TRAVEL-202609-uswest/sf_sights.md

# San Francisco — Places to See

*Candidate menu of sights. The chosen, day-by-day version lives in [`days/`](days/) (Sep 20–21).*

> **Getting around:** car for the Marin side (no transit there); BART + cable cars / F-line streetcar for the downtown core (parking is brutal). Base is Daly City, ~20–30 min south.

## Marin side (car only)

- **Marin Headlands / Battery Spencer** — the classic Golden Gate Bridge panorama; best at sunset, stay for blue hour. Tiny lot

## North Waterfront

- **Golden Gate Bridge** — Welcome Center + Fort Point underneath
- **Lombard Street** — the crooked block
- **Fisherman's Wharf / Pier 39** — sea lions
- **Ghirardelli Square** — chocolate + waterfront dining
- **Coit Tower** — city + bay views from Telegraph Hill
- **Alcatraz** — ferry from Pier 33, ~2.5–3 hrs round trip. Tickets: [alcatrazcitycruises.com](https://www.alcatrazcitycruises.com/)

## Downtown / Central

- **Ferry Building** — marketplace, food. *Farmers market Tue/Sat — misses our Sun/Mon*
- **Cable cars** — California St or Powell lines
- **Union Square** — shopping core
- **Chinatown** — Dragon Gate, largest outside Asia
- **North Beach** — Little Italy, cafés

## West / Parks

- **Alamo Square** — the Painted Ladies
- **Golden Gate Park** — de Young Museum, Japanese Tea Garden. *de Young closed Mondays*
- **Lands End** — coastal trail, Sutro Baths ruins
- **Twin Peaks** — panoramic city viewpoint
- **Ocean Beach** — Pacific coast, sunsets

## Silicon Valley (car, ~45 min south)

- **[Apple Park Visitor Center](https://www.apple.com/retail/appleparkvisitorcenter/)** — Cupertino; rooftop view of the ring, AR model, store. Campus itself is closed to the public
- **[Google Visitor Experience](https://visit.withgoogle.com/plan-your-visit/)** — Mountain View; store, café, Android statues
- **[Computer History Museum](https://computerhistory.org/hours-admission/)** — Mountain View; Wed–Sun 10 AM–5 PM, closed Mon–Tue. Fits Sun Sep 20 only
- **Stanford campus** — Palo Alto; Hoover Tower view

## Mission / Castro

- **Mission District** — murals (Clarion Alley, Balmy Alley), Dolores Park, best burritos in the city
- **Castro** — historic gay neighbourhood, Castro Theatre

## Events (date-fixed)

- **Rob Zombie & Marilyn Manson — Sun Sep 20, 6:30 PM** — Toyota Pavilion at Concord (East Bay, ~1 hr by car). Freaks on Parade tour finale with The Hu and Orgy. Optional, just for fun. [Tickets](https://www.ticketmaster.com/rob-zombie-marilyn-manson-with-the-concord-california-09-20-2026/event/1C00642C8B0E5847)