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TOP 10 BARGAIN THINGS TO DO IN SAN FRANCISCOBy David SchwoeglerThere’s no difficulty in finding a great meal in most cities for $100. The challenge is to find one for $10.A hallmark that designates San Francisco as a great visitors’ city is the abundance of good food and outstanding attractions “on the cheap.” Here are some suggested itineraries that are bound to please without stressing your purse strings. Start with a Muni Passport or City Pass and be relieved of car rental costs, parking fees, in-and-out charges, parking meters, the dreaded Tow-Away zones, and some of the highest cab fares in the nation. A one-day Passport with unlimited rides on all city busses, street cars, light rail and cable cars costs only $1 more than a single round-trip cable car ride. Visit www.sfmuni.com . 1. Take the Alcatraz Tour; it’s simply the best. Suitable for all ages, it’s a boat ride, a history lesson, a brisk walk and striking vistas. Special tours after dark too. The park is free. Pay only for the ferry ride from Fisherman’s Wharf. Reserve at http://www.alcatrazcruises.com. 2. See “Beach Blanket Babylon” at Club Fuggazi in North Beach. Children admitted to Sunday matinees. Unlike Broadway shows, good seat can be had under $40. Discounted seats frequently available at www.tixbayarea.org. Before or after the show, enjoy a family-style Italian dinner at Capp’s Corner next door. 3. Stroll historic Fort Point and the San Francisco anchorage of the Golden Gate Bridge, site of many movies and television shoots. Both venues are free, including parking. 4. Stroll Sutro Heights around the Cliff House, then watch sea lions frolic at sunset from its bar—all for the cost of a libation. Take the 38 Geary bus. 5. After 5 PM, enjoy the unparalleled vistas when the private Bankers’ Club goes public atop the Bank of America Building, highest in the city. Sip a drink, but leave with your bankroll intact before dinner. 6. Chinatown’s Grant Avenue only gets you hip-deep in T-shirt shops. Let your taste buds do the walking one block west on Stockton Street, the Asian gourmet ghetto. Visit bakeries, walk-up dim sum shops and markets selling live fish, fowl, mollusks and turtles. 7. Graze North Beach bakeries, delis and markets along Columbus Avenue, then feast on a focaccia sandwich or pizza at Mario’s Bohemian Cigar Store across from Washington Square. Sorry, no cigars. 8. Hyde Street’s the place to visit the free Maritime Museum exhibits, then refresh at the birthplace of Irish coffee, next to the cable car turntable, at the Buena Vista Café. Sit at a round table and strike up acquaintances with other visitors. 9. Check out the grand hotels atop Nob Hill where the California St. cable car peaks the summit. Roam the renovated Fairmont lobby and the interior of Grace Cathedral, both free. Feast downstairs at the Fairmont’s funky “Tonga Room and Hurricane Bar” where their “best bet” Happy Hour serves a complete Polynesian buffet for $7, with purchase of a beverage. 10. At $5 one way, San Francisco cable car fares can be steeper than its hills. But the mother of all cable car attractions awaits inside the free Cable Car Museum. See mammoth 510 Volt DC motors pull monster cables beneath the streets of San Francisco. More than a century of artifacts and rolling stock are on display at 1201 Mason, near Washington. ##### A lifetime SF-Bay Area resident, travel writer David Schwoegler has been a weekly contributor to the San Francisco Chronicle’s “Thursday Travel” section. |
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