Top 10 FREE Things To-Do in SF.
Each adventure will guide you to places many locals don't know about.
Grab this take-along eBook with tips and tricks from local resident, photographer and writer, Randy Schroeder, AKA RandySFO. Randy loves cutting expenses without cutting back on the fun. 52 pages of fun filled adventures and all are FREE.
eBook delivered to your mail box for printing in full color or black and white. It's filled with over 75 beautiful photos of San Francisco.
Bonus: Get access to over 450 beautiful photographs by the author.
CLICK HERE
Bike across the
Golden Gate Bridge
A step-by-step guide!
RandySFO
Find anything fun?
If you found something worthwhile on my site, maybe you'd like to make a small donation ... or a large one, if you prefer? If you need some personalized help, just go to "Contact" and ask. I'll do what I can to help you out. Thank you!
RandySFO
Well, it’s true! Lombard Street is NOT the most crooked street in San Francisco, The MOST crooked street in the city is Vermont Street, near 20th, which is in the Potrero Hill area. If you’re a visitor, it may not be worth the trip from downtown (about three miles or so), unless you have a real desire to go home and be a know-it-all with your friends, which could be worth it. You can take a bus there, which brings you within steps of the start of it, or if you have a rental car (Lordy, I hope you don’t … our public transportation is so great, you won’t need it and you’ll be spending most of your time finding a place to park it, and paying through the nose to do it too … I love the look on tourists’ faces as they put their first quarter into a parking meter and receive only seven minutes instead of an hour or more, like “back home”).
Since there was no way to get one good still shot of the whole street, I drove down while taking a little video. It’s not a very good quality, but I had to hold the camera and drive at the same time. You’ll get the idea anyway. Fun, huh?
Peet’s Coffee makes some of the best espresso ever … except everywhere in Italy, but that’s not always an option, right? Starbucks is still an option for me, but Peet’s is consistently better (especially that thick rich foamed milk).
FYI, originally, Starbucks and Peet’s were one company and specialized in selling only beans. One partner thought it might be good to open coffee shops, the other one said it would never work. They split and the rest is history. Now they both have stores. I have stock in both companies and neither are great investments, but it’s fun to think I’m a part owner in both companies. I think they both do an amazing job of delivering great coffee, in spite of people who hate chains. BUT, when you’re in the mood for a good coffee, and I’m not anxious to take a chance on a mom ‘n pop shop, unless I’m traveling and there’s no other alternatie.
That said, Peet’s coffee is my favorite. The people often seem to be more serious about what they do, too. One of my favorite locations is on the corner of 3rd and Mission. They have a great team. Ask for Geo or Miguel. They are quite simply, the best! Tell them Randy said HI!
Geo, the one on the left told me about the most crooked street in San Francisco, which is *not* Lombard. I went and he’s right; so I posted it here (search on it above, right). Thanks Geo!
Everyone goes to Coit Tower in the daytime, but try a walk up, if you have the energy, during the after-hours. You can start at the bottom, near Levi Plaza, just North of Il Fornaio Restaurant. Find the cul-de-sac across the street to the North and you’ll see a steep bank and a rise of stairs going up the hillside. Climb the seemingly never-ending stairway to the top. You’ll pass by some homes that have no roadway access, only the stairs you’re using. While you’re walking, think of how the furniture in those homes got there.
“The Parrots of Telegraph Hill” is a documentary movie about a man who fed and loved a flock of wild parrots that hung out there too. After going back down, you can treat yourself to a well-deserved drink or dessert at Il Fornaio.
If you don’t want to walk up, you can drive, take a cab, or even a city bus. There are some nice views from up there too.
And before you get to the top, as you come out on Montgomery Street, look to the right and you’ll see a beautiful art deco building that was used in the movie “Dark Passage” starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. I have friends who own a condo there, and it’s incredible.
