{"id":1389,"date":"2014-05-06T23:45:31","date_gmt":"2014-05-07T06:45:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kqed.org\/guides\/?p=1389"},"modified":"2014-05-06T23:45:31","modified_gmt":"2014-05-07T06:45:31","slug":"getting-around","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/guides\/2014\/05\/06\/getting-around\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting Around"},"content":{"rendered":"
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These destinations are over a mile from the Marriott. Some are still very walkable, but others are farther flung and that’s where BART<\/a>, Muni<\/a>, taxi or our local \u201ctransportation network companies:\u201d Uber<\/a> and Lyft<\/a> are probably your best bet.<\/p>\n

Telegraph Hill Tour<\/h4>\n
<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

Perhaps best known for Coit Tower<\/strong>, Telegraph Hill boasts some of the best views of the Bay the city has to offer. Before you go, be sure to download KQED\u2019s Let’s Get Lost<\/a> smartphone app<\/strong> for interactive tours of the famous New-Deal-era murals at Coit Tower (1 Telegraph Hill Blvd), as well as others around the city. To enjoy the richness of the area, take a tour from SF City Guides<\/strong><\/a> and along the way you\u2019ll see some of the neighborhood\u2019s most attractive gardens, as well as cottages that date from the Gold Rush era. If you\u2019re lucky, you\u2019ll see the flock of wild parrots made famous in the Independent Lens<\/em> documentary \u201cThe Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill<\/a><\/strong>.\u201d <\/p>\n

Neighborhood to Know: North Beach<\/h4>\n

Even if you can\u2019t make the scheduled walking tour, you can still enjoy the panoramas of Telegraph Hill<\/strong> and North Beach<\/strong>. Just to the north of the equally fascinating Chinatown<\/strong> neighborhood (see our \u201cIn Downtown<\/a>\u201d guide), you\u2019ll find the historic domain of the Italian-American community. While the neighborhood is now as multi-ethnic as any you\u2019ll find in SF, you\u2019ll still find scores of bakeries, gelaterias, espresso stands, and decadent Italian restaurants. You\u2019ll also find notable literary landmarks such as City Lights<\/a><\/strong> bookstore (261 Columbus) and streets named after significant members of the Beat Poets. You can learn more about the West Coast contributions to that movement at the Beat Museum<\/a><\/strong> (540 Broadway) or just chill out and watch the Tai Chi practitioners in Washington Square Park<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Castro Walking Tour<\/h4>\n

There\u2019s a bit of construction happening along Castro Street<\/strong>, the historic heart of San Francisco\u2019s pioneering gay community. Sidewalks are being widened. Rainbow-hued crosswalks<\/a> are being painted. Still, don\u2019t let a little dust deter you from visiting the cafes and shops that line this energy-filled neighborhood. It\u2019s hard to imagine now, but the neighborhood called the Castro was once a subdued, working class community known as \u201cEureka Valley.\u201d Take this tour<\/a> with Foot! Comedy Walking Tours and laugh your socks off while you learn about the neighborhood\u2019s history from the 19th century to the present. Stops include the Castro\u2019s very first gay bar, the surprising controversies that flutter with the iconic massive rainbow flag, and of course the Castro Theatre<\/strong>, which first opened in 1922. As the company\u2019s web site promises, \u201cyou\u2019ll have a gay old time.\u201d $30 per person.<\/p>\n

Neighborhood to Know: The Mission<\/h4>\n
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Wendy Goodfriend<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Sitting right next to the Castro, you\u2019ll find the super-hot<\/a> Mission district<\/strong>. Sunnier than most of the city, this moderately flat neighborhood sports parallel arteries \u2014 Valencia and Mission streets \u2014 the former packed with upscale restaurants and trendy shops, the latter is still holding on to its everyman roots, but just barely. You\u2019ll find an ever-increasing number of adventurous new spots nestled among the dollar stores and taquerias. If you can\u2019t get the best burrito or small-batch fresh-roasted coffee you\u2019ve ever had, you\u2019re just not trying. And beer is making a big splash at places like Monk\u2019s Kettle<\/a><\/strong> (3141 16th St), Amnesia<\/a><\/strong> (853 Valencia St), Abbot\u2019s Cellar<\/a><\/strong> (742 Valencia St), and outdoor favorite Zeitgeist<\/a><\/strong> (199 Valencia St). If craft cocktails are more your thing, you\u2019ll want to search out Trick Dog<\/a><\/strong> (3010 20th St) on the emerging 20th Street gourmet corridor<\/a> right around the corner from the KQED building<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Golden Gate Park<\/h4>\n

