Local chefs meet the fishing fleet as catches of Dungeness crab, sole and salmon are unloaded on the docks of Fisherman’s Wharf. Tourists love the clam chowder in sourdough bread bowls, and nibbling on “walkaway” shrimp cocktails as they amble the waterfront boulevard past marine supply and souvenir stores, seafood restaurants and steaming crab pots.
Kids love the spooky Wax Museum of 300+ celebrities and historical figures; the Ripley’s Believe it Or Not! Museum, and Musee Mechanique at Pier 45, a where 200 antique games are free to play and the WWII submarine, U.S.S. Pompanito, is tied up. Sightseeing boats depart from the piers for cruises around the bay, under the Golden Gate Bridge and to Alcatraz, “the Rock”, the notorious former prison where Al Capone and “Machine Gun Kelly” spent their leisure time.
The
city’s famous street performers hold forth on the sidewalks
and at Pier 39, a two-level village of shops, restaurants and entertainments
where elegant gondolas and ponies glide around a double-decker Venetian
carousel, sharks swim by in UnderWater World. At the nation’s
only floating National Park, the Hyde Street Pier, open for inspection
are a Scottish square-rigger and antique vessels of the 19th and early
20th centuries. Knot tying, sail-raising and sea-chantey singing are
part of the fun.
A huge brick chocolate factory from the late 1800s, Ghirardelli Square is now a warren of shops and galleries in terraced gardens. Chocoholics dig into sundaes and fresh candies at the old-fashioned Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop; the Chocolate Festival takes place in September, and the gala Tree Lighting Ceremony in late November.
Among 130-year-old olive trees and blooming flowers, the BOO! Halloween Festival, an organic farmer’s market, and special events take place in the courtyard of the multi-level Cannery, once a Del Monte fruit cannery that now houses 30 shops and restaurants and the new, nautical-themed Argonaut Hotel. A short walk from the Cable Car turnaround, dozens of shops, a brewpub and outdoor entertainment are attractions at the Anchorage Shopping Center. In October, a crowd assembles on the parking garage roof at the “Blue Angel Bash” to watch the U.S. Navy Blue Angels squadron perform a breathtaking air show over the bay during Fleet Week.
| The article on this page is adapted from guidebooks written by Karen Misuraca, the author of Our San Francisco, Fun With the Family in Northern California, and other travel books. Available for purchase on Amazon. |  |