San Francisco Trip in April

You have a ton of great ideas! A nice side/day trip just over the bridge - Sausalito beach town for lunch and a walk through Muir Wood Forrest.

You must go down to the Pier 39 and walk down there and take the boat out. If you like seafood this is the place to eat as well. I am from there and a travel agent. If you can try to go to Napa and view the wineries.

All of what they said. I would recommend The Stinking Rose as a place to eat. Almost everything there has garlic in it - even the ice cream. The bread is great. Scoma's is good - definately a tourist spot. The one thing I will add is make reservations - especially to Alcatraz. Those tours are booked days in advance. And bring a coat. It will be really cold in April, especially in the evening. If you and your husband drink, the pubs between Fisherman's Wharf and Ghiradelli Square have great homemade brews and ciders. We tried a new one out at several different stops. We took a ricksaw (bike taxi) just down from Fisherman's Wharf to Ghiradelli Square (the trolley starts here). That was fun and unique.

If you go to North Beach and want to eat Italian food, try Trattoria Pinocchios!
http://www.trattoriapinocchio.com/
A lot of the restaurants around there are very touristy, but this is a wonderful and authentic--and reasonable--Sicilian restaurant. My husband and I love it!

I think Sandy pretty much summed it up!! I would recommend Alcatraz as a must see!! I have been there 5 times now and it still amazes me! Go online and purchase your tickets in advance (like now!). DO NOT wait till you get there. They sell out fast!! As for Napa... another must see. We usually rent a limo or a car with driver and spend the whole day. There are over 800 wineries out there but our favorites are Chimney Rock (no reservations needed), Quintesa (need reservations and they give a tour of the vinyard, cellar & wine making process) and Viadare (need reservations and the view is breathtaking!!). Stop at Dean and Daluca, pick up some lunch and have a picnic. Now for a Saturday night out I would suggest eating at the Stinkin Rose (gotta LOVE garlic for this place) then head over to Beach Blanket Babylon (www.beachblanketbabylon.com)What a show! Buy tickets in advance and try to sit in front of the stage. HAVE FUN!!!!!!!

Absolutely! I am from California and there are tons of things to do/see/places to eat. What part are you going to?

I'm from Cali and you must make your way to Napa Valley wineries and eat at the culinary school. It's awesom and only about 30 min from the city. pier 39 , fishermans warf and china town are all must dos in the city. And oh...TAKE LOTS OF MONEY you won't be in Texas anymore. In SF..more money more fun!!!

I've been there once and loved the tour of Alcatraz! Also, the Fisherman's Wharf and all the seals was awesome. Don't forget to eat some Ghiradelli Square chocolates right there on the wharf. The food there is amazing..hopefully you like seafood. Ride a cable car....too cool! Enjoy!!!

I lived in SF for 4 years! My favorite city;)
Where are you staying? I lived in the Marina, the restaurants there are GREAT! Some of my Favorites are... Rose's Cafe for Breakfast, Parma( on stiener) best Italian place, amazing and tiny.Go walk along Union st, Chestnut, Fillmore area. There are Tons of yummy places and cute shops.

I like Sonoma for Wine."A Girl and a Fig", is a wonderful restaurant there.
I know there is some kind of Zoo or farm with animals in Napa or Sonoma, not sure where exactly.

Union Square has pretty much every store you can imagine, Trolly rides can be taken there too.
Feel free to email me and questions about what you are looking for.

My favorite thing to see in SF was Alcatraz. A must see! Scomas was good. There was an awesome place that is famous for their sourdough bread on Fisherman's Wharf. I can't remember the name of it, but it started with S. The bread is amazing!

Pack lots of layers since it was freezing when we were there a couple years ago. We were there in May!

Depends on where you stay, tons of great restaurants, but for a great afternoon, the best is taking a cable car to Fisherman's Warf & eating clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. Give yourself a few hours to walk through China Town & eat there, as well. Have fun!!

We just went a few months ago....it was great.....you need to walk the golden gate bridge,Lombard st(the twisty road),Alcatraz tour (awesome)the 6pm tour..night time is great out there you can see the sun set,Muir Woods is a great walk of all the tall trees. You have to eat at In N Out Burger,Roccos,go thru china town,walk around the Piers,fishermans warf,great shopping,Scomas is a great place for dinner if you like seafood,comes fresh from the bay, just driving around all the steep roads is great.....didnt get to ride the trolly..always packed...hope you have a great time...i know we did.....soooo much to do there...make sure and get a good pair of walking shoes.......

kim

Visiting wineries in Napa Valley is a must.....great adventure. We loved a winery called V Sattui (sp). There was a market like Eatzi's there. We got wine, cheeses, deli items and had a picnic on the grounds. Wonderful experience.

Of course Golden Gate bridge, Chinatown, fisherman's Wharf area. We loved our visit there!

Have fun!!

Kathryn-
There are sooooooo many amazing things to do in SF. I wrote this on a friend's Facebook page back in October, but it's pretty inclusive. I used to live there and take every opportunity to visit.

Cable cars, Alcatraz, ferry to Sausalito or tiburon, hot fudge sundaes at ghiradelli, union square, china town, boudin bakery at the wharf for sourdough and clam chowder, ferry building for gourmet delights- there's a whole shop about bacon, Clift house at the beach, hear the organ at at marys cathedral on geary street on Sunday, paddle boats at golden gate park, walk through golden gate park, sf zoo,ask your hotel about the coffee shop in north beach where they sing opera, beach blanket Babylon- you've never seen anything quite like it, dim sum on either California or clement streets, walk the golden gate bridge, palace of fine arts, exploritorium- fun with kids, ice skating at yerba Buena(or it might be the moscone center), movies at the metreon, museum of modern art, ferry to angel island for a hike and picnic, Hunan food at the great Hunan on sansome near broadway- have dianas special (like spicy Chinese sloppy joe) and henrys green beans, brand new Steinhart Aquarium in Golden Gate park-reserve spot in advance.
That's all I can think of for now. Whatever you do, have fun!
S.

I loved San Fran. We always ate Mexican food at place downtown near the convention center call Chevy's (was fabulous) If you have never been check and see if there is a Grey Line tour and take that so you get the overall flavor of the city. Then go back to the place you liked. The coast is a must. Be sure to get a car so you can drive down the coast. The weather in SF can be something awful some times so going down coast is fun.
Have a great time.

You must go to Napa. Even if you don't like/drink wine. It is truly amazing. I would also check out Fisherman's Wharf, drive across the Golden Gate, visit Saulsalito and Muir Woods. It is beautiful!!

It depends on what you like to do. If you like slow walks along the beach try Crissy Fields. It's at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge and has plenty of parking. There are loads of good restaurants off of Columbus street. There is the Walt Disney World Museum down by Crissy Fields if you like that. The sea lions, if you don't mind the stink, although they did disappear for a while but might be back when you go.

Walking is an important part of SF experience. If you aren't used to walking much take time before your trip to walk a few miles a day.

You could always do a boat trip, visit the ships off of pier 39, go to the zoo or walk around Golden Gate park.

I don't know if you're only going to San Francisco or to other places, but my daughter and I went about a year and a half ago and had a blast. If you're going as far as Disney Land, they have awesome deals on the Disney website. I got a really good package deal for 2 days at Universal Studios, 3 days at Disney Land, a day at the San Diego Zoo, and a day at Sea World San Diego for $250 for adults and $200 for kids. Sorry I can't help with plans for San Francisco.