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SAN FRANCISCO TOURISM GUIDE

San Francisco's parks, museums, tours, and landmarks are favourites for travelers the world over and offer an array of activities to suit every visitor. But no particular activity or place makes the city one of the most popular destinations in the world. It's San Francisco itself -- its charm, its atmosphere, its perfect blend of big metropolis with small-town hospitality. No matter what you do while you're here -- whether you spend all your time in central areas like Union Square or North Beach, or explore the outer neighbourhoods -- you're bound to discover the reason classic crooner Tony Bennett -- and millions of visitors -- leave their hearts in the City by the Bay.

Alcatraz Island

Visible from Fisherman's Wharf, Alcatraz Island (aka "The Rock") has seen a checkered history. Juan Manuel Ayala was the first European to discover it in 1775 and named it after the many pelicans that nested on the island. From the 1850s to 1933, when the army vacated the island, it served as a military post, protecting the bay's shoreline. In 1934, the government converted the buildings of the military outpost into a maximum-security prison. Given the sheer cliffs, treacherous tides and currents, and frigid water temperatures, it was believed to be a totally escape-proof prison. Among the famous gangsters who occupied cell blocks A through D were Al Capone, Robert Stroud, the so-called Birdman of Alcatraz (because he was an expert in ornithological diseases), Machine Gun Kelly and Alvin Karpis. It cost a fortune to keep them imprisoned here because all supplies, including water, had to be shipped in. In 1963, after an apparent escape in which no bodies were recovered, the government closed the prison. In 1969, a group of Native Americans chartered a boat to the island to symbolically reclaim the island for the Indian people. They occupied the island until 1971, the longest occupation of a federal facility by Native Americans to this day, when they were forcibly removed by the U.S. government (visit www.nps.gov/alcatraz/indian.html for more information on the Native American occupation of Alcatraz). The next year the island became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The wildlife that was driven away during the military and prison years has begun to return -- the black-crested night heron and other seabirds are nesting here again -- and a new trail passes through the island's nature areas. Tours, including an audio tour of the prison block and a slide show, are given by the park's rangers, who entertain guests with interesting anecdotes.

Allow about 2 1/2 hours for the round-trip boat ride and the tour. Wear comfortable shoes (the National Park Service notes that there are a lot of hills to climb on the tour) and take a heavy sweater or windbreaker, because even when the sun's out, it's cold out there. You should also consider bringing snacks and drinks with you if you think you'll want them. While there is a beverage and snack bar on the ferry, the options are extremely limited and expensive, and once you get onto The Rock all you can buy is water. The excursion to Alcatraz is popular and space is limited, so purchase tickets as far in advance as possible. Blue & Gold Fleet (tel. 415/705-5555; www.blueandgoldfleet.com) operates the tour; they accept American Express, MasterCard, and Visa. You can also buy tickets in advance from the Blue & Gold ticket office on Pier 41 or online at www.telesales.com. Alcatraz night tours are also available and are a more intimate and wonderfully spooky experience.

For those who want to get a closer look at Alcatraz without going ashore, two boat-tour operators offer short circumnavigations of the island.

Cable Cars

Although they may not be San Francisco's most practical means of transportation, cable cars are certainly the best loved and are a must-experience when visiting the city. Designated official historic landmarks by the National Park Service in 1964, they clank up and down the city's steep hills like mobile museum pieces, tirelessly hauling thousands of tourists each day to nowhere in particular.

London-born engineer Andrew Hallidie invented San Francisco's cable cars in 1869. He got the idea by serendipity. As the story goes, Hallidie was watching a team of overworked horses haul a heavily laden carriage up a steep San Francisco slope. As he watched, one horse slipped and the car rolled back, dragging the other tired beasts with it. At that moment, Hallidie resolved that he would invent a mechanical contraption to replace such horses, and just 4 years later, in 1873, the first cable car made its maiden run from the top of Clay Street. Promptly ridiculed as "Hallidie's Folly," the cars were slow to gain acceptance. One early onlooker voiced the general opinion by exclaiming, "I don't believe it -- the damned thing works!"

