Best places to see in San Francisco

Golden Gate Bridge

A beautiful spring day in San Francisco. Mar/April and Sept/Oct are often the best times to visit the City by the Bay as the fog is less pervasive than it is in the summer. Walk down along the beach on Marine Dr toward Fort Point and get a great view of the bridge from below.

Alcatraz

Boats transport you out to Alcatraz all year from Pier 33 in San Francisco. There are a number of tours offered by the Golden Gate National Parks Conservency, including a family fun tour, a Hollywood & Alcatraz tour and even a night tour. It's an eerie experience to feel the desolation of this prison surrounded by the sea from the actual cells that housed some of the nation's most infamous criminals until 1963.

Chinatown

Although Chinatown has become tacky and loaded with cheap junk shops, it's still worth a walk through to see an important part of San Francisco's past and the home of the world's largest Chinese community outside of Asia. Enter at the Grant St. gate (Grand and Bush) and wander up Grant St to Broadway to see the Chinatown mural. Walk along Waverly Place and Ross Alley, then back along Stockton St. to see the real Chinatown at the Chinese markets. There's an excellent walking tour and map on www.gocalifornia.about.com.

AT&T Park

Super great spot to watch a baseball game, even if your team isn't winning. Grab a seat anywhere at AT&T Park and enjoy baseball, great people watching, folks trying to catch homerun balls in McCovey Cove and great concessions. You can also tour the park any day at 10:30 and 12:30 unless there's a daytime game. Public transportation is readily accessible.

Lombard St.

I have often wondered who would chose to live on the famous crooked stretch of Lombard St., with people walking and driving down it all hours of the day and night. But for the visitor to San Francisco, you just have to see it. If you have a car, head to the section of Lombard between Hyde and Leavenworth and start your decent. If you're walking, you can reach Lombard via the Powell Hyde cablecar. The flowers along the street are lovely in the springtime.