While it\u2019s sometimes compared to another great ubran expense in New York City, Golden Gate Park<\/a><\/strong> is 20% bigger than Central Park. Who can argue with that? Okay, it\u2019s not a contest \u2014 it\u2019s a treasure trove of amazing natural sights and home to a host of great cultural institutions. <\/p>\n

Here are a couple of highlights you might want to consider:<\/p>\n

The San Francisco Botanical Garden<\/h4>\n
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San Francisco Botanical Garden<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Located in the heart of Golden Gate Park, the San Francisco Botanical Garden<\/a><\/strong> (1199 9th Ave) is planted with more than 8,000 plants from around the world, including those rare and endangered plants that are the objects of conservation. Check their website to see what\u2019s in bloom, and don\u2019t miss the \u201ccloud forests\u201d \u2013 gardens that have the same conditions as rainforests at high elevations in Mexico, the Andes, and Southeast Asia. There you\u2019ll find some of the garden\u2019s most treasured plants, like the golden fuchsia (Deppea splendens) from Mexico and a type of passion flower called Passiflora parritae native to Andean cloud forests. San Francisco Botanical Garden is one of the only outdoor gardens in the world that can grow these species, largely thanks to Bay Area fog mimicking high altitude cloud cover. Free admission.<\/p>\n

The California Academy of Sciences<\/h4>\n

This recently renovated<\/a> wonderland of inquiry houses \u201cthe oldest scientific institution in the western United States.\u201d Visit the California Academy of Sciences<\/a><\/strong> (55 Music Concourse Dr) and you\u2019ll find an undulating living roof, an all-digital planetarium, an aquarium, and a host of rotating exhibits. Check their website for specifics on exhibitions and special events, including an after-hours cocktail party offering Do-It-Yourself workshops with veterans of the Bay Area\u2019s world-famous Maker Faire. <\/p>\n

The de Young Museum<\/h4>\n
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Also newly rebuilt, the de Young Museum<\/a><\/strong> (50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr) is an art-lovers paradise. The permanent collection includes American paintings and decorative art, African and Oceanic art, as well as textiles and photography. Current exhibits include Native American Art recently acquired from the Weisel family, photographs of the Bay Bridge during its original construction, and a show celebrating 50th anniversary of Walasse Ting\u2019s \u201cgroundbreaking artist-illustrated book\u201d 1\uffe0 Life. Open Tuesday through Sunday from 9:30 am to 5:15 pm, museum admission costs $10. If you go, don\u2019t miss the chance to ascend to the tower\u2019s observation deck and take in its panoramic 360-degree views of the park (free).<\/p>\n

 <\/h4>\n
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PBS Annual Meeting Guides:<\/a><\/h4>\n

In Downtown<\/a><\/strong>
\nLocations within a single mile of the Marriott Marquis.<\/p>\n

Getting Around<\/a><\/strong>
\nVenture further afield within the city limits.<\/p>\n

Outward Bound<\/a><\/strong>
\nA quick overview of some great vistas.<\/p>\n

Union Square Checklist from Check, Please! Bay Area<\/a><\/strong>
\nOur producers selected 10 of the best restaurants near the iconic landmark.<\/p>\n

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These destinations are over a mile from the Marriott. Some are still very walkable, but others are farther flung and that’s where BART, Muni, taxi or our local \u201ctransportation network companies:\u201d Uber and Lyft are probably your best bet. Telegraph Hill Tour Perhaps best known for Coit Tower, Telegraph Hill boasts some of the best … Continue reading Getting Around<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11431,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"series":[],"affiliates":[],"programs":[],"collections":[],"interests":[],"class_list":["post-1389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":{"template_type":"standard","featured_image_type":"standard"},"template_type":null,"featured_image_type":null,"is_audio_post":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11431"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1389"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1389\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1389"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=1389"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=1389"},{"taxonomy":"affiliates","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/affiliates?post=1389"},{"taxonomy":"programs","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/programs?post=1389"},{"taxonomy":"collections","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/collections?post=1389"},{"taxonomy":"interests","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/interests?post=1389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}