From baseball to museums to a real life Treasure Island, South San Francisco offers a chance to explore without the crowds.
Feature Photo of SOMA District By Jason Barone on Unsplash
South San Francisco
So are you ready to discover just a few areas of South San Francisco, away from big crowds? We include Bayview, South Beach, Treasure Island, SOMA and Union Square. While they may not be the most popular with the tourists, they are certainly a significant part of the fabric of San Francisco. For us, sometimes a visit to places adored by locals can be a blessing.
The San Francisco Series Wrapped Up
We opened our San Francisco series with a great opener with the best of North Beach, the most popular area for tourists in How to Make The Most of a Day In San Francisco. We followed that up with a Western overview of the peninsula for those who love to get outside and explore in How To Get Outside When You Visit San Francisco. Our third post focused on incredibly unique and popular districts in San Francisco in Why You Need to Explore San Francisco and Its Fabulous Districts. You decide which neighborhood really holds YOUR interest and perhaps break up your itinerary into manageable pieces. With our previous three posts and this post, you’ll be ahead of the game before you even arrive!
San Francisco Weather & Getting Around
Even during the summer, the weather in San Francisco can be chilly. Be sure to check out our first San Francisco post with a few tips and general information. We listed why the weather changes so quickly and how to dress so you won’t be caught off guard!
In addition, getting around San Francisco is a snap! While you might be tempted to rent a car in most vacation destinations, it’s really not the best option here in San Francisco. Between the rail system, buses, cable cars, and of course Uber – getting around should be easy and relatively inexpensive, at least in comparison to a rental.
Link to our first post here for all the weather and transportation tips.
**Disclaimer**
The businesses and events highlighted are in no way a “Best Of…” list. They are simply places and activities our Savvy Cali Girl contributors have deemed worthy of a shout out. If you want us to tell our readers about your favorite place, tag us with #scgplacestogo and we’ll catch you next time we come through town!
San Francisco has so much to offer! The Travel Guide provided digitally by San Francisco’s Travel Association is 88 pages of digital information and will likely help you find whatever we did not detail in this blog post. Link to sftravel.com digital travel guide here.
If you’d like some details on getting around San Francisco, check our first blog post.
Attractions In & Around South San Francisco
Union Square: A Shopper’s Dream
First up, with just over 2 and a half acres, lies Union Square. Technically a single block, it’s actually a concentrated area of name brand shopping with an open park at its center.
Union Square is a historic landmark, named for rallies held here for the Union Army during the Civil War. It is also home to one of several visitors centers for San Francisco and cable cars also serve the plaza. The Plaza was once quite neglected but has since been restored.
For a broader view, Just west of Union Square lies the Theatre District. North lies the French Quarter with Parisian style dining cafes. This area even celebrates Bastille Day every year! East there are super-exclusive boutiques and south lies even more shopping.
Sears Fine Food
www.searsfinefood.com
On the traditional side, Sear Fine Food opened in 1938. As any landmark would be, it is quite famous. Here, the mini Swedish pancakes with whipped butter and lingonberry jam are step back in time . Of course the menu is far more extensive now and the old-time atmosphere is absolutely charming.
Learn a little more with their YouTube video before you head to Powell Street off Union Square.
South Beach …The Best Seat In The House In South San Francisco
Home to the San Francisco Giants
There is nothing quite more American than baseball! The standout stadium of Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants is truly a seat with a view! Whether you’re here for a day game with a bay view or you’re lucky enough to catch a sunset at the park, you won’t be disappointed.
While there are any number of features that makes this stadium fun and unique including the classic Coca Cola bottle and the glove, the brick wall in right field (complete with a Splash Hits List) and more the proximity to the water is plain amazing.
So if you love a high scoring game, just know that you’ve got to earn those runs in this stadium. It’s known for being pitcher friendly so don’t expect a homerun derby! If a hitter can manage to knock one into Triples Alley (right field for those of us not in the know) where the corner is deep and notorious for bad bounces then they may be rewarded with a triple.
SOMA
SOMA, South of Market
Moving on to SOMA, the nickname for the area just south of Market Street. It’s really just part of Yerba Buena and home to some of the bigger tech companies, the Moscone Conference Center, museums and restaurants. For all you travelers and bloggers out there, Pinterest is located in SOMA!