Even today, many visitors have difficulty believing that these vehicles, which have no engines, actually work. The cars, each weighing about 6 tons, run along a steel cable, enclosed under the street in a center rail. You can't see the cable unless you peer straight down into the crack, but you'll hear its characteristic clickity-clanking sound whenever you're nearby. The cars move when the gripper (not the driver) pulls back a lever that closes a pincerlike "grip" on the cable. The speed of the car, therefore, is determined by the speed of the cable, which is a constant 9 1/2 mph -- never more, never less.

The two types of cable cars in use hold a maximum of 90 and 100 passengers, and the limits are rigidly enforced. The best views are from the outer running boards, where you have to hold on tightly when taking curves.

Hallidie's cable cars have been imitated and used throughout the world, but all have been replaced by more efficient means of transportation. San Francisco planned to do so, too, but the proposal met with so much opposition that the cable cars' perpetuation was actually written into the city charter in 1955. The mandate cannot be revoked without the approval of a majority of the city's voters -- a distant and doubtful prospect.

San Francisco's three existing cable car lines form the world's only surviving system of cable cars, which you can experience for yourself should you choose to wait in the endless boarding line (up to a 2-hr. wait in summer).

Coit Tower

In a city known for its great views and vantage points, Coit Tower is one of the best. Located atop Telegraph Hill, just east of North Beach, the round, stone tower offers panoramic views of the city and the bay.

Completed in 1933, the tower is the legacy of Lillie Hitchcock Coit, a wealthy eccentric who left San Francisco a $125,000 bequest "for the purpose of adding beauty to the city I have always loved" and as a memorial to its volunteer firemen. She had been saved from a fire as a child and held the city's firefighters in particularly high esteem.

Inside the base of the tower are impressive murals titled Life in California and 1934, which were completed under the WPA during the New Deal. They are the work of more than 25 artists, many of whom had studied under Mexican muralist Diego Rivera.

Farmer's Market

If you're heading to The Ferry Building Marketplace or just happen to be in the area at the right time, make a point of visiting the Farmers' Market, which is held in the alfresco areas in front of and behind the marketplace several days per week. This is where San Francisco foodies and many of the best local chefs peruse alfresco stands hawking the finest Northern California fruits, vegetables, breads, dairy, flowers and readymade snacks by a few local restaurants. You'll [spam word detected] at the variety and quality, and the crowded scene itself is something to behold. You can also pick up locally made vinegars and oils here -- they make wonderful gifts. Drop by on Saturday from 10am to 2pm for the "Shop with the Chef" excursion, which is led by a local chef who interviews a local farmer and does a demo.

Ferry Building Marketplace

There's no better way to enjoy a San Francisco morning than strolling this gourmet marketplace in the newly renovated Ferry Building and snacking your way through breakfast or lunch. Tasty tenants, open daily, include many of the best of Northern California's gourmet bounty: Cowgirl Creamery's Artisan Cheese Shop, Recchiuti Confections (amazing!), Scharffen Berger Chocolate, Acme breads, Wine Country's gourmet diner Taylor's Refresher, famed Vietnamese restaurant The Slanted Door, and myriad other restaurants, eateries and wine bars. Check out the Imperial Tea Court where you'll be taught the traditional Chinese way to steep and sip your tea; buy cooking items at the Sur La Table shop; grab a bite and savour the bayfront views from in- and outdoor tables; or browse the farmer's market when it's up and running . Whatever you do, you'll be doing it with a swarm of San Franciscans who can't get enough of this place.

Fisherman's Wharf

Few cities in America are as adept at wholesaling their historical sites as San Francisco, which has converted Fisherman's Wharf into one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world. Unless you come really early in the morning, however, you won't find any traces of the traditional waterfront life that once existed here -- the only fishing going on at Fisherman's Wharf these days is for tourists' dollars.

