San Francisco Travel Guide

You don't need a car. BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) trains link the San Francisco and Oakland airports to the city. Most San Franciscans don’t even own cars, and getting around is a cinch with a well-developed public transit system of trams, trolleys, and buses.
Delve into San Francisco's dark side at Alcatraz, the desolate fortress where Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly, and Robert Stroud did hard time.
September is summer in the city. First-timers can be shocked at how cold San Francisco gets in the winter and even in early summer. The nicest weather is in September, the time to hit the area's beaches and explore the outdoors. But it’s a good idea to pack a jacket any time of year.
Weather can be very specific to what part of town you stay in. The Avenues (the westernmost parts of San Francisco) are known to be foggy even if the rest of the city is sunny, while neighborhoods south and east of Twin Peaks can be warmer.
One of the best free activities in San Francisco is an outing to Strybing Arboretum and Botanical Gardens in Golden Gate Park. Its 55 acres host an incredible variety of plants, from Peruvian lilies to coastal redwoods, all of which can be grown in coastal California gardens. Paths and benches invite visitors to stroll and sit in this serene urban oasis. A 20,000-volume horticulture library is open to professional and home gardeners.

In a city where parade themes include "Weapons of Ass Destruction" and starting your holiday with an Irish coffee at the Buena Vista Café is de rigueur, it's pretty much guaranteed that you'll have a fun time vacationing in San Francisco. Where else in the world will you find a restaurant whose servers are all gorgeous transvestites? Where it's considered good, clean fun to get airborne in your car? Or where locals don't even pause for earthquakes under 5.0 on the Richter scale? Read More

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We have several hours (10am-3pm) in San Francisco with 5 & 8 y.o. daughters next week. We'll be on our way to Sausalito from visiting in the Bay Area having come from Washington DC. Any suggestions about how to see what in the most efficient manner? If a tour makes sense, is there one best for little kids?
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