San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39
San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf is the portion of the bay front that begins at Pier 39 and runs west to the Municipal Pier at Aquatic Park. Fisherman's Wharf is the most visited tourist destination in San Francisco as evidenced by the crowds you'll observe when you're there. Fisherman's Wharf hosts many individual San Francisco attractions that deserve your attention of their own accord, including Pier 39, Wax Museum at Fisherman's Wharf, Hyde Street Pier, the Hyde Street Cable Car Turnaround, and Ghirardelli Square. It includes San Francisco Pier 41, which is where you can catch a Blue and Gold ferry to Angel Island, Sausalito and Tiburon.
San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf is also the disembarkation point for many San Francisco bay cruises, fishing tours and seasonal whale watching tours. Try the California Sunset Cruise on the San Francisco Bay or the Luxury Catamaran Sailing Cruise. Both offer a unique San Francisco experience showcasing much of San Francisco's beauty. If you're looking for the ferry to Alcatraz Island, Alcatraz Cruises operates a short distance around the Embarcadero at Pier 33. You can also combine your Alcatraz Cruise with the All Loops Double Decker Bus Tour, which offers hop on and hop off access to San Francisco most popular destinations. Explore the best area of San Francisco on a guided Fisherman's Wharf Segway Tour.
Visiting Fisherman's Wharf? Make the most of your trip with Wharf Pass!
Today the main business of San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf is tourism. However, the wharf is still home to a small fleet of San Francisco commercial fishing boats for which it was named. As you navigate among the multitude of tourists, be sure to notice the small fishing boats between pier 43 and the Hyde Street Pier.
San Francisco Pier 39
San Francisco Pier 39 boasts over 110 shops and 13 restaurants. Not surprisingly, most of the stores specialize in tourist memorabilia and San Francisco souvenirs. The most famous restaurant on Pier 39 is the San Francisco Hard Rock Café. So if you are one of those diehard fans that must have the Hard Rock t-shirt, don't miss Pier 39. There are many points of interest that make navigating the crowds on Pier 39 worthwhile.
The San Francisco Aquarium of the Bay is included in the Wharf Pass and is a great place to discover and explore the fish and plant life that live beneath the surface of the San Francisco Bay. For me the highlight of the Aquarium of the Bay is a clear tunnel that allows you to walk through an aquarium surrounded by sharks, sting rays and other animals that live in the bay waters. For younger children, there are touching pools providing opportunities to touch sea stars, bat rays and tiger sharks.
In the center of San Francisco Pier 39 is a merry-go-round that depicts San Francisco landmarks including Alcatraz, Coit Tower and the Golden Gate Bridge. The carousel is a great attraction especially for small children. It costs a few dollars per ride. Near the carousel there are often street performers, hired by the pier to entertaining crowds with magic shows and juggling acts. A nearby arcade can offer entertainment for older children.
Through the shops and at the top of San Francisco Pier 39, you will find a panoramic view of the San Francisco Bay, including Alcatraz, Angel Island, Treasure Island, Yerba Buena Island and the San Francisco Bay Bridge. Walk west around the tip of the pier to discover a pride of San Francisco sea lions that have been sunning on Pier 39's K-dock since 1990. The sea lions can be quite noisy and rambunctious with their barking and jockeying for position on the docks. The sea lion population swells to nearly 900 during the summer months, but dwindles greatly during the winter when most of the sea lions migrate to the Channel Islands. Educational talks by Marine Mammal Center volunteers are given on weekends during the afternoon hours. The Lighthouse that you see behind the Pier 39 K-docks is actually a floating restaurant called Forbes Island.
Wharf Pass! One Price Admission to Wharf Attractions, Tours and Cruises.
Alcatraz Landing - Pier 33
A short walk arount the Embarcadero from Pier 39 is Pier 33, where Alcatraz Cruises operates ferries to Alcatraz Island. You can also combine your Alcatraz Cruise with the All Loops Double Decker Bus Tour, which offers hop on and hop off access to San Francisco most popular destinations.
San Francisco Pier 41
Just west of Pier 39 is San Francisco Pier 41. Pier 41 is the disembarkation point for Blue and Gold fleet ferries to Angel Island State Park. There are also boats offering San Francisco Bay tours that depart from the pier.
San Francisco Wax Museum at Fisherman's Wharf
As one of the world's largest wax museums, Wax Museum at Fisherman's Wharf is an extremely popular attraction in San Francisco. The Wax Museum was established in 1963 and has a collection that easily rivals Madame Tussauds in London. You'll see zombies, presidents, living art, exhibits of history and religion. The chamber of horrors features creatures and creeps from movies and history. The Wax Museum at Fisherman's Wharf is located on Jefferson Street between Mason and Taylor.
