DOWNTOWN

Downtown is grand old San Francisco – that of tea dances and cocktail hours. Looking up at the beautiful architectural details, you might forget what century it is. Noteworthy architectural stops include the 1930 Art Deco Shell Building (100 Bush St., between Battery and Sansome Sts.) and the 1926 Romanesque chateau-style Hunter-Dulin Building (111 Sutter St., between Montgomery and Kearny Sts.). Today the downtown area has the major concentration of monkey-making businesses. It’s typical cosmopolitan walking territory, with all the elements – both fascinating and horrifying – of urban American life.

UNION SQUARE – Union Square is the physical heart – though not the soul – of the city, especially for tourists who come to shop, browse the galleries, attend the theater, and then sleep in the finer hotels. The square, bordered by Powell, Post, Stockton, and Geary streets, was named in honor of pro-Union rallies held prior to the Civil War. Some San Franciscans will tell you the name more appropriately refers to the huge demonstrations held here in the 1930s by labor organizations, which at one point effectively shut down the city for a week.

Today Union Square consists of a park (where a few palm trees remind you that you’re still in California) encircled by a ring – make that solid-gold band – of the city’s ritziest stores and boutiques, including Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Chanel, Tiffany, Cartier, Hermes, Giorgio Armani, Gumps, Ralph Lauren, Macy’s, Bulgari, Brooks Brothers, Coach, Williams-Sonoma, Versace, and NikeTown. Combined, Union Square merchants ring up an estimated $1 billion in sales annually. Even so, the park tends toward seediness at night; linger elsewhere.

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If you lack the stamina or credit rating to shop Fisherman’s Wharf, for $6 you can set a course for the USS Pampanito submarine, or visit the Maritime Museum, housed in an Art Deco building that displays all sorts of artifacts from the maritime history of San Francisco. Admission to the museum is free, but for $4 you might have fun walking around on one of the old ships at the Hyde Street Pier, between the Cannery and Ghirardelli Square. Docked there are the Balclutha, a 100-year-old square-rigged ship; the Eureka, a restored turn-of-the century paddle-wheel ferry; and the C.A. Thayer, an equally venerable schooner. Comedian Jonathan Winters was once briefly institutionalized after he climbed the mast of the Balclutha and hung from it, shouting, “I am the man in the moon!”

At the other end of the wharf, Underwater World is a 707,000-gallon “diver’s-eye view” aquarium, where visitors listen to a taped 30-minute tour as they glide through a 300-ft transparent tunnel. Though the two main tanks are full of sharks, rays, anemones, and 10,000 types of fish, many visitors seem more amused by the scuba divers who scrub the tanks each morning. It’s entertaining in a surreal sort of way, but the $12.95 admission price is mighty steep for an attraction that you can breeze through in under an hour.

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Begin your exploration at the glowering Bank of America World Headquarters, at the corner of California and Kearny streets. Its north plaza is graced with a black-granite shard of public art officially called Transcendence, but popularly known as “The Banker’s Heart.” In the elegant Carnelian Room, on the building’s 52nd floor, you can nurse a $6 cocktail and gaze in wonder at the city below. Bank of America’s arch rival, Wells Fargo Bank, lures you in with the free Wells Fargo History Museum, detailing the history of California’s oldest bank and celebrating the short-lived but picturesque Pony Express. The museum is open weekdays 9-5 (except for bank holidays.)

TRANSAMERICA PYRAMID – The Pyramid (600 Montgomery St., between Clay and Washington Sts.) is the distinguishing feature of the San Francisco skyline. Despite Transamerica Corp.’s recent purchase by Aegon NV, a Dutch company, the pyramid retains its Transamerica name – a wise public relations choice by the new owners.

BARBARY COAST – In the 1850s San Francisco was home to the Barbary Coast, one of the most infamous red-light districts ever to exist.

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Heading south on Powell Street from Union Square, you’ll come to the intersection of Market and Powell streets. Everyone passes through here: proselytizers, street musicians, artists, punks, young professionals, vendors, protesters, dogs, pigeons, and tourists in matching jogging suits. All converge around the cable car turnaround, the Powell Street BART station, and the San Francisco Visitor Information Center, tucked below street level on Hallidie Plaza. Across Market Street from the cable car turnaround is the ritzy San Francisco Shopping Centre, which is built around a dizzying four-story atrium.

MAIDEN LANE – This short alley off the east side of Union Square was home to the “cribs” (brothels) that formed the center of a notoriously rowdy red-light district. Now it’s a shopping arcade for the thick-walleted and the site of San Francisco’s only Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building, 140 Maiden Lane, which served as the prototype for the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

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Yakety Yak. The bright facade of this mellow coffeehouse makes a rebellious contrast to its gray surroundings. Portfolio-toting artists from the nearby Academy of Arts come here for a caffeine fix, a huge selection of fresh pastries, and a fast Internet connection. Open-mike poetry readings are held on Friday night 7-9. 679 Sutter St., at Taylor St., tel. 415/885-6908.

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Momi Toby’s Revolution Cafe. A Sunday-morning hangout for Hayes Valley locals, Momi Toby’s encourages artistic expression by providing sketchbooks, crayons, and a working piano. Prefer to read quietly? You’ll find quality literature shelved next to the counter. Beer, wine, and appealing snacks like tuna melts and Brie baguettes are on the menu. There’s live music on some weekends. 528 Laguna St., between Hayes and Fell Sts., tel. 415/626-1508.

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Cup-a-Joe. This funky place with maroon walls has all the ingredients of a successful cafe: a mean cup o’ joe, tasty pastries, and an art-student clientele. They occasionally hold spoken-word performances; call for details. 3801 17th St., tel. 415/487-1661.

Jumpin’ Java. Escape the see-and-be-seen chaos of Castro cafes in the quiet, tree-lined neighborhood of Duboce Triangle just outside the thick of things in the Castro. Although the bay Guardian has deemed this “the best place to cruise nerdy gay guys has deemed this “the best place to cruise nerdy gay guys,” you’ll also find a mix of students and gay and straight couples. 139 Noe St., between Henry and 14th Sts., tel. 415/431-5282.

Morning Due. On the border between the Castro and Mission districts is a refreshingly airy, well-lighted cafe with a good selection of light meals and snacks. The studious crowds and mellow world-beat music make it a good place to enjoy a novel; they’ll even sell you a book from their shelves. Aspiring poets and folk musicians show up for an occasional open-mike Saturday night. 3698 17th St., at Church St., tel. 415/621-7156.

Pasqua Coffee. The friendly crowd at the Castro branch of this normally impersonal local chain sets it apart from all the rest. Toned, tanned locals come for the excellent scones and coffee and stay for the stylish social scene. 4094 18th St., at Castro St., 415/626-6263.

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For serious mavens, a trip to Alice Waters’ legendary Chez Panisse is a must: It’s the birthplace of the seasonal, Mediterranean-inspired style known as California cuisine. You can sample great versions of this now common fare at hundreds of excellent sit-down restaurants throughout the Bay Area where entrees cost less than $10-$15. In addition, we’ve included a