01_068625 ffirs.qxp 11/20/06 11:25 PM Page iii San Francisco FOR DUMmIES‰ s 4TH EDITION by Paula Tevis 02_068625 ftoc.qxp 11/20/06 11:23 PM Page viii 01_068625 ffirs.qxp 11/20/06 11:25 PM Page i Plan your trip with For Dummies Covering the most popular destinations in North America and Europe, For Dummies travel guides are the ultimate user-friendly trip planners. Available wherever books are sold or go to www.dummies.com And book it with ߜ Book airfare, hotels and packages our online partner, ߜ Find the hottest deals ߜ Get breaking travel news Frommers.com ߜ Enter to win vacations ߜ Share trip photos and stories ߜ And much more Frommers.com,rated the #1 Travel Web Site by PC Magazine 01_068625 ffirs.qxp 11/20/06 11:25 PM Page ii ™ to travel! The fun and easy way U.S.A. 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Go to www.dummies.com or call 1-877-762-2974 to order direct. 01_068625 ffirs.qxp 11/20/06 11:25 PM Page iii San Francisco FOR DUMmIES‰ s 4TH EDITION by Paula Tevis 01_068625 ffirs.qxp 11/20/06 11:25 PM Page iv San Francisco For Dummies®, 4th Edition Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River St. Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2007 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permit- ted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600. 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For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. Library of Congress Control Number: 2006936760 ISBN: 978-0-470-06862-5 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 4B/RR/RS/QW/IN 01_068625 ffirs.qxp 11/20/06 11:25 PM Page v About the Author A California native, Paula Tevis made many treks to San Francisco as a young girl before moving to her favorite city in 1983. After an eclectic but blessedly brief career that included stints in the com- puter and nonprofit sectors, she and her husband produced a couple of children in quick succession, and Paula happily relin- quished the 9-to-5 world for the 24/7 one that parenting brings. Upon regaining consciousness, Paula recalled a childhood ambi- tion and declared herself a writer. From her humble beginnings word-processing cookbook manuscripts for a local publisher, Paula metamorphosed into a freelance copy editor and soon received her first break as a professional writer with Parenting magazine, crafting a column on kids who cook. Over the years, she has contributed articles and essays to Family Fun magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle, Citysearch.com, Frommer’s Las Vegas, Frommer’s New Orleans, and Variety. She is the co-author of California For Dummies and author of the original Frommer’s San Francisco with Kids. Author’s Acknowledgments Thanks to my editor, Jennifer Anmuth, and to my dear cousins Irene Levin Dietz and Ina Levin Gyemant, who have added so much to my life in San Francisco for over 30 years. Eating in the city wouldn’t be the same without Bev Chin or the guidance of Patricia Unterman; revisiting my favorite neighborhoods is an even greater pleasure with my cadre of friends, including Marjie Graham, Vicki Pate, Cynde Ahart Wood, Helene and Charles Wright, Andrea and Jeff Tobias, and Sarah Wilcox. Thanks also to Donna Joyner for her Wine Country insights. Living, no matter where, is pretty terrific and lots of fun with my husband, Mark Katz, and our very wonderful daughters, Madeleine and Lili. 01_068625 ffirs.qxp 11/20/06 11:25 PM Page vi Publisher’s Acknowledgments We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/. Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Editorial Composition Services Editors: Jennifer Anmuth & Project Coordinator: Tim Ryan, Development Editors; Patrick Redmond Heather Wilcox, Production Editor Layout and Graphics: Copy Editor: Jennifer Connolly Stephanie D. Jumper, Cartographer: Andrew Murphy Barbara Moore, Julie Trippetti Senior Photo Editor: Richard Fox Proofreaders: David Faust, Jessica Kramer, Techbooks Cover Photos: Front: © J.A. Kraulis/Masterfile Indexer: Techbooks Back: © James Lemass/Index Stock Imagery Cartoons: Rich Tennant, www.the5thwave.com Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director, Consumer Dummies Kristin A. Cocks, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies Michael Spring, Vice President and Publisher, Travel Kelly Regan, Editorial Director, Travel Publishing for Technology Dummies Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/ General User Composition Services Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services 02_068625 ftoc.qxp 11/20/06 11:23 PM Page vii Contents at a Glance Introduction.......................................................1 Part I: Introducing San Francisco ........................7 Chapter 1: Discovering the Best of San Francisco ........................9 Chapter 2: Digging Deeper into San Francisco ............................15 Chapter 3: Deciding When to Go ..................................................22 Part II: Planning Your Trip to San Francisco.......29 Chapter 4: Managing Your Money ................................................31 Chapter 5: Getting to San Francisco ............................................38 Chapter 6: Catering to Special Travel Needs or Interests ..........44 Chapter 7: Taking Care of the Remaining Details ........................51