Discover world class museums like the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art opened in 1995, the Children’s Creativity Museum, the California Historical Society and many more.
Furthermore, the expansive University of California San Francisco (UCSF) is located in this area. The past decade, with massive high rise buildings being built in this neighborhood, San Francisco’s skyline is changing dramatically.
Treasure Island, Yerba Buena Island
A Unique Part of South San Francisco
Treasure Island, Yerba Buena Island
Believe it or not there is a real-live Treasure Island in California, specifically San Francisco. It’s actually an artificial island in San Francisco Bay originally constructed in 1937 for the Golden Gate International Exposition. The United States Navy operated the island until the 1990s.
In particular, these iconic are the views of downtown San Francisco which are simply magnificent. From Oakland Bay Bridge to the entire waterfront of North Beach is visible in one single panoramic shot. In fact, if you’v seen any photos of San Francisco with Oakland Bay Bridge on the left, the photographer was likely perched somewhere along Treasure Island.
This small but mighty plot of land is developing. Urban wineries are making a comeback here on Treasure Island by offering tasing rooms. Treasure Island hosts the San Francisco International Dragon Boat Festival every year.
The Treasure Island Flea bursts with flea market finds the last weekend each month with everything from vintage vendors to food, local artists and more. By the way, your four-legged buddy is welcome here!
Mersea
Mersea is a container-style restaurant and bar located on the Great Lawn of Yerba Buena. It seems fitting that Treasure Island with its long naval history has a restaurant built out of shipping containers with a gorgeous view of the bay!
It’s a place to break away from the city and relax, eat great food and enjoy the view.
Fun Fact! Mersea means “Island Oasis” in Old English.
Bayview
Hunter’s Point
To be sure, Bayview is not a typical tourist destination for visitors to San Francisco. Why? It’s really more of a locals type of neighborhood with creative businesses, places to eat or drink and just a handful of historic landmarks.
Additionally, there are a handful of historic landmarks in this area: Bayview Opera House(1888), Quinn House(1875), Albion Brewery (1870), Albion Ale And Porter Brewing Company (1870).
“The Point” is the artists colony in Hunter’s Point Shipyard and one of the more well known points of interest.
Attend events or take classes at Public Glass, a nonprofit glass art studio and school in Bayview. They also teamed up to sponsor a cool map of Bayview.
Grab A Bite at the Old Calm House!
If you’re up for historical ambience, the Old Clam House was established in 1861 and actually survived the 1906 earthquake and subsequent fires. That simple fact makes this restaurant the oldest in the city! Beyond the old-school ambiance are the Manila clams farm raised from Puget Sound and the Washington Coast.
Old Skool Cafe
Another experience is the Old Skool Cafe is both a youth program and a great jazz-themed supper club experience. They employ and train youth as hosts, servers, chefs and even entertainers! You can check out their website to make reservations, peruse the menu or even watch this Vimeo video for even more details about the program itself!
Radio Africa & Kitchen
In the same vein, this unique restaurant is a relatively new addition to South San Francisco. Radio Africa & Kitchen features a variety of cuisines from African countries like Algeria, Egypt, and the chef’s origins of Ethiopia. Other Mediterranean dishes are also included.
Just be sure to check the location hours as they regularly host events and menus change periodically.
South San Francisco, Getting Outside
Grab Your Walking Shoes!
www.park.ca.gov
Lastly, if you want to enjoy the bay with fewer people and are hoping for a camp site or picnic spot, Candlestick Point State Recreation Area should tick that box. The park offers fishing, camping, hiking trails, picnic areas. Just be sure to make reservations and call about specific hours and rules before you go or visit their website. Phone 1-800-444-7275 Reservations Link
Fun Fact! Candlestick Point is named after the burning of ships in the 1800’s. The burning masts on the bay resembled candle sticks.
Heron’s Head Park and Bayview Park are also great options in the area.
I have heard so many good things about San Francisco I would love to visit one day especially after reading your post!
Thank you! We love the area too. We did four posts that were an accumulation of many visits over the years.