Probably no two cities just 400 miles apart could be more different than Los Angeles and San Francisco which also explains the fact that Southern Californians are at the top of the list in number of visitors to the Bay City.
San Francisco reigns as the U. S. city of choice for visitors worldwide and among domestic visitors after Southern Californians, New Yorkers as well as folk from Washington D.C. and Baltimore lead the way with Dallas and Chicago close behind. Among foreign visitors Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom lead the way.
All of which created almost three and one-half million visitors last year worth something over $5 billion in revenue. Considering its physical location and beauty as well as its colorful history and current attractions, none of this comes as any great surprise.
When its comes to cultural diversity you can say that San Francisco practically invented it. Who hasn't heard of San Francisco's China Town or the Italian influence of North Beach and Fisherman's Wharf. In more recent times add to this the Thai and Vietnamese sections of the city adjacent to Van Ness and the Latin dominance of the Mission district.
As a tourist attraction Fisherman's Wharf ranks Number One with China Town a close second. But the old Presidio, now the Golden Gate National Recreation area had 18 million visitors last year while Alcatraz had over one million visitors. And those legendary Cable Cars, well almost nine million people rode one in a two-year span of 1994-95.
Perhaps no U.S. city blends the old and the new better than San Francisco. The new includes Sky Deck at Embarcadero One Tower, opened last September, which offers a panoramic view from 41 stories up. Open to the public, night or day, it offers one of the world's most famous urban views. We viewed it recently on a full moonlit night and can only describe it as dazzling.
A good public transportation system makes sight-seeing easy and inexpensive in San Francisco. And after sight-seeing dining plays a big role for locals and visitors alike. In fact with 3,300 restaurants, per capita it leads the country in dining establishments.
Our recent trip to San Francisco included some great dining including Maribels' atop Nob Hill across from the famed Union Club on California Street. For Dim Sum, which in San Francisco has a huge following, and not just for Orientals, we went to Yank Sing on Battery Street, the acknowledged leader in that wonderful Chinese cuisine that had its origins in the Chinese Emperor's Palace over a thousand years ago.
Another evening we dined, in the truest sense of the term, at One Market Street with a splendid view of the Ferry Building from tableside. No one goes to the Bay City without having at least one meal at Fisherman's Wharf.
Here we had lunch at A. Sabella's Restaurant on Taylor Street, a restaurant now being operated by the fourth generation of the family that founded one of the first eating places on the Wharf. Chef is great granddson of the founder, Michael Sabella, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America.
To go with dining San Francisco offers lodging of every kind from classic hotels like the Fairmont, St. Francis and Sheraton Palace as well as newer hotels like the Hyatt and Hilton.
What we enjoyed was the trend in recent years to smaller classic hostelries with themes and decors to match the history of the City. We stayed at just such a hotel, The Majestic, situated a bit away from downtown at Sutter and Gough and offering the elegance of an historic mansion with a Victorian decor to match. Our room was complete with fireplace and canopied bed. With public transportation we were downtown in 15 minutes.
We left our car in the garage most of the time. Parking is one of the City's problems but then San Francisco isn't called "the world's most walkable city" for nothing. Besides after all that dining, walking is almost a necessity.
With our usual good timing we were there during the Chinese New Year celebration of the "Year of the Ox". And at Union Square we had an excellent view of the three hour Parade marking the event. Held annually it is the largest Chinese New Year's parade held outside of Asia. The Parade started at the foot of Market Street and then wheeled to Grant Avenue and through China Town. It was viewed by thousands besides being covered live by several TV stations.
Don't leave San Francisco without cruising the Bay. We did this on one of Pacific Marine Yachts dining cruises. The company has four yachts including the 150 foot 700 passenger flagship, San Francisco Spirit. Our midday cruise was on the Golden Sunset and as we cruised to Angel Island and Tiburon we dined elegantly thanks to master Chef Henry Vortriede. All four Pacific Marine yachts have special designed galleys on board ensuring freshly prepared premium cuisine on every cruise. Its white linen service by a specially trained staff is a real treat.
We already mentioned the newly opened Sky Deck but that is only one of some new attractions. A Barbary Coast Trail has been created which traverses the City and allows visitors to learn about a very famous past that includes the Gold Rush years and the 1906 Earthquake. The trail runs from the Old Mint south of Market Street to Aquatic Park covering 3.8 miles and leads walkers past 50 historic sites, seven museums, historic neighborhoods and the City's three oldest squares.
Another new attraction is Underwater World located at Pier 39 on the City's famed Embarcadero. Here visitors move along a transparent, closed loop tunnel with many kinds of marine life swimming in a 707,000 gallon tank. Visitors view live sharks, stingrays and starfish as well as many other species.
In another of this series on San Francisco Vittles will explore in detail some dining experiences, places to go and things to do.
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