Marie & Brian
Things To Do
Alcatraz City Cruises
The first lighthouse on the pacific coast, turned military fort, turned prison, turned occupied land, is now a museum open to the public through the National Park Service! So rich in history, 1.5 million tourists visit annually (before 2020).
Asian Art Museum
Great museum across from city hall and next door to the SF public library. They will have free admission Sunday, August 7, 2022! Next summer there will be a Carlos Villa exhibition. Marie was lucky to visit with her dad shortly after it opened in 2003. She would love to go again.
The Buena Vista
We went here together on Brian's second trip to San Francisco to try their world famous Irish Coffee.
California Academy of Sciences
Great for all ages! Please go visit Claude, the albino alligator, he is a San Francisco fixture. While we have yet to visit together, hopefully by the time we are married, we will have visited 5 or more times!
Chinatown
My sister Kristin took Brian and I to visit Chinatown on his second visit to San Francisco. It is the largest and oldest Chinatown in North America! Grab some yummy food at any of the delicious Chinese restaurants and complete your meal with a fortune cookie made in front of you (Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory) or a mooncake from one of the many other bakeries. Shop for jade, incense, stuffed animals with real fur, cool containers, and more. Visit Li Po Cocktail Lounge, a dive bar recommended by my friend Suzu. Wander past Portsmouth Square to people watch and take in a different view of the Transamerica Pyramid building.
de Young Museum
Marie's mother, Sandra, volunteered here when Marie was little and brought her here for after-school art fun. Originally a building from the 1894 California Midwinter International Exhibition, it was totally renovated while Marie was in middle school. If you like art museums, this is a must. Tuesdays are free to the public. So far it looks like The Julia Brenner Textile Collection will be around next August.
Dutch Windmill
Free admission, worth seeing with the Queen Wilhelmina Tulip Garden around it, added in 1980. In 1903, park commissioners built a windmill in the northwest corner to serve as a homegrown irrigation system. The Dutch Windmill was able to pump 40,000 gallons per hour, reducing reliance on the water company and turning the western end of the park into a destination for tourists and locals alike. A few years later, the commissioners added a second windmill a half-mile south, which you may still visit at the corner of Lincoln Way and the Great Highway. The Murphy Windmill was named after its primary benefactor, banker Samuel G. Murphy, who donated $20,000 to its construction. At the time, it was the largest windmill in the world. Modeled after the traditional Dutch design, the Golden Gate Park windmills churned for less than a decade before electric pumps were built, eliminating the need for wind-powered irrigation. Now they run every Saturday and on the Dutch holiday King's Day.
Exploratorium
Great science and technology museum for kids! It makes Marie wish she were a kid again so she wouldn't look silly trying to figure out all the games and exhibits. Although, they do have After Dark Thursdays 6-10pm for adults! Originally located near our wedding venue at the Palace of Fine Arts, it moved to Pier 15 in 2013.
Ferry Building
As the name suggests, you can catch a ferry from here to all the other ports in the Bay Area. Saturdays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays you will find a huge Farmer's Market here too! There are also shops and restaurants found inside the building 7 days a week.
Fort Point National Historic Site
Great visit to see the Golden Gate Bridge from below and for military history buffs! A military fort commissioned by the War Department in 1851. Work began in 1853, but the fort was not completed until 1860. It was prepared to be utilized during the Civil War, but never was, though the commander of the Pacific branch of the Army, Colonel Albert Sidney Johnston, had resigned to join the Confederate army and was killed at the battle of Shiloh in 1862. A seawall was completed in 1869 and only rebuilt in the 1980s.
Ghirardelli Square
Marie grew up craving Ghirardelli chocolate drenched sundaes from The Original Ghirardelli Ice Cream and Chocolate Shop. It's also fun for kids to see the simulated chocolate factory while waiting for your order. If you are staying nearby, Palette Tea House & Dim Sum is rated one of the best in the city. Throw in mini golf, a brewery, and a cheese spot and there's something for everyone!
Golden Gate Bridge
One of the most iconic San Francisco sights. You may walk, bike, or drive across. The southbound toll for vehicles is $9.05, but if you wish to leave the San Francisco Peninsula on a different bridge the others are $6 (most coming back into the peninsula--south or westward). It opened in 1937 after 4 years of construction. It takes continual maintenance and a crew of 200 are employed to keep those fog-horns blaring.
Haight & Ashbury
Should need no explanation. Kristin took Marie for the first time in high school, and Chris took Brian and Marie on Brian's 1st trip to San Francisco. Great range of food, record shops, boutiques, head shops, thrift stores, bars, and coffee shops. Between Golden Gate and Buena Vista Parks.
Japanese Tea Garden
Free admission when entering the gardens before 10:00 a.m. on Mon, Wed, & Fridays, or if under 4yo Children 5-11yo $3, and adults $6-$9. Open 365 days per year. Cash only. It was originally created as a Japanese Village exhibit for the 1894 California Midwinter International Exposition. Japanese landscape architect Makoto Hagiwara and Golden Gate Park superintendent John McLaren reached an agreement for Mr. Hagiwara to create and maintain a permanent Japanese-style garden as a gift to the citizens of San Francisco. Many of the bonsai trees maintained by Mr. Hagiwara now tower over the teahouse, main gate, and gardens. Highlights include Japanese methods of tree trimming (bonzai, etc), meandering paths, koi ponds, a stream with a steeply arched moonbridge, and Buddhas, including the tallest outside Asia--11ft or 3m--cast in Japan in 1790. Overlooking the gardens and ponds, there is an open air pavilion serving traditional Japanese tea and almond cookies.
Japantown
On one of our more recent pre-pandemic visits to the city, we went to Marufuku Ramen for a delicious meal. A few doors down was a karaoke bar. Unfortunately, Marie could not get Brian to request a song to sing with her, but hopefully you will have fun doing so! Also nearby is the Kabuki Theater, the first multiplex in San Francisco which used to serve drinks and meals in theater before it was cool. You may also visit the Benkyodo Candy Company (1747 Buchanan St.), which created a machine to make fortune cookies for the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park in 1911. They produced them until the Japanese Internment starting 1942, then reopened once WWII ended, and today produce manju and mochi which they sell Tuesday-Saturday starting at 9am.
Lands End Trail
Nice hike with view of Golden Gate Bridge, about 3 miles roundtrip
Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts
Not sure what exhibit they'll have during our wedding weekend, but admission typically ranges from FREE to $15. There is amazing Mexican food up, down, and around Mission St., for example: La Taqueria, El Farolito, Taqueria Cancun, Papalote... as well as other more hipster/gentrified offerings.
Oracle Park
Maybe we could catch a Giant's game.
PIER 39
A lovely tourist spot: you can't miss the sea lions who have taken over the docks on the west side of the pier. Another spot to pick up a ferry to Sausalito, Tiburon, or Angel Island if you have an extra afternoon to spare.
Yerba Buena Gardens
Fun part of downtown San Francisco with lots of family activities. There are many museums including SF MOMA, Children's Creativity Museum, and The Contemporary Jewish Museum. There is a more modern movie theater and eateries at the Metreon Mall on the corner. The Moscone Convention Center is centrally located there as well.
Sutro Baths
Part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area--free admission. You may also see the historic Cliff House, first built in 1863. Also can start Lands End hike from here. The Sutro Baths were developed by Adolph Sutro, who had made his fortune in the Nevada Comstock Lode silver mines and later became the mayor of San Francisco. They held a huge swimming and bathing facility, offering six saltwater swimming tanks of varying sizes, shapes and water temperatures that provided exercise and recreation to the San Francisco public.