L.A. person here, but I know a bit about S.F. You could have made it to the Golden Gate Bridge. There's a bus that goes from about Fisherman's Wharf (near Ghiradelli Square), that will take you through the Marina District past the Palace of Fine Arts (another site worth seeing). After that it's a bit of a walk to the Golden Gate Bridge. I don't feel taking Ubers are needed in S.F., unless one's interest is things remote. Defintely no need to travel to Pier 39/Fisherman's Wharf on a Uber. The street car runs from the Embarcadero all the way down past Fisherman's Wharf. Get on near the Ferry Building. It even curves up Market Street. S.F. has decent public transit. Buy and fill a Clipper Card and you're good to go. The Muni/Metro parallels BART underground on Market Street (it runs one level above), and is preferred for travel in S.F. BART is more regional (from the airport through S.F. and then points in the East Bay). MUNI does travel slow on most surface streets. Both BART and Caltrain will get you to San Jose. A popular ferry from the Ferry Building will get you to Sausalito. The Ferry Building itself is a popular shopping and tourist spot. I've done the Alcatraz tour once. Maybe worth it, but once you do it, I don't think it's something someone would do more than one or two times. I agree the downtown financial district is kind of dead. Since the pandemic people still work a lot from home when they used to go to the office. It's the same at the Salesforce Tower. You did do good for a one day trip, but there's plenty more to see, in S.F. and the surrounding areas, if you had more time. The city itself is very compact, especially when compared to London.
It's funny that things seemed so far apart, since SF has always seemed like a really tiny city to me. My favorite way to get around SF is by electric bike. There are many ebikes you can rent by the minute (which you don't have to worry about locking/getting stolen), or some you can rent by the day.
There's a saying that goes "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail". Some of my worst trips were a result of my own poor planning. If folks are reading the comments, I'd recommended a short walk from Pier 39 to the opposite end of Fisherman's Wharf where you could have caught a cable car ride to the second destination of Union Square for some good hilltop views. Even pre-pandemic the Financial District (seen in the Uber ride) and SOMA (where Salesforce Park are) are dead on the weekends because barely anyone lives there and all the office workers are sticking closer to their residential districts where people gather at their neighborhood parks and local commercial streets. On the corner of 5th St. & Mission where Lenny passed by, there is a Marriott hotel with a huge rooftop bar that provides some incredible views of the city. Post-pandemic there's a lot more businesses opening up/general in the more residential neighborhoods vs. the commercial neighborhoods. That's where you'll find San Franciscans on a Sunday.
We just moved out of SF, in fact from North Beach neighborhood and was 5 min walk from pier 39. SF is definitely a ghost town outside of a few neighborhoods and tourist areas. We dealt with grocery stores and other things closing constantly but it was still fun. It is still slowly coming back from the 2020 issues. It’s fun to visit on day trips but idk if I’ll move back.
The reason it seemed dead is because of uncontrolled crime and homeless drug addicts sleeping on the streets. This had made it unsafe and impossible for stores to say open due to rampant theft. Many of the downtown office buildings are also vacant. The city has declined due to the incompetent politicians that are elected into office. I hope it will one day return to the great city it once was.
I lived in SF between 2006 and 2013, and it was such a lively place to be. Now downtown s such a ghost town. It is unfortunately what bad local governance and politics can cause to such a great city.
Ummmmm... downtown was a ghost town on the weekends since the 40s, dude. Come on! You lived in SF but you don't know this? There's literally only office buildings there. Why would anyone just randomly hang out outside of their office building on a weekend?
L.A. person here, but I know a bit about S.F. You could have made it to the Golden Gate Bridge. There's a bus that goes from about Fisherman's Wharf (near Ghiradelli Square), that will take you through the Marina District past the Palace of Fine Arts (another site worth seeing). After that it's a bit of a walk to the Golden Gate Bridge.
I don't feel taking Ubers are needed in S.F., unless one's interest is things remote. Defintely no need to travel to Pier 39/Fisherman's Wharf on a Uber. The street car runs from the Embarcadero all the way down past Fisherman's Wharf. Get on near the Ferry Building. It even curves up Market Street.
S.F. has decent public transit. Buy and fill a Clipper Card and you're good to go. The Muni/Metro parallels BART underground on Market Street (it runs one level above), and is preferred for travel in S.F. BART is more regional (from the airport through S.F. and then points in the East Bay). MUNI does travel slow on most surface streets. Both BART and Caltrain will get you to San Jose. A popular ferry from the Ferry Building will get you to Sausalito. The Ferry Building itself is a popular shopping and tourist spot. I've done the Alcatraz tour once. Maybe worth it, but once you do it, I don't think it's something someone would do more than one or two times.
I agree the downtown financial district is kind of dead. Since the pandemic people still work a lot from home when they used to go to the office. It's the same at the Salesforce Tower.
You did do good for a one day trip, but there's plenty more to see, in S.F. and the surrounding areas, if you had more time. The city itself is very compact, especially when compared to London.
It's funny that things seemed so far apart, since SF has always seemed like a really tiny city to me. My favorite way to get around SF is by electric bike. There are many ebikes you can rent by the minute (which you don't have to worry about locking/getting stolen), or some you can rent by the day.
There's a saying that goes "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail". Some of my worst trips were a result of my own poor planning. If folks are reading the comments, I'd recommended a short walk from Pier 39 to the opposite end of Fisherman's Wharf where you could have caught a cable car ride to the second destination of Union Square for some good hilltop views. Even pre-pandemic the Financial District (seen in the Uber ride) and SOMA (where Salesforce Park are) are dead on the weekends because barely anyone lives there and all the office workers are sticking closer to their residential districts where people gather at their neighborhood parks and local commercial streets. On the corner of 5th St. & Mission where Lenny passed by, there is a Marriott hotel with a huge rooftop bar that provides some incredible views of the city.
Post-pandemic there's a lot more businesses opening up/general in the more residential neighborhoods vs. the commercial neighborhoods. That's where you'll find San Franciscans on a Sunday.
Great...👌👌👌
We just moved out of SF, in fact from North Beach neighborhood and was 5 min walk from pier 39. SF is definitely a ghost town outside of a few neighborhoods and tourist areas. We dealt with grocery stores and other things closing constantly but it was still fun.
It is still slowly coming back from the 2020 issues. It’s fun to visit on day trips but idk if I’ll move back.
I have a feeling you're probably going to be happy to get back to London/Amsterdam.
Hey Lenny could you please make a video comparing San francisco and living in the US with Amsterdam and life in the Netherlands. Cheers !
The reason it seemed dead is because of uncontrolled crime and homeless drug addicts sleeping on the streets. This had made it unsafe and impossible for stores to say open due to rampant theft. Many of the downtown office buildings are also vacant. The city has declined due to the incompetent politicians that are elected into office. I hope it will one day return to the great city it once was.
in which company/startup do you work ? It seems pretty lucrative seeing you exploring different cities
Yosemite is about 3 hours away, always worth a visit
I lived in SF between 2006 and 2013, and it was such a lively place to be. Now downtown s such a ghost town. It is unfortunately what bad local governance and politics can cause to such a great city.
Ummmmm... downtown was a ghost town on the weekends since the 40s, dude. Come on! You lived in SF but you don't know this? There's literally only office buildings there.
Why would anyone just randomly hang out outside of their office building on a weekend?
@@TohaBgood2100% correct. No one lives downtown. Thank Covid and WFH for the struggles downtown.
Tartine, B. Patisserie, Bi-rite Market & Flour + Water. 💟