Visiting San Francisco in spring

Well, by late May, the June Gloom will have started. Are you staying in the city, or on the peninsula or east bay? Because it will be very warm, almost hot (particularly in the east bay) even when it's foggy and cold in the city.

City.

I always find it pretentious when someone spells city in reference to NY or SF with a C, as if there is only one City as opposed to all those other cities.

How about when people just say "the Bay Area," instead of the San Francisco Bay area of California in the United States of America.

No one cares what you think. Die in a fire.

Still the same amount of human excrement and drug needles on the sidewalks April, May, June, July....

Rain is more likely in April than May, although climate change has made our weather patterns unpredictable. Also, some neighborhoods (typically those in valleys) are warmer than others.

Get the poop map - s great tool!

Bring layers, a light jacket, and something for the rain.

OMG R3 calm down... how do you cope with real problems in life?

Don't forget the disposable shoe covers. You'll need them!

No one cares what you think, R3. No one.

WTF R11, aren't those to be used INDOORS? Mary!

May is safer. But if you are going to see greenery April can be beautiful in the surrounding mountains and coast. I ususallly shoot for late April.

[quote] WTF [R11], aren't those to be used INDOORS? Mary!

For outdoors, Queen Pretty! Put three or four over each shoe to protect against poo landmines!

San Francisco gives new meaning to DL meme "poo shoes."

Any advantages/disadvantages to staying in the Mission, Castro or Lower Haight?

For some reason the Airbnb's are clustered around there.

The Castro is something of a museum now, but it's worth seeing. The Castro is preferable to the Haight, too many down-and-out wannabe hippies in the Haight who don't realize it's over.

The Mission is gentrified and now tech central with lots of double strollers, etc, but it has the best micro climate and lots of good, if pricey, restaurants.

What is the poo situation like in Castro?

Where does it rank on a scale of One to Ten Bellagios?

The weather in San Francisco is pretty much shit for 11 months of the year. Go in September. That's when SF is at its best. The shitty weather in January and February is mitigated when one gets news of the even shittier weather occurring on the East Coast.

Bundle up. Never go out without a jacket. The weather in SF can turn on a dime and you'll be freezing.

[quote]Bundle up. Never go out without a jacket.

The Castro Codgers never bundle up. Fortunately, they do have towels now for public transportation.

R22 Do they just wear the towels on the bus?

Don't forget to visit Hunters Point, it's the most beautiful part of the city.

Is it poo free?

God - the poo stuff is getting so tired. Even Trump is using it. And you know he never tells the truth. I think it’s become a symbol for the tech takeover. People focus on the physical shit instead of the social shit that is so much more complicated to fix. I thought DLers were more intelligent - but realize cleaning up poo in SF is the DL version of “the Wall”. A mythical, symbolic but ultimately meaningless fix to the real problems.

Not mythical, R26. Not at all.

So when the poo is gone - all will be right with SF? No one will complain about the panhandlers, drug addicts and mentally ill crowding the streets and harassing people.? The MAIN problem in SF is poo on every street that you can’t avoid? Such simplistic thinking is exactly why we are fighting over a wall that will do little,or nothing to quell people’s anger.

The shit on the sidewalks around the city, and especially the Civic Center (where City Hall, and Twitter are) is disgusting. Stay away. It is a real problem, as well as symbolizing the political paralysis in SF.

The city's political gridlock is brought by tired, old, “homeless-rights” activism that, decade after decade, hundreds of $$ millions per year after year, has not budged the problem one single bit.

The rain, the worry, the regret.

I have heard about Civic Center's problem, but I don't think I'll have any reason to visit it.

I'll primarily be in the Castro/Mission, North Beach, Telegraph Hill, and Golden Gate Park.

Sounds a serious political issue.

Where does the Mayor stand on the poo?

I left my bowel movement in San Francisco.

Yeah OP - just avoid lower Market, Mission, Civic Center - the ugliest parts of the city (and unfortunately where most hotels are). In my 20+ years of going to SF, I never stay there. It’s ALWAYS been horrible, ugly and filthy. The poo drama is ridiculous.

Stay in the Castro or Pacific Heights. It’s a beautiful city with lots of great things to do. Make sure to go to Mt Tam when it’s lush and green in Spring.