Originally called Meigg's Wharf, this bustling strip of waterfront got its present moniker from generations of fishers who used to base their boats here. Today, the bay has become so polluted with toxins that bright yellow placards warn against eating fish from the waters. A small fleet of fewer than 30 fishing boats still set out from here, but basically Fisherman's Wharf has been converted into one long shopping mall that stretches from Ghirardelli Square at the west end to PIER 39 at the east.

Accommodating a total of 350 boats, two marinas flank PIER 39 and house the Blue & Gold bay sightseeing fleet. In recent years, some 600 California sea lions have taken up residence on the adjacent floating docks. Until they abandon their new playground, which seems more and more unlikely, these playful, noisy creatures (some nights you can hear them all the way from Washington Sq.) are one of the best free attractions on the wharf. Docent-led programs, offered at PIER 39 on weekends from 11am to 5pm, teach visitors about the range, habitat, and adaptability of the California sea lion.

Some people love Fisherman's Wharf; others can't get far enough away from it. Most agree that, for better or for worse, it has to be seen at least once in your lifetime.

Ghiradelli Square

This National Historic Landmark property dates from 1864, when it served as a factory making Civil War uniforms, but it's best known as the former chocolate and spice factory of Domingo Ghirardelli (pronounced "Gear-a-deli"), who purchased it in 1984. The factory has since been converted into an unimpressive three-level mall containing 34-plus stores and 11 dining establishments. Scheduled street performers entertain regularly in the West Plaza and fountain area. Incidentally, the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company still makes chocolate, but its factory is in a lower-rent district in the East Bay. Still, if you have a sweet tooth, you won't be disappointed at the mall's fantastic (and expensive) old-fashioned soda fountain, which is open until midnight.

Golden Gate Bridge

The year 2006 marks the 69th birthday of possibly the most beautiful, and certainly the most photographed, bridge in the world. Often half-veiled by the city's trademark rolling fog, San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge spans tidal currents, ocean waves, and battering winds to connect the City by the Bay with the Redwood Empire to the north.

With its gracefully swung single span, spidery bracing cables, and zooming twin towers, the bridge looks more like a work of abstract art than one of the 20th century's greatest practical engineering feats. Construction was completed in May 1937 at the then-colossal cost of $35 million.

The 1 3/4 mile bridge (longer if you factor in the approach), which reaches a height of 746 feet above the water, is awesome to cross. Traffic usually moves quickly, however, so crossing by car won't give you too much time to see the sights. If you drive from the city, park in the lot at the foot of the bridge on the city side and make the crossing by foot. Back in your car, continue to Marin's Vista Point, at the bridge's northern end. Look back, and you'll be rewarded with one of the greatest views of San Francisco.

Millions of pedestrians walk or bike across the bridge each year, gazing up at the tall red towers, out at the vistas of San Francisco and Marin County, and down into the stacks of oceangoing liners. You can walk out onto the span from either end, but be prepared -- it's usually windy and cold, and the bridge vibrates. Still, walking even a short distance is one of the best ways to experience the immense scale of the structure.

Lombard Street

Known (erroneously) as the "crookedest street in the world," this whimsically winding block of Lombard Street draws thousands of visitors each year (much to the chagrin of neighbourhood residents, most of whom would prefer to block off the street to tourists). The angle of the street is so steep that the road has to snake back and forth to make a descent possible. The brick-lined street zigzags around the residences' bright flower gardens, which explode with colour during warmer months. This short stretch of Lombard Street is one-way, downhill, and fun to drive. Take the curves slowly and in low gear, and expect a wait during the weekend. Save your film for the bottom where, if you're lucky, you can find a parking space and take a few snapshots of the silly spectacle. You can also take staircases (without curves) up or down on either side of the street. In truth, most locals don't understand what the fuss is all about. Vermont Street, between 20th and 22nd streets in Potrero Hill, is even more crooked, but not nearly as picturesque.

