DK Travel : San Francisco : Places of interest

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Sea Cliff

Actor Robin Williams, a San Francisco native, has a home in this élite residential enclave, which stands in stark contrast to the natural coastal area all around it. Most of the luxurious homes are Mediterranean in style and date from the 1920s. Just below the neighborhood, China Beach – named after poor Chinese fishermen who used to camp here – is one of the safest beaches in the city for swimming and is equipped with showers and other facilities. Baker Beach, just to the north, is another popular beach.
Seal Rocks

The westernmost promontory on this tip of the peninsula is Point Lobos, the projection that forms Land’s End’s rocky cove. Along to the south from here down to Cliff House is a scattering of small, rocky islands frequented by seals – hence the name. Bring binoculars to spy on the seals and birds in their natural habitat. At night, from the beach or Cliff House promenade, the barking of the sea lions – like the keening of the foghorns – is both reassuring and eerie, and so very “San Francisco.” On a clear day, 32 miles (50 km) off the coast, you can see the Farallon Islands, also inhabited by sea lions and with a state-protected rookery.
Sigmund Stern Grove

This 63-acre ravine in the southern Sunset District is the site of the nation’s original free summer arts festival, endowed in 1938 and still in operation. The Sunday programs may include classical music performed by the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, opera, jazz, popular music, or productions by the San Francisco Ballet. The natural amphitheater is nestled within a fragrant eucalyptus and redwood grove.
South of Market

The city’s erstwhile rough-and-tumble warehouse district has been on the rise for the last few decades and continues to attract arty types as well as a whole range of clubs and cool cafés. Plans are afoot for more major transformations in the wake of the building of Pacific Bell Park.
Stinson Beach

Since the early days of the 20th century, this has been a popular vacation spot; the first visitors came on ferries from San Francisco and were met by horse-drawn carriages. Stinson remains the preferred swimming beach for the whole area, and nearby Seadrift is an upscale community of second or third homes of the wealthy. The stretch of soft sand here and the spectacular sunsets set off the quaint village, with its good restaurants and interesting shops. You can reach it via the coast route, but the drive up and over Highway 1 provides the most dramatic arrival, affording inspiring views as you exit the forest onto the bare headlands.
Sunset District

Like its counterpart, the Richmond District, this neighborhood was part of the Outer Lands and is purely residential, consisting of row upon row of neat, look-alike houses. Yet, like the entire area along the ocean, this district is subject to a great deal of gray weather. Its one claim to fame is Sutro Tower, the pronged red-and-white television antenna that resembles something out of a science fiction movie.
Telegraph Hill

Named after the semaphore installed on its crest in 1850, the hill’s eastern side was dynamited to provide rocks for landfill. Steps descend its slopes, lined with gardens. At its summit stands Coit Tower.
The Embarcadero

The Embarcadero starts at Aquatic Park and curves all the way around to Hunters Point at the southeastern edge of the city. Now that the Port of Oakland handles the Bay’s shipping needs, the old piers are used for any number of purposes these days, and the parallel road has recently become a park promenade (see Embarcadero Park). Pier 39 is the most famous since it was turned into an amusement attraction in the 1980s, while other piers house concerts, festivals, antiques fairs, and restaurants. When looking for a particular pier, note that those to the north of the Ferry Building have odd numbers and those to the south, even.

Hyde Street Pier, The Embarcadero
The Legion of Honor

The creation of Alma Bretteville Spreckels, heiress to the Spreckels sugar fortune, this museum is a replica of the Palais de la Légion d’Honneur in Paris. The original temporary structure was built for the 1915 Pan-Pacific Exposition to house French art, but Mrs Spreckels wanted to build a permanent version and employed the same architect she commissioned to build her mansion in Pacific Heights. It opened in 1924 and features a rich collection of medieval to 20th-century European art, with paintings by Monet, Rubens and Rembrandt. The museum also sponsors excellent traveling exhibitions.
The Presidio

This beautiful wooded corner of the city has stunning views over the Golden Gate, but from 1776 until 1994 it was owned and occupied by first the Spanish, then the Mexican, and finally, the US armies, and almost entirely off-limits to anyone else. It has now been dubbed a major part of the Golden Gate National Recreational Area, and plans are still coalescing as to its ultimate future. At the very least, it is a spectacular park, full of nature trails, streams, forests, drives, and historic structures. Some of the buildings are being turned into cultural centers, but many of them are still residences. Parts of it may eventually be developed for commercial use.