classical Palace was an Expo’ centerpiece. The dome of the rotunda is supported by a Classical frieze and an octagonal arcade, which is set off by a landscaped lagoon and flanked by an open peristyle of Corinthian columns. Behind it is the Exploratorium, one of the world’s first hands-on science museums. It boasts more than 700 exhibits, divided into 13 subject areas, such as Electricity, Motion, Weather, Vision, Color and Light, and Sound.
Palo Alto and Stanford

An erstwhile sleepy university town, Palo Alto has most recently experienced a boom as the hub of Silicon Valley, and driving force of the “New Economy.” Although a lot of the gilding has lately fallen off the lily, this town has been left with a considerably dressed-up appearance, as well as many fancy restaurants, hotels, and shops. The town is home to prestigious Stanford University, with its beautiful, well-tended campus.