Pier 39

PIER 39 is a multilevel waterfront complex a few blocks east of Fisherman's Wharf. Constructed on an abandoned cargo pier, it is, ostensibly, a re-creation of a turn-of-the-20th-century street scene, but don't expect a slice of old-time maritime life here: Today, PIER 39 is a busy mall allegedly welcoming 11 million visitors per year. It has more than 110 stores, 11 bay-view restaurants, a two-tiered Venetian carousel, a Hard Rock Cafe, and Riptide arcade and aquarium entertainment for the kids. And everything here is slanted toward helping you part with your travel dollars. This is the place that locals love to hate. That said, it does have a few perks: absolutely beautiful natural surroundings and bay views, fresh sea air, and hundreds of sunbathing sea lions (about 600 in peak season) lounging along its neighbouring docks.

The Neighbourhoods

To really get to know San Francisco, break out of the downtown and Fisherman's Wharf areas to explore the ethnically and culturally diverse neighbourhoods. Walk the streets, browse the shops, grab a bite at a local restaurant -- you'll find that San Francisco's beauty and charm are around every corner, not just at the popular tourist destinations.

Nob Hill
When the cable car started operating in 1873, this hill became the city's exclusive residential area. Newly wealthy residents who had struck it rich in the gold rush (and were known by names such as the "Big Four" and the "Comstock Bonanza kings") built their mansions here, but they were almost all destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and fire. The only two surviving buildings are the Flood Mansion, which serves today as the Pacific Union Club, and the Fairmont Hotel, which was under construction when the earthquake struck and was damaged but not destroyed. Today, the burned-out sites of former mansions hold the city's luxury hotels -- the Mark Hopkins, the Stanford Court, the Huntington, and, the spectacular Grace Cathedral, which stands on the Crocker mansion site. Nob Hill is worth a visit if only to stroll around Huntington Park, attend a Sunday service at the cathedral, or ooh and aah your way around the Fairmont's spectacular lobby.

South of Market ([spam word detected])
From Market Street to Townsend Street and The Embarcadero to Division Street, [spam word detected] has become the city's newest cultural and multimedia centre. The process started when alternative clubs began opening in the old warehouses in the area nearly a decade ago. A wave of entrepreneurs followed, seeking to start new businesses in what was once an extremely low-rent area compared to the neighbouring Financial District. Today, gentrification and high rents hold sway, spurred by a building boom that started with the Moscone Convention Center and continued with the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and Yerba Buena Gardens, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Four Seasons Hotel, and the Metreon Entertainment Center. Other institutions, businesses, and museums move into the area on an ongoing basis. A substantial portion of the city's nightlife takes place in warehouse spaces throughout the district.

North Beach
In the late 1800s, an enormous influx of Italian immigrants to North Beach firmly established this aromatic area as San Francisco's "Little Italy." Dozens of Italian restaurants and coffeehouses continue to flourish in what is still the centre of the city's Italian community. Walk down Columbus Avenue on any given morning, and you're bound to be bombarded by the wonderful aromas of roasting coffee and savory pasta sauces. Although there are some interesting shops and bookstores in the area, it's the dozens of eclectic little cafes, delis, bakeries, and coffee shops that give North Beach its Italian-bohemian character.

Chinatown
The first of the Chinese immigrants came to San Francisco in the early 1800s to work as servants. By 1851, 25,000 Chinese people were working in California, and most had settled in San Francisco's Chinatown. Fleeing famine and the Opium Wars, they had come seeking the good fortune promised by the "Gold Mountain" of California, and hoped to return with wealth to their families in China. For the majority, the reality of life in California did not live up to the promise. First employed as workers in the gold mines during the gold rush, they later built the railroads, working as little more than slaves and facing constant prejudice. Yet the community, segregated in the Chinatown ghetto, thrived. Growing prejudice led to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which halted all Chinese immigration for 10 years and severely limited it thereafter (the Chinese Exclusion Act was not repealed until 1943). Chinese people were also denied the opportunity to buy homes outside the Chinatown ghetto until the 1950s.

