San Francisco and what to do in it

I do have a T-shirt with an owl on it to wear to the pub, though.

How is the Swan Oyster Depot?

If you like owls, go to the Owl Tree.
http://static.flickr.com/93/233339917_5acf9048ae.jpg?v=0
But check the schedule, it only open like Thur - Sat I think.

The ferry terminal is also a good toursity place, especially if the weather is nice, and there's lots of overpriced boutique food there too.

yeah, i wouldn't plan to hang out at the wharf or anything, but i think i might like to wake up there. or would rather do so there than near union square. also, i hear there's a restaurant named after Rick Danko or something there. and is Greens walkable from there?

i guess more than half of the places i might want to go are more easily-accessed from union square, though. those being primarily (and provisionally)... the presidio, (maybe) pacific heights, out on the water in some fashion, north beach, chinatown, (maybe) the ferry building, berkeley, the haight, golden gate park, the mission - would it be too much to try to do most of this in 3 full days? and are there nice residential parts i don't know about that would be worth trying to fit in?

also, wine country. i'd like to pass through if only to look at some dirt and neat rows and lavender and such, but i don't need to go there to drink the wine, and i'm not gonna taste and drive. would i really want to spend an extra night in, uh, Yountville or something?

(xpost - aha!)

My sister just told me that the owner of the owl bar just passed away:(

the worst assault that has happened to someone I know of was right in the financial district, someone tried to steal her ipod and slashed her throat.

I will be in town next week. I have a boring question. What is the best option for paying for getting around town on public transport?

Does the CityPass make sense? Or should I just buy BART tickets as I go?

you're not going to be using BART most of the time, but the Muni. I think the Pass wd make sense if you're going to visit all those institutions. Since I'll be there 5 days I'll probably get the no-frills 7-day pass.

They sell weekly Muni passes for 15 bucks that are geared more for local people than tourists. They cost 15 dollars and you have to pay an extra dollar to ride the cable car.

Here is the list and prices -

http://www.sfmta.com/cms/mfares/fareinfo.htm

Thanks, that is useful. Sounds like the regular weekly pass might be the way to go.

I got a citypass rather than the weekly muni pass because I imagined I'd be doing a fair bit of cablecarriding and visiting at least some museums and such, plus I thought it would be easier to buy on arrival than a muni pass, given where I was staying. Ultimately, I probably prepaid for enough stuff I didn't use that the muni pass might have been a better choice, but it did afford a bit of extra freedom.

also, the citypass (and I imagine the muni pass?) doesn't cover BART

Muni fastpasses are good for all public transportation within city limits, including BART

I don't know if the weekly fast passes are good on BART, I seem to remember that they aren't. Another negative about the weekly passes are that they run from Sunday to the next Saturday, I think the passports are good for a week after they are first used.

The 3- or 7-day "Passports" are just Muni, am I right? as I will be there Thu-Tues, that's what I'm getting.

Yes, you are right. Muni only.

Only the monthly Fast Pass is good on non-Muni transit within SF.

the city pass is a good deal.

The other problem with the weekly pass is that it only really works Monday through Sunday.

The Muni Passport is a better deal than the City Pass IMO.

sorry didn't know fastpasses and weekly passes were different! lame.

Alex you are high, the City Pass includes a ton of free admission. It's like a 50% savings on face value of all those attractions (almost all of which are pretty great for fisitors).

fisters = visitors (who enjoy fisting)