In Two Days

On your second day, get familiar with other famous landmarks around the city. Start with breakfast, a science lesson, and a pleasant bayside stroll in the Marina District. Next, cross the famed Golden Gate Bridge on foot; then take a bus to Golden Gate Park. After a stroll through the city's beloved park, it's time for lunch and power shopping on Haight Street, followed by dinner and cocktails back in the Marina District. Smashing. Start: Bus no. 22, 28, 30, 30X, 43, 76, or 82X.

1. Good Morning Marina District

The area that became famous for its scenes of destruction after the 1989 earthquake has long been one of the most picturesque and coveted patches of local real estate. Here, along the northern edge of the city, multimillion-dollar homes back up to the bayfront Marina, where flotillas of sailboats and the mighty Golden Gate Bridge make for a magnificent backdrop on a morning stroll.

Start the day with a good cup of coffee on Chestnut Street; then walk to the Palace of Fine Arts, built for the Panama Pacific Exhibition of 1915 and home to the Exploratorium. Spend a few hours on sensory overload at the "best science museum in the world" (kids love this place) and then walk over to Crissy Field, where restored wetlands and a beachfront path lead to historic Fort Point and to the southern underside end of the Golden Gate Bridge.

2. The Grove

If you can't jump-start your brain properly without a good cup of coffee, then begin your day at the Grove (2250 Chestnut St.; tel. 415/474-4843), located in the Marina District -- it's as cozy as an old leather couch.

3. The Golden Gate Bridge 

It's one of those things you have to do at least once in you life -- walk across the fabled Golden Gate Bridge, the most photographed man-made structure in the world. As you would expect, the views along the span are spectacular and the wind a wee bit chilly, so bring a jacket. It takes at least an hour to walk northward to the vista point and back. When you return to the southern end, board either Muni bus no. 28 or 29 (be sure to ask the driver if the bus is headed toward Golden Gate Park).

4. Golden Gate Park 

Stretching from the middle of the city to the Pacific Ocean and comprising 1,017 acres, Golden Gate Park is one of the city's greatest attributes. Since its development in the late 1880s, it has provided San Franciscans with respite from urban life -- offering dozens of well-tended gardens, museums, a buffalo paddock, a Victorian greenhouse, and great grassy expanses prime for picnicking, lounging, or tossing a Frisbee.

Have the bus driver drop you off near John F. Kennedy Drive. Walking eastward on JFK Drive, you'll pass three of the park's most popular attractions: Stow Lake, the de Young Museum, and the wonderful Conservatory of Flowers (a must-visit).

5. Cha Cha Cha

By now you're probably starving, so walk out of the park and into the Haight to Cha Cha Cha (1801 Haight St.; tel. 415/386-7670), one of my favorite restaurants in the city. Order plenty of dishes from the tapas-style menu and dine family style. Oh, and don't forget a pitcher of sangria -- you've earned it.

6. Exploring the Haight-Ashbury District 

Ah, the Haight. Birthplace of the Summer of Love and Flower Power, shrine to the Grateful Dead, and the place where America's nonconformists still congregate over beers, bongos, and buds. Spend at least an hour strolling up Haight Street, browsing the cornucopia of used-clothes stores, leather shops, head shops, and poster stores. There are some great bargains to be found here, especially for vintage clothing. When you get to the intersection of Haight and Masonic streets, catch the Muni no. 43 bus heading north, which will take you through the Presidio and back to the Marina District.

7. Dinner & Drinks

You've had a full day, my friend, so rest your weary bones at the back patio at Isa (3324 Steiner St.; tel. 415/567-9588), a fantastic and surprisingly affordable French restaurant in the Marina. If there's still gas in your tank after dinner, walk over to the Balboa Café (3199 Fillmore St.; tel. 415/921-3944) and practice your pickup lines among the young and restless who practically live here.