Today, San Francisco has one of the largest communities of Chinese people in the United States. More than 80,000 people live in Chinatown, but the majority of Chinese people have moved out into newer areas like the Richmond and Sunset districts. Although frequented by tourists, the area continues to cater to Chinese shoppers, who crowd the vegetable and herb markets, restaurants and shops. Tradition runs deep here, and if you're lucky, through an open window you might hear women mixing mah-jong tiles as they play the centuries-old game. (Be warned: You're likely to hear lots of spitting around here, too -- it seems to be part of local tradition.)

The gateway at Grant Avenue and Bush Street marks the entry to Chinatown. The heart of the neighbourhood is Portsmouth Square, where you'll find locals playing board games (often gambling) or just sitting quietly.

On Waverly Place, a street where the Chinese celebratory colours of red, yellow, and green are much in evidence, you'll find three Chinese temples: Jeng Sen (Buddhist and Taoist) at no. 146, Tien Hou (Buddhist) at no. 125, and Norras (Buddhist) at no. 109. If you enter, do so quietly so that you do not disturb those in prayer.

A block west of Grant Avenue, Stockton Street, from 1000 to 1200, is the community's main shopping street, lined with grocers, fishmongers, tea sellers, herbalists, noodle parlors and restaurants. Here, too, is the Buddhist Kong Chow Temple, at no. 855, above the Chinatown post office. Explore at your leisure.

Japantown
More than 12,000 citizens of Japanese descent (1.4% of the city's population) live in San Francisco, or Soko, as the Japanese who first emigrated here often called it. Initially, they settled in Chinatown and south of Market along Stevenson and Jessie streets from Fourth to Seventh streets. After the earthquake in 1906, [spam word detected] became a light industrial and warehouse area and the largest Japanese concentration took root in the Western Addition between Van Ness Avenue and Fillmore Street, the site of today's Japantown. By 1940, it covered 30 blocks.

In 1913, the Alien Land Law was passed, depriving Japanese Americans of the right to buy land. From 1924 to 1952, the United States banned Japanese immigration. During World War II, the U.S. government froze Japanese bank accounts, interned community leaders, and removed 112,000 Japanese Americans -- two-thirds of them citizens -- to camps in California, Utah, and Idaho. Japantown was emptied of Japanese people, and war workers took their place. Upon their release in 1945, the Japanese found their old neighbourhood occupied. Most of them resettled in the Richmond and Sunset districts; some returned to Japantown, but it had shrunk to a mere 6 or so blocks. Today, the community's notable sights include the Buddhist Church of San Francisco, 1881 Pine St. (at Octavia St.); the Konko Church of San Francisco, 1909 Bush St. (at Laguna St.); the Sokoji-Soto Zen Buddhist Temple, 1691 Laguna St. (at Sutter St.); Nihonmachi Mall, 1700 block of Buchanan Street between Sutter and Post streets, which contains two steel fountains by Ruth Asawa; and the Japan Center, an Asian-oriented shopping mall occupying 3 square blocks bounded by Post, Geary, Laguna, and Fillmore streets. At its centre stands the five-tiered Peace Pagoda, designed by world-famous Japanese architect Yoshiro Taniguchi "to convey the friendship and goodwill of the Japanese to the people of the United States." Surrounding the pagoda, through a network of arcades, squares and bridges, you can explore dozens of shops and showrooms featuring everything from TVs and tansu chests to pearls, bonsai (dwarf trees), and kimonos. Kabuki Springs & Spa is the center's most famous tenant along with the Asian-inspired 14-story Radisson Miyako Hotel. But locals also head to its numerous restaurants, teahouses, shops and multiplex movie theatre.