San Francisco Pier 45
At the entrance to Pier 45 off to the left, you'll see Amusing America and the Musée Mécanique, a free an interactive exhibit of the mechanical precursors to today's video arcade games. You can play these mechanical wonders with a couple of quarters. You can arm wrestle a mechanical strong-arm or listen to Laughing Sal's unnerving guffaws. Though the exhibits are from all over the U.S., Laughing Sal is an original from Playland-at-the-Beach, an Ocean Beach amusement park that closed 33 years ago.
Walk out on Pier 45 to visit the USS Pampanito (SS-383), a World War II era submarine. The USS Pampanito, a National Historic Landmark, is open for tours seven days a week. The tour allows you to explore the submarine and experience the cramped quarters endured by the submarine's crew. A virtual tour is also offered on the website of the San Francisco Maritime Park Association.
The S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien one of the U.S.'s Liberty Ships from World War II is also docked at Pier 45 and is open for tours. The Jeremiah O'Brien was mass produced in 56 days at a South Portland Maine yard. The S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien is identical to the 236 other Liberty ships that were produced at the same yard. The Liberty Ships were the U.S.'s answer to German U-boats. The strategy was to build the ships faster than the German navy could sink them.
San Francisco The Cannery
The Cannery is located on Leavenworth between Jefferson and Beach streets. Built in 1907, the Cannery was once the world's largest peach cannery and was operated by Del Monte. Today, it has been converted into restaurants, shops and a comedy club. The Cannery boasts three levels of stores and walkways to explore. Live music is performed daily, weather permitting.
San Francisco Hyde Street Pier
San Francisco Hyde Street Pier begins at the top of Hyde Street at Jefferson and hosts one of my favorite attractions in San Francisco, a floating ship museum that is operated by the National Park Service. The San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park is home to the Balclutha, an iron and steel cargo ship that operated in the late 1800s, and the C.A. Thayer, a three-masted schooner built in the late 1800s.
Five other ships are also docked at the pier, including a paddle tugboat, a scow schooner, a rail and passenger ferry, a steam tugboat and a houseboat. You can walk along the pier and view the boats for free. You can purchase a boarding pass at the entrance to the pier for $5.00. The boarding pass allows you to board and explore the some of the largest historic vessels, including the Balclutha and the Eureka.
Note: The C.A. Thayer is currently in dry dock in Alameda undergoing restoration. The ship is scheduled to be back at the San Francisco Hyde Street Pier late in 2005.
In addition to the Hyde Street Pier the non-profit San Francisco Maritime National Historical Association also operates the USS Pampanito at Pier 45 (above) and the San Francisco Maritime Museum. The San Francisco Maritime Museum is located in a ship-shaped Art Deco building at the Aquatic Park (at Polk and Beach streets). The museum exhibits include photo murals of the early San Francisco waterfront, a Steamship Room, a one-man sailboat named the Mermaid, and Atlantis-themed murals by Hilaire Hiler.
San Francisco Ghirardelli Square
San Francisco Ghirardelli Square lies opposite the Aquatic Park on Beach Street (between Larkin and Polk). The Ghirardelli Square shopping complex is constructed in buildings that were once used by the Ghirardelli family for manufacturing chocolate. Lured by the Gold Rush, the Italian-born chocolatier Domingo Ghirardelli moved his operation from South America to San Francisco in 1849. In 1893, Ghirardelli's sons bought a block of property at Larkin and Beach streets and began the process of moving the manufacturing operation from the Ghirardelli store on Jackson street. Between 1899 and 1915, the sons built four buildings which form the core of Ghirardelli Square today.
In the 1960s, Ghirardelli Chocolate was purchased by a corporation that moved the headquarters to a new facility in San Leandro. The square was purchased William Roth, who restored and transformed the manufacturing plant into the terraced shopping plaza that it is today. A little piece of the Ghirardelli chocolate legend is given for free to each visitor to the Ghirardelli Chocolate Shop located in the San Francisco Ghirardelli Square. Additional Ghirardelli sweets and treats are available for purchase in the shop and at the Ghirardelli Soda Fountain (next door) and in the Ghirardelli Chocolaterie & Café (at the corner of Larkin and North Point). If you're looking for bargain prices on Ghirardelli Chocolate, I recommend the Cost Plus World Market (on Taylor Street at Beach in Fisherman's Wharf). Though they may not have the extensive selection that you'll find in the Ghirardelli Chocolate Shop, the Cost Plus prices are for the locals, not tourists.
