Top things to do

San Franciscans have passionate perspectives on every subject, especially their signature landmark, though everyone agrees that it's a good thing that the Navy didn't get its way over the bridge's design – naval off…

Alcatraz: for over 150 years, the name has given the innocent chills and the guilty cold sweats. Over the decades, it’s been the nation’s first military prison, a forbidding maximum-security penitentiary and dispute…

Is there a science to skateboarding? Do toilets really flush counterclockwise in Australia? At San Francisco's hands-on science museum, you'll find out things you wished you learned in school. Combining science with…

Spring through fall, some 30 food trucks circle their wagons at SF's largest mobile-gourmet hootenannies on Friday night at Fort Mason Center, and 11am to 4pm Sunday for Picnic at the Presidio on the Main Post lawn.…

Beach bums took over San Francisco’s most coveted waterfront real estate in 1990 and have been making a public display of themselves ever since. Naturally these unkempt squatters have become San Francisco’s favorite…

Gary Danko wins James Beard Awards for his impeccable Californian haute cuisine. Smoked-glass windows prevent passersby from tripping over their tongues at the exquisite presentations – roasted lobster with blood or…

War is for the birds at Crissy Field, a military airstrip turned waterfront nature preserve with knockout Golden Gate views. Where military aircraft once zoomed in for landings, bird-watchers now huddle in the silen…

A flashback to penny arcades, the Musée Mécanique houses a mind-blowing collection of vintage mechanical amusements. Sinister, freckle-faced Laughing Sal has creeped out kids for over a century, but don't let this m…

Four historic ships are floating museums at this maritime national park, Fisherman's Wharf’s most authentic attraction. Moored along Hyde St Pier are the 1891 schooner Alma, which hosts guided sailing trips in summe…

A must-visit for discerning bartenders and anyone wanting under the skin of the artisanal foods movement, this grocery, liquor store and deli carries only small-batch products, many locally made, with an emphasis on…