There is often live entertainment in this neighbourhood on summer weekends, including Japanese music and dance performances, tea ceremonies, flower-arranging demonstrations, martial-arts presentations and other cultural events. The Japan Center (tel. 415/922-6776) is open daily from 10am to midnight, although most shops close much earlier. To get there, take bus no. 2, 3, or 4 (exit at Buchanan and Sutter sts.) or no. 22 or 38 (exit at the northeast corner of Geary Blvd. and Fillmore St.).

Urban Renewal--Kabuki Springs & Spa, 1750 Geary Blvd. (tel. 415/922-6002), the Japan Center's most famous tenant, was once an authentic, traditional Japanese bathhouse. The Joie de Vivre hotel group bought and renovated it, however, and it's now more of a pan-Asian spa with a focus on wellness. The deep ceramic communal tubs -- at a very affordable $16 to $20 per person -- , private baths, and shiatsu massages remain and the joint stays open as late as 10pm; joining them are an array of massages and ayurvedic treatments, body scrubs, wraps and facials, which cost from $55 to $140.

Spa Radiance, 3011 Fillmore St. (tel. 415/346-6281; www.sparadiance.com), is an utterly San Francisco spa experience due to its unassuming Victorian surroundings and its wonderfully luxurious treatments such as facials (14 kinds!), body treatments, massages, manicures, pedicures, Brazilian waxing, spray-tanning, and makeup application by in-house artists.

Haight-Ashbury
Few of San Francisco's neighbourhoods are as varied -- or as famous -- as Haight-Ashbury. Walk along Haight Street, and you'll encounter everything from drug-dazed drifters begging for change to an armada of the city's funky-trendy shops, clubs and cafes. Turn anywhere off Haight and instantly you're among the clean-cut, young urban professionals who can afford the steep rents in this hip 'hood. The result is an interesting mix of well-to-do and we'll-screw-you aging flower children, former Dead-heads, homeless people, and throngs of tourists who try not to stare as they wander through this most human of zoos. Some find it depressing, others find it fascinating, but everyone agrees that it ain't what it was in the free-lovin' psychedelic Summer of Love. Is it still worth a visit? Not if you are here for a day or two, but it's certainly worth an excursion on longer trips, if only to enjoy a cone of Cherry Garcia at the now-famous Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Store on the corner of Haight and Ashbury streets, and then to wander and gawk at the area's intentional freaks.

The Castro
Castro Street, between Market and 18th streets, is the centre of the city's gay community as well as a lovely neighbourhood teeming with shops, restaurants, bars, and other institutions that cater to the area's colourful residents. Among the landmarks are Harvey Milk Plaza and the Castro Theatre, a 1930s movie palace with a Wurlitzer. The gay community began to move here in the late 1960s and early 1970s from a neighbourhood called Polk Gulch, which still has a number of gay-oriented bars and stores. Castro is one of the liveliest streets in the city and the perfect place to shop for gifts and revel in free-spiritedness.

The Mission District
Once inhabited almost entirely by Irish immigrants, the Mission District is now the centre of the city's Latino community as well as a mecca for young, hip residents. It's an oblong area stretching roughly from 14th to 30th streets between Potrero Avenue on the east and Dolores on the west. In the outer areas, many of the city's finest Victorians still stand, although many seem strangely out of place in the mostly lower-income neighbourhoods. The heart of the community lies along 24th Street between Van Ness and Potrero, where dozens of excellent ethnic restaurants, bakeries, bars and specialty stores attract people from all over the city. The area surrounding 16th Street and Valencia is a hotbed for impressive -- and often impressively cheap -- restaurants and bars catering to the city's hip crowd. The Mission District at night doesn't feel like the safest place (although in terms of creepiness, the Tenderloin, a few blocks off Union Square, beats the Mission by far), and walking around the area should be done with caution, but it's usually quite safe during the day and is highly recommended.

