the best San Francisco City Walk ever

Hope, our San Francisco city guide (c) 2019 by David Ourisman

I have often recommended the free walks offered by San Francisco City Guides. Both interesting and informative, taking one of these walks is a great way to learn about the history, culture, and contemporary life of San Francisco. The walks are sponsored by the SF Public Library and supported in part by hotel taxes and contributions from walkers. If you're planning to be in town, definitely check out the schedule and take advantage of this great resource available to visitors and residents alike.

Our walk this morning was the best that I've ever taken. The Omni Hotel Walk is named somewhat deceptively. Being one of the major sponsors of City Guides, the hotel has arranged for this walk offered primarily (but not exclusively) to their guests every Saturday morning at 10 a.m.

While the regular Chinatown Walk attracts a large crowd, our Omni walk had but four participants — two hotel guests from Chicago, Claire, and myself. Along with Hope, we walked the back alleys of Chinatown, away from the touristy storefronts on Grant Avenue. Hope is a gifted tour guide and shared stories of the waves of Chinese immigration to San Francisco, beginning with the Gold Rush. We saw Chinese markets selling spices, seafood, and vegetables. We visited a Temple, saw a fortune cookie factory, and visited an alley that used to be an opium den. As a special treat, we ended up on an alley with a Chinese festival going on.

Hope left us with a list of recommended Chinatown restaurants — not the tourist traps on Grant Avenue but truly authentic restaurants mostly filled with Chinese Americans. We had lunch at one of her choices — Boiling Shrimp Seafood at 150 Waverly Place. The restaurant was packed. We sat at a large round table with a family of Chinese Americans from San Francisco, shared our food with one another, and communicated as best we could with Google translate. It was a great lunch and a great cultural experience ... all just 30 minutes from home!

Email me for Hope's list of restaurants.

copyright (c) 2019 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

a weekend in San Francisco

the Shell Building, one of the sites on the City Walks tour of the steel-framed buildings of San Francisco

I spent an enjoyable two evenings at the Four Seasons San Francisco this past weekend. Not an exotic foreign destination for me, we parked at the North Berkeley BART station and took BART right to the Powell station in just 30 minutes. We were quickly up the escalator to Market Street and into the front door of the Four Seasons without even crossing the street. Here are some of the places and things that we enjoyed this weekend in the city:

Union Square. You can walk here in a couple of minutes and find yourself in the heart of the shopping district. Macy's, Nieman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue are right on the square, with Bloomingdales and Nordstrom just a block away. There was an art show going on in the square, and I especially apprecated the fine art photography of Mario Duse.

Chinatown. Kitchy but fun. Walk through the twin dragons guarding the entrance to Chinatown and see shops with all kinds of cheap souvenirs and electronics, as well Chinese dim sum restaurants. And while we're on the subject of eating...

Eating, eating, and more eating. San Francisco is a food capital of the world, and we enjoyed two superb dinners. Friday night, we dined at Quince — very expensive but exceptional cuisine. Saturday night, we had dinner at Café Claude, a small French bistro with authentic food featuring live jazz on weekends.

jellyfish in the aquarium at the Academy of Sciences

Academy of Sciences. Located in Golden Gate Park, we went down into the Powell BART station and took the Muni (N train) — to Judah and 19th Ave. A quick walk into the park, and we were at the Academy of Sciences. We especially enjoyed the Planetarium, Rain Forest, and the Aquarium.

City Walks. The San Francisco Public Library offers daily city walks, guided walking tours that are quite interesting and informative. We enjoyed a two-hour walk that explored the history of steel-framed skyscrapers in San Francisco, including the Shell Building pictured at the top of this article.


Contact me for more information about booking Four Seasons San Francisco, and how to receive the Four Seasons Preferred Partner amenities which bring compelling value to Four Seasons's brand of luxury. FSPP clients receive a Full American Breakfast daily, a $100 food and beverage credit, as well an upgrade if available upon checkin.


Four Seasons San Francisco (search here on Google)

copyright (c) 2013 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.