Is the Mission dicey? I was thinking of staying there due to easier BART access.

The Mission is fine except right around 16th and Mission, where it's a little dicey.

Thanks for the tip.

But the Mission is ugly. I don’t get why anyone would go to SF to see downtown or the Mission. SF is Pacific Heights, the Castro, Noe Valley, Marina, even Sunset/Golden Gate. Downtown SF is what all the drama queens conflate with SF - but everyone knows it’s the worst part of SF.

[quote]The Mission is fine except right around 16th and Mission, where it's a little dicey.

Which is where the BART station is.

All true, R38. But we were choosing between Castro, The Mission and The Haight.

Yeah but 24th and Mission Bart was fine, as I recall.

1. Castro 2. Haight 3. Not Mission or downtown

How is Noe Valley?

Or Lower Haight?

Are they poo free areas?

Noe Valley is really nice. And close to the Castro (up and over a - steep- hill). One of the best neighborhoods in the city.

Haight can be grungy - but location is good - near Castro, as well as Golden Gate Park. I would definitely pick Haight before Downtown/Mission.

There is a place I like in Lower Haight and a place I like in Noe Valley. Both cost around the same. If you had to choose, which one would you choose?

One with less poop, I'm thinking.

Dress appropriately and one can appreciate all areas of this beautiful City.

R49That looks underdressed from some of the comments I've read on here

Dongs are dewier in the morning, but usually by afternoon they've dried up. Do with that what you will.

I prefer Noe Valley and Cole Valley

I lived in Noe Valley for 10 years. Love it there. No real views but nice neighborhood feel and a kind of "Main Street" on 24th St.

Hunters Point one of the most beautiful parts of San Francisco.

Long walks in the tenderloin are a must.

could be lots warmer in may than april, global warming making our summers longer and hotter, april is nice.

enjoy, Frisco still the most euro city in north America and has charm galore. still #1 usa city foreignors want to see, its gaw jus!!!!

most homeless are in a 3 block area at union square....

It's foggy or raining, but it is not uncomfortably cold. It was typically sunny and HOT only in late august/september. It not great because no one has air conditioning. This year the weather patterns are different though, Climate change.

May can be wArmer, but not by much.

SF is made up of little communities/neighborhoods.. They all are pretty, interesting. You are not going to get cool school SF because the tech industry destroyed it. It is just a memory.

Check out the SF weekly for events and restaurant/ cafes you might want to check out. All neighborhoods have them. The unique cafes are more interesting. This has given SF the more European vibe or counter-culture vibe, though silicon valley has destroyed most of it too. Although it might be fun scrolling by the pier the FOOD sucks.

I have a soft place in my heart for the sea cliff and their brunch. I know it is an overpriced has-been, but I can't quit you.

Noe Valley >>>> Lower Haight. Ideally north Noe Valley / South Castro area.

im laffin my tits off at the poo jokes, but alas, its jus that, a joke, ive lived near downtown for 22 yrs and ive never seen poop, maybe 2 needles...a few homeless here and there.

the fuks who live in Podunk are jealous they don't ive in bagdhad by the bay and its glorious pacific ocean mist of fun, sex, good food and shopping...

it u want charm and fun, CUM 2 FRISCO U SKUNKS.

Please don't any of you girls move here, we don't need anymore residents. jus stay where u are, back in the dark recesses of the farmland.

I had trouble leaving SF when I was there last summer. Most fun and georgous city ive ever seen, and ive seen a lot.. Gonna save my pennys and move back there when I can

[quote]a few homeless here and there.

A FEW homeless? You are crazy. It's a nightmare, in almost every part of the city.

What's that area on the other side of the Castro tunnel? West Portal. That's pretty nice and not a lot of homeless, although a homeless person rode the Metro there a few years back, got off, and murdered someone in the street. But that's the only time I ever remember violence in West Portal, and it has nice houses and apartments. and a little "village" feel. It used to have a good movie theatre, too, but I think it closed like all the other neighborhood theaters in SF.

Exactly R61 - the drama queens with the poo stories. You know it’s stage V bullshit when even Trump is making it an issue. Homelessness, drugs and mental illness are issues - but have always been since the hippies moved in in the 60s - many of whom were homeless, drug addicted and mentally ill. Maybe more visible now - and a starker contrast to the super wealthy that have taken over. But the poo drama has gotten absurd. Ranks right up there with the goddamn Wall as bullshit issues that just distract from the real issues.