For an even better insight into the community, go to the Precita Eyes Mural Arts Center, 2981 24th St., between Harrison and Alabama streets (tel. 415/285-2287), and take one of the 1 1/2- to 2-hour tours conducted on Saturdays and Sundays at 11am and 1:30pm, where you'll see 60 murals in an 8-block walk. The 11am tour costs $10 for adults, $8 for students with ID, $5 for seniors, and $2 for children under 18; the 1:30pm tour, which is half an hour longer and includes a slide show, costs $12 for adults, $8 for students with ID, $5 for seniors and children under 18. Every year during Mural Awareness Month (usually May), tours are given daily. All but the Saturday-morning tour (call for starting place) leave from the centre's 24th Street location (tel. 415/285-2287).

Other signs of cultural life in the neighbourhood are progressive theatres such as Theater Rhinoceros and Theater Artaud. At 16th Street and Dolores is the Mission San Francisco de Assisi, better known as Mission Dolores. It's the city's oldest surviving building and the district's namesake.

Fisherman's Wharf
The following sights clustered on or near Fisherman's Wharf are great fun for kids, adults, and kitsch-lovers of all ages. By bus, take no. 15, 30, 32, 39, 42, or 82X; by streetcar, take the F-line; to reach the area by cable car, take the Powell-Mason line to the last stop and walk to the wharf. If you're arriving by car, park on adjacent streets or on the wharf between Taylor and Jones streets.

The popular battle-scarred World War II fleet submarine USS Pampanito, Pier 45, Fisherman's Wharf (tel. 415/775-1943), saw plenty of action in the Pacific. It has been completely restored, and visitors are free to crawl around inside. Admission, which includes an audio tour, is $9 for those 13 to 61, $5 for seniors 62 and older, $4 for children 6 to 12, and free for children under 6; the family pass (two adults, up to four kids) costs $20. The Pampanito is open Monday through Thursday from 9am to 8pm (to 6pm in winter), Friday through Sunday from 9am to 8pm.

Also on Pier 45, the Musée Mécanique is worth a look.

Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum, 175 Jefferson St. (tel. 415/771-6188; www.ripleysf.com), has drawn curious spectators through its doors for over 30 years. Inside, you'll experience the extraordinary world of improbabilities: a 1/3-scale matchstick cable car, a shrunken human torso once owned by Ernest Hemingway, a dinosaur made from car bumpers, a walk through a kaleidoscope tunnel, and video displays and illusions. Robert LeRoy Ripley's infamous arsenal may lead you to ponder whether truth is, in fact, stranger than fiction. Admission is $13 for adults, $11 for seniors over 60, $7.95 for children 5 to 12, free for children under 5. The museum is open Sunday through Thursday from 10am to 10pm, until midnight on Friday and Saturday.

Conceived and executed in the Madame Tussaud mold, San Francisco's Wax Museum, 145 Jefferson St. (tel. 800/439-4305), has long been a kitschy harbourside tourist trap. In 1998, with the closing of the adjoining Haunted Goldmine, the museum underwent a $20-million tear-down, renovation, and expansion. It re-opened in June 2000 as a huge complex that includes the Rainforest Café, with walk-through aquariums. (Not any less of a tourist trap, mind you -- only a newer, slicker one.) The overhaul spiffed up the museum's 252 lifelike figures, including Britney Spears, Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne, former President George Bush and current president George W. Bush, Giants baseball star Barry Bonds, rap singer Eminem, and "Feared Leaders" such as Fidel Castro. The Chamber of Horrors features Dracula, Frankenstein, and a werewolf, along with bloody victims hanging from meat hooks. New additions include pop icons such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Julia Roberts and Will Smith. Admission is $13 for adults, $11 for seniors 62 and older, $6.95 for children 5 to 17, and free for children under 5. Discount group rates are available and are arranged via telephone or the website, www.waxmuseum.com, which also offers a $3 discount coupon for individual guests. The complex is open Monday through Friday from 10am to 9pm, Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 9pm.


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