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The San Fran plan
Hidden gems and killer views
in the City by the Bay
By Jerry Camarillo Dunn Jr.
STAY IN STYLE
Hotel Diva (440 Geary St.; 415-885-0200; www.hoteldiva.com; king, $139):
A bargain close to Union Square, it offers contemporary Italian design (bold minimalist color, brushed-steel headboards) and a staff that strives to be helpful.
When you write travel guidebooks, friends and even casual acquaintances start asking you for recommendations. So, when my latest - "The National Geographic Traveler: San Francisco" - came out, I started keeping a list of "inside" attractions (most of them free) to pass along.
Here's how to get the most out of the city by the bay.
BEST VIEWS IN TOWN
If you leave your heart in San Francisco, it may be because of the views. It's a city of gorgeous vistas: the sparkling water of the bay as your cable car tops a hill, a dragon gate in Chinatown, Victorian houses painted in Crayola-box colors. Here are the best places to see them.
ON HIGH: Located on the 19th floor of the Mark Hopkins hotel on Nob Hill, the romantic Top of the Mark lounge is where departing World War II servicemen bid farewell to their sweethearts. Your cocktail still comes with a 360-degree view of San Francisco by night. 999 California; (415) 392-3434; live music Tues.-Sat.
GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE: Visitors can see this famous span from all over the city, but most dramatically from below. Proceed to Fort Point, an 1861 brick fortification located under the bridge's toll plaza and vista point. Just above, the orange-painted bridge soars across the water. By the fort's seawall, surfers ride frigid waves while ships steam through the Golden Gate. In the Presidio, just off Lincoln Blvd.
ALAMO SQUARE: You've seen the picture postcard -- a row of quaint Victorian houses against a skyline of modern office towers. Now bring a camera and take the picture yourself. Fulton and Steiner.
SECRET CHINATOWN
Slip away from the tourist shops on Grant Ave. and explore these gems.
TIN-HOW-TEMPLE: It's three flights of stairs up to the oldest Chinese temple in the U.S., founded in 1852. You'll find lanterns trailing red paper slips with black calligraphy, an atmosphere perfumed with incense, and a gilded figure of Tin How, the goddess of heaven and sea worshipped by millions of Chinese. 125 Waverly Place, between Washington and Clay
FORTUNE COOKIE FACTORY: In a tiny bakery in a Chinatown back alley, women sit in front of a clanking iron contraption as a succession of little round griddles pass through a gas oven. The ladies ladle up dough, and out come warm, flat cookies, which the women quickly bend, then insert paper fortunes. Tip: Bring your own printed slips (easy to make on a computer) and the factory will make you custom cookies. 56 Ross Alley, off Jackson between Grant and Stockton.
YA GOTTA HAVE PULL
Every cable car in the city is powered by the steel ropes that zip in and out of the Cable Car Powerhouse and Museum. A cable car has no motor, so it's towed by a cable that runs in a slot beneath the street. The endless loop of cable is driven through the system by the powerhouse's electric motors and huge wheels. You'll also see relics and photos of the world's first cable car system (1873) --and now the last. 1201 Mason: (415) 474-1887; take the Powell-Hyde or Powell-Mason cable car line.
ART AND ABOUT
Sure, San Francisco has major museums (De Young, Modern Art), but check out these hidden artistic gems.
MAXFIELD PARRISH MURAL: Perch on a barstool at Maxfield's at the historic Palace Hotel, and you face an artistic masterwork, "The Pied Piper." In 1909, the children's book illustrator painted this 7-by-16-foot canvas of a mountain top castle and a piper leading village youngsters away. 2 New Montgomery, at Market; it's okay to pop into the bar to visit the art.
CARTOON ART MUSEUM: This storefront museum celebrates cartoons in all their forms, from comic strips to animation. It exhibits items from the 6,000-piece permanent collection and mounts special exhibitions. The current one (through March 18) features gag panels New Yorker cartoonists failed to sell because they were too edgy or tasteless. 655 Mission; (415) 227-8666; admission fee.
XANADU GALLERY: You'll find museum-quality antiquities and art from world cultures, but the real masterpiece is the gallery itself. San Francisco's only building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. (He even signed it.) A brick-and-glass arch leads visitors inside to discover a white ramp spiraling upward to the mezzanine -- a plan that prefigured Wright's famous design for the Guggenheim. 140 Maiden Lane (off Union Square); (415) 392-9999.
WALK THIS WAY
The public library's City guides lead outings that are fun and focused. Dozens of neighborhood walks explore topics from the 1906 earthquake to the Castro District's gay community. (415) 557-4266; schedule available at www.sfcityguides.org; donations suggested.
A SIP OF DUBLIN
Among San Francisco saloons, the Buena Vista Cafe is a historic icon -- in 1952, this bar introduced Irish coffee to America. Duck inside on a foggy day and watch the bartender fill an assembly line of a dozen glasses. 2765 Hyde (near the cable car turnaround at Fisherman's Wharf); (415) 474-5044.
GO WITH THE DOUGH
A true product of San Francisco, this crusty French bread with a sour tang was introduced in 1849 by Isidore Boudin, whose namesake bakery now offers tours. See the dough tossed from the mezzanine to the ground floor, where it is baked into nearly 10,000 loaves daily. Take home sourdough loaves shaped like crabs, or hit the cafe for chowder served in a bread bowl. 160 Jefferson (on Fisherman's Wharf); (415) 928-1849.
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