[quote]I have a soft place in my heart for the sea cliff and their brunch. I know it is an overpriced has-been, but I can't quit you.

Are you talking about the Cliff House? Sea Cliff is the name of a (VERY expensive) neighborhood.

I chose the lower Haight because its central location and better access to public transport. I’ll hardly be in the apartment anyway. Thanks for the advices everyone.

I do have a few questions: is the Palace of the Legion of Honor worth the schlep out to Lincoln Park, and is there anything worth going out to Berkeley for?

Also what is a good movie theatre multiplex in SF?

For movies, maybe the multiplex AMC Kabuki 8 in Japantown.

I would not spend too much time in the Haight. Not worth that much time.

The East Bay, Oakland and Berkeley, are very, very different than San Francisco. If you want the whole picture about the Bay Area, you have go spend some time there. Go to Berkeley if only to dodge all the rude disabled people in their motorized wheelchairs. They will run you down and not look back.

And the Steamworks, of course.

Palace of Legion of Honor is worth it for the setting alone. You can hike to Lands End from there—all part of the Golden Gate National Seashore. We’re also about to get the Andy Warhol exhibit (from the Whitney) at SFMOMA.

Usually in April May it's either foggy, sunny, windy, or all three. According to the chart below, May is dryer, it's also a tad warmer.

I'm a native of San Francisco and it's really hard to describe the weather. I grew up in a fog bound neighborhood and then lived just beyond its reach. My backyard would be sunny and less than a mile away a giant honking fog bank would be hanging there. Love the sound of fog horns.

i concur with R71 that the Legion of Honor and it's surroundings are a spectacular visit. Nearby at 7000 Geary Blvd is the spectacular Pacific Cafe but get there at 5, they don't take reservations.

SF has always had bums, when I was growing up we called them winos and they lived in flop houses.

And, R3 it's known as The City. You must be from LA.

Lands End/Legion of Honor are a must. Spectacular view of ocean, Golden Gate and Marin headlands. My favorite spot in SF (though I usually drive)

Skip the Cliff House and go to Louis' just up the road, It's a little cash only coffee shop perched on a cliff. The food is so-so, but the view of the Pacific Ocean is breathtaking and spectacular. You can combine it w a visit to Golden Gate Park, where most all of the best stuff is in one part of the park.

And as others have said, always carry a sweater or a light jacket with you.

Berkeley has some good restaurants. It's also worth heading up to Tilden Park and seeing the view from up there, or from Sather Tower at UC Berkeley. Some very good ethnic restaurants (of all sorts) in Oakland.

Another place worth considering a shlep is Treasure Island--funny little winery/restaurant stops and a great view of SF from the shoreline. Basically, the best views in the Bay Area are from places where you can see the SF skyline, the Golden Gate and Mt. Tamalpais. In other words, the East Bay, particularly at sunset. You don't get a full Mt. Tam view from Treasure Island, but it's a quick way to at least get a view of the City from the water.

Just finished a long weekend in the Haight. Great location, good food and friendly people including most of the folks on the street and homeless ... I liked Japantown and Golden Gate Park areas. And tour to Alcatraz was super interesting. Geez ... Every city has grit and grime. Soaring rents are crazy there ... I can understand how locals feel fucked by landlords cashing in on the tech influx.

Stay in Sonoma County and make a day trip to San Francisco. Go to Guerneville and get your gay on

Is the Botanical Garden at Golden Gate Park worth visiting?

Has anyone been to the Monet exhibition at the De Young? Steep entrance fee, is it worth it?

It’s always cold in San Francisco. It’s surrounded by the bay.

San Francisco's weather is similar enough all year that it doesn't really matter if you go in April or May.

Has anyone been to the Gauguin exhibit at De Young?

perfect time to visit the MOST BEAUTIFUL AND EXCITING CITY IN THE WORLD, ON THE PACIFIC COAST, IT I AN OASIS OF FUN THINGS TO DO.

THATS WHY MORE TOURISTS CUM HERE THAN ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD.

OK bitches my trip is next week! Please humor me and help me out with a few things

Does anyone have any recommendations for Chinese food? Just looking for cheap eats. I love love love American style Chinese food.

