italdesign

Hello fellow travelers!

Just doing some research to get ready for my 4-day SF trip.
I am from the Midwest, and I know that SF has much more to offer compared to our limited gay establishments here.
Do you have any recommendations for "must see" or "must dos" in SF? Any night clubs, strip clubs, shows, dining, store, places, etc that should not be missed.

I am also taking a day to visit Berkeley, so any recommendations for that is also welcome (not limited to gay-related).

Thanks!

Guava

uh...how about Castro for the starter? No, I don't mean the ex-Cuban leader.

ebayj

Hi italdesign - It really depends on your age, interests and time available. What is kind of wonderful about living here (I've been here 20 years) is that there is literally something for everyone, from a gay standpoint. The Castro is a good historical reference point and worth a walkthrough, but the exciting and interesting areas of the city these days (in my view) are now Hayes Valley and The Embarcadero. Absolute musts for a first time visitor in my mind are:

1. Golden Gate Bridge
2. The new Ferry Building and a walk along the bay looking toward the Bay Bridge
3. Ride a cable car
4. Alcatraz (book early - tickets are sold out months in advance)
5. Castro crawl on a weekend night
6. A really nice dinner at any of our hundreds of exceptional eateries (SF is one of the world's great food cities)
7. The view from Twin Peaks on a clear day
8. Union Square for people watching and lounging outdoors with coffee and a paper
9. The Transamerica Pyramid, new Museum of Modern Art, and our gorgeous Beaux Arts city hall are among our more interesting buildings

Have a great visit.

peteropny

Well not gay recommendations but - The San Francicso forum ( http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=468 ) has good recommendations. We especially like the free (donation requested) walking tours sponsored by the Public Library ( http://www.sfcityguides.org/ ) - they have a Castro walking tour on Sundays.

San Francisco is my favorite city in the country.

trvlr70

I'm a former SF resident but never warmed up to the local gay community, which I found overwhelmingly militant, political and freakish. The only time I'd even venture to the Castro is when out of town visitors demanded it.

But the wonderful thing about the city is that it is so accepting of gays. You don't need to go to exclusively gay establishments to feel accepted, hold hands, show affection to your boyfriend, pick up new boyfriends, etc..

sammyglobal

Is that where the Blue Oyster is located?

wiredboy10003

I grew up there and after living away for almost 25 years I always love visiting there. San Francisco has always been a place for freaks and people who want to make a big change in their lives. There's a general attitude of live and let live because lots SF dwellers have consciously chosen to be there and 'get it'. Have a great time!

coolbeans202

If you take BART to Berkeley for the day I'd recommend walking up to Telegraph Ave. and the UC Berkeley campus. Lots of neat shops and stuff along there. If you drive over, I'd do the above and also check out the Berkeley Marina if the weather is nice. You can get to the Marina by bus as well but I'm not sure it's that special.

discovery1996

Moby Dicks and Badlands in the Castro - fun bars. Fun guys - casual hang out. Dinner at Catch is always good (on market by castro). there is also a great little pub at church and market but I cant remember the name of it.

I have no idea where to go if you're a circuit queen. :-)

adampenrith

I visited years ago and the special memories I have of my trip are:

breakfast on castro - just being part of the community going about its day to day activities

riding the ferry at sunset from tiburon to san fran and back - great sunset of the golden gate bridge

driving to stinson beach

going to the movies on a saturday night - castro theatre on castro st, yes they were showing a tom of finland docu - and the line up was full of hot leather men

coit tower

enjoy

Adam

turtlemichael

Excuse the slight OT diversion but there is interesting history here. The original tours "Cruisin' The Castro" were started by a inspiring woman, Trevor Hailey, nearly 20 years ago. She was an institution in the gay and lesbian travel industry in San Francisco. She died last year and there is an obituary here.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...AGG3QGDKC1.DTL

Morland

Thanks for the link. We did the Cruisin the Castro tour with Trevor in the mid 90s and it was a wonderful introduction to the gay life of the City and brought home to us that SF is different, the Castro isn't just a row of bars, it's a community with a huge history.

We still love SF - our favourite city in the US - and will be back there in a couple of months. Can't wait...

saint82

I used to live in San Francisco. You will have a great time. It is truly a wonderful city with lots to offer. However, I do have to somewhat agree that the local gay community can be overwhelmingly militant, political and freakish.

The really sad part of this was that they tore apart their own. They could not have an aids fund raising event without a thousand questions and people who second guessed every single descision and decoration to death. It was depressing to pick up their newspaper. I always thought that it must take an awful lot of nerve to do somethng good out there. Many of those political types have absolutely no sense of humor and take themselves w-a-y too seriously.

wiredboy10003

The ride from the Ferry Building at the foot of Market St. to Sausalito is fun and quick. It's an opportunity to be on the water and get a great view of the entire bay. Then wander around in Sausalito, have a bite, and take the ferry back. You could probably do it in a few hours. It's really magical at sunset.

Tiburon is great too, but I think there might be less to do once you're there.

WanderingGent

The last statement might be true, but it's not endemic only to the gay community. San Francisco by default is militant, political, and freakish, and knowing this many people come here to join the freak show. Pockets of such behavior exist in every community here, not just ours.