-Get high and go up to Twin Peaks anytime of day or night and check out the amazing view

-Go see a band at the Fillmore one of the greatest venues ever and have a look at the gallery upstairs of all the band posters and the photos in the lobby and have your mind blown

-Blow your knees out walking up and down ridiulous hills

-The Piers are pretty shitty and a tourist trap but theres a colony of seals in there that is pretty sweet, and it's close to Alcatraz which is kinda fun

put some flowers in your hair or somesuch...

good thread, i'll be there in 4 weeks. not really any bnads playing that i know of or want to see when i'm there.

i'm thinking a nice game of golf overlooking the bay could be in order.

stuff i will be doing:

hiring a bike and riding across the bridge

that's about it...so far.

(I've already got Amoeba Records on my list, for what it's worth.)

It's worth spending a few hours. It's huge and there's a lot of stuff in clearance bins. I've only been to the one in Haight-Ashbury (the area's a dive) but the one at Berkley apparently has (had) some other record stores nearby.

-Blow your knees out walking up and down ridiulous hills

Getting to Coit tower will do this too, great views, but very very painful...

Hire a bike from Golden Gate park and ride to Golden Gate bridge through Presidio National Park

Go look at the houses which appear in the opening of Full House

hang around in Haight Ashbury too

go see ''the parties''

Reading this makes me want to go to San Francisco.

That is all.

i just got back and i can safely say that you should spend at least a day in the mission district and make sure you go check out what's at 826 valencia st! hmmm....head down to the wharf and play the vintage arcade games (make sure you take plenty of quarters)!

And if you want to go to Alcatraz make sure you book your tickets a day or so in advance....

and make sure you go check out what's at 826 valencia st! hmmm

Do you mean Ali Baba's or the pizza shop opposite?

if you have a chance to see the band Apache do it

nope, i'm referring to mcsweeneys pirate supply store.... not a fancy dress shop, but a shop where you go if you're an actual pirate in need of supplies - it's the front for a tutoring drop in centre!

also if yr a red house painters fan you could go visit lots of the places kozelek sings about on those first couple of albums!

nope, i'm referring to mcsweeneys pirate supply store....

Damn you, googlemaps.

yeah, i plan on going to grace cathedral park. i've been listening to that album all week.

Surprised no-one's yet mentioned City Lights.

Alcatraz is one of my fave San Fran things to do - and you'd need to book well in advance for that one. Also, book the earliest ferry you can - the first ferry is the quietest and you can also then get the 2nd ferry back so you don't tie up half a day.

pizza @ blondies

aquarius records is tops .... 1055 valencia street

make sure you eat a mission burrito. taqueria cancun is good at mission and 19th. there's also a place i like which is a bit more expensive and gourmet and valencia and 24th.

hemlock tavern in the tenderloin is decent for a beer and a band.

bum someone.
get bummed by someone.

$30 a night, looks good. Much appreciated griswold, reckon this place is a goer

Elements hostel in the Mission is great. Cheap and clean. I stayed there for a week in my own room.

i'll check that one out too. could even do 2 nights at each

There's a Dr Seuss museum in San Francisco!!

Heading there in Early June. What area is the best to stay at for a weekend?

I really wanna do Alcatraz but I'm only going for a couple of days. Is it really really good? Or are there better things to check out in a limited time frame?

Alcatraz was surprisingly good. If you do go, shell out a few extra bucks and get the audio tour.

I thought Alcatraz was worthy of my time. Most of the trips depart pretty early in the morning and are back by lunch. It's not gonna kill your day.

also worth doing is going to Mission Delores park with a 6 pack and watch the hipsterati in their natural habitat. People watching don't get any better!

After Alcatraz, I highly recommend just spending a bit of time walking around the Russian Hill / North Beach / Telegraph Hill areas. Great views over a lot of the CBD and some incredible architecture. One of my favourite memories of SF is just being in this area.

e.g.

I really wanna do Alcatraz but I'm only going for a couple of days. Is it really really good

Yeah it is good. Make sure you get the first boat out coz that shit gets PACKED yo

Oh cool, I thought it would be like an all day thing.
Really wish I was there for more than a couple of days. Also, Google maps is saying 6.5 hours to drive from LA, reckon that's fairly accurate?

I reckon that estimate would depend on the time of day and how far into each city you're driving to/from.

it's about 7 hours to LA by the inland freeway (the I-5) but not worth it if you're here on holidays and would actually like to see something interesting. would recommend adding the extra hours for the coastal route (PCH).

also, like blake says, it depends on where in LA you are headed to. wouldn't it be unusual for you to make it to city outskirts in good time, but sit in an hours of city traffic.

Oh yeah, if you're driving to see things, there's no point going inland. Highway 1 is where it's at.

I was wondering cos as badly as I want to go, I wonder if I'm better off just spending my time in LA rather than spending what limited time I have driving.
There's stuff to do in LA, right?

i'll be here in a week and a bit. early alcatraz + audio tour has already been flagged as a must by pals.

that pic is great blake, those houses. wow.

melon, how much time do you have exactly? there are plenty of things to do in LA - hire a car and you'll have even more options. what kind of things do you want to do? sight seeing, outdoors/hiking/cycling/beaching, museums, shops etc?

flying lotus

Just read through this thread and looks like I just miss a whole bunch of cool stuff like hardly strictly bluegrass...