Is there anyplace I should check out in the Ferry Building food hall?

Is it worth shlepping out to Pier 39 to see the sea lions. Are they fun to watch or do they just sit there?

What bars/coffeehouses in the Castro are good?

Frisco!

Make sure all your vaccines are current.

The sea lions just sit there and Pier 39 is a tourist "trap" but has some good seafood places. Chinatown is where you can find interesting shops and restaurants (Grant St). There used to be a good Thai restaurant on Castro (at 19th) -- not sure if it's still there. I would also check out Noe Valley along 24th St.; also has Thai restaurant at 4301 24th St. Check out the Mission along Valencia, which has gentrified a lot since I've lived there. (Went back a few months ago and it was hopping.)

The homeless, and there's a lot, are barbaric and very pushy. They're everywhere and know you're a tourist. They will not leave you along, pretty much anytime you're outdoors. They will follow you, holler and curse at you. I was there 20 years ago and will never go back, and from what I've read and been told it's a whole lot worse. I'm a New Yorker so street people is a regular thing, but SF whips NY's ass when it comes to homeless. Major problem. Not any kind of an enjoyable vacation at all. Dirty and disgusting.

Oy vey R88. You forgot the “there is poop literally everywhere” trope. It’s a beautiful city - with more homeless and mentally ill than average. Enjoy the beauty. Try to get out to Mt Tam - or at least Lands End - truly stunning.

Is there less tourism there now?

R84, for Chinese food, I prefer the Clement Street area (Inner Richmond) to Chinatown.

Ferry Building: to me, crowded and overrated. I ate at the Hog Island Oyster place and was not impressed.

Pier 39 sea lions: waste of time. Depressing, actually. You'll be surrounded by tourists.

Castro area: nice area in general. No specific recommendations.

Is there anything worth seeing in Union Square? Any noteworthy architecture in the chain stores?

Hey OP, 30+ years SF resident here--- It's been a wet year so far, April is more likely to be rainy than May. Memorial weekend is Carnival (two days of fun) in the Mission. Chances are 50/50 that the weather will either be sunny and lovely (great for parade and street fair) or foggy & blustery (sad for the scantily clad dancers.)

If you want to be closer to GG park, stay in Lower Haight. If you want to be close to BART stay in the Mission. Noe Valley is pretty residential, but close to Castro and has restaurants and bars.

Food: In the Castro, my favorite restaurant is Anchor Oyster Bar. Really nice fresh seafood, small menu and a few specials on the chalk board. It's close to the Thai House Express (okay) place someone else mentioned, which is on the corner of 19th & Castro. Many great taquerias in the Mission, my favorite is El Farolito, the green tomatillo/avocado salsa is the best. Mandalay on California at 5th Ave has good Burmese food. Lolo on Valencia has really deliciopus ceviche and empanadas. These are all mid-range options, for super fancy places someone else will have to reply. SF has tons of international food/restaurants, pretty much anything you want to eat is here.

Have fun!

^^^delicious*^^^

Avoid Union Square if possible. The absolute worst part of SF in my opinion. Unfortunately it’s where a lot of hotels are located - so people are stuck with an impression of that area as SF even though it is probably the worst of it. All the stories of mentally ill, drug addicts, poop, homelessness are based on Union Square. Try to stay elsewhere - and if you can, don’t waste your time there.

Yes I have been aware of the rain. I was planning on spending one day in Golden Gate Park and the Presidio but I will have to duck into a museum if the weather is aggressive.

Which is better, De Young or Academy of Sciences?

Academy of Sciences will be packed with screaming kids. It's a natural history kind of museum with animal exhibits (dead & alive) earthquake preparedness, a planetarium. De Young is an art museum, so less kids. Depends on what you are interested in and what you want to avoid.

Yes I would be there over a weekend so I will probably not want to go to the Academy of Sciences. However I think the new building is lovely.

I love art museums but considering the lack of outstanding collections and the steep entrance fees for the special exhibits ($30 for Gaugin at De Young and same for Rubens at Legion of Honor) I would not feel bad for skipping either. I did want to visit Legion of Honor simply because of my fondness for the movie Vertigo but it seems like such a pain to get to.

If you want to go somewhere Vertigo related you can go to Mission Dolores and walk through the tiny graveyard. Cheap, maybe free. In the Mission a couple blocks from Dolores park, with a great view of the city and lots of people sunning (if it's sunny) on the hillside.

Will everything become gauzy and dreamlike when I enter the graveyard?

The best, or at least the most authentic, Chinese restaurants are usually the ones with the fewest Caucasians in them. The Ferry Building is worth a quick stroll through, I think, but you can skip the sea lions. Agreed with R93 about the Anchor Oyster Var in the Castro (see also: The Hayes Street Grill in Hayes Valley).

Have a drink at the Tonga Room in the Fairmount Hotel.......unique experience.

Yes I would like to see the Tonga Room... anything else on Nob Hill worth seeing?

[quote]anything else on Nob Hill worth seeing?

If you were a fan of "Tales of the City," the steps leading up to Mrs. Madrigal's boarding house is not far away on Russian Hill.

Those particular steps were made on a studio lot.

Bring your hip boots. Apparently, the streets and sidewalks are covered with human excrement.

I can’t believe R106 thought he was the first person making that joke in a 100+ post San Francisco thread.

Oh good they are plating Vertigo Friday and Saturday at the Castro when it will be raining.

Anyone have any experience taking public transport to Legion of Honor? It looks like a nightmare getting there.

The 38 Geary bus will get you very close to the Legion of Honor. It's a long ride (there are also 38 Geary express buses that don't make every stop) but not an uninteresting one. That area of the Richmond District is largely Asian now, but you can still see a few Irish bars and Russian restaurants. If you're hungry for dim sum go to Ton Kiang on Geary.

Can you defend yourself against a sword attack? You'd better learn in advance.

Don't ride the trains late at night... or early in the morning... or mid-day... or ever.

What is this, FOX News' Culture of Fear? I ride Muni every day and have never seen anything remotely violent.

How crowded is De Young on weekends? I will have to do that on Saturday if it rains.

Go early.

Yeah I’ll probably go early since I’ll still be on eastern time. I see De Young has free Saturdays for local residents and that’s discouraging.

" I ride Muni every day "

And yet R113 never notices the daily news of violent assaults and robberies all over town. You must commute from West Portal directly to a swanky job's guarded doors.

[quote] anything else on Nob Hill worth seeing?

Grace Cathedral.

Sadly it's a filthy dirty homeless infested shithole. Change destinations if it's not too late OP.

Posters in this thread will be pleased to know that I, OP, arrived today and at the second BART station after the airport, a BART cleaning crew boarded the car and were discussing amongst themselves various dumps they’ve cleaned.

How captivating for a tourist that must have been R120 / OP. Filthy dirty city filled with barbaric shitty people, ran by shitty people.

The SF trolls are COMMITTED. I wonder what shit hole they type from and call 'home.' Somewhere lustrous and divine, I am sure.

From New York here, which is half a shit-hole, run by idiots. SF is twice as shitty.

The Tonga Room in the Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill is fun, at least the first time you visit, and a stroll through the hotel. I second Grace Cathedral. There is a Keith Haring work in an Aids Memorial Chapel off to the right as you enter.

I lived there ten years and during that whole time the Board was arguing about the feasibility of putting public rest rooms along Market Street. I think they finally installed one, which was immediately taken over by a homeless person.

Hunters Point is the most beautiful part of of the city, especially in the spring.

Don’t go. I’ve visited every major city in the United States and several in Europe, and San Francisco is the ugliest, foulest, most unpleasant city I have ever been to.

There actually is a City, capital C; it’s in London.

You are too late R127. I’ve gone and come back already.

I had a wonderful time and was glad I stayed in Lower Haight as everywhere was easily accessible.

Glad you had a great time. Hope the weather was cooperative. Any highlights?

PLEASE change your itinerary. Visited SF last month for the 4th time and it has gone to complete shit. It’s dirty, crowded, overpriced, and the locals are just awful, miserable folks now. After 2 days in the sad city that was once great, I headed north and spent a wonderful weekend at the Russian River. Guerneville is delightful and there’s wineries, hiking, the rugged beauty of the beaches near Jenner, and beautiful countryside.

My God the anti-SF trolls are running wild in this thread.

R131 see R129

Oh, R132, get over yourself. SF is dead and anyone who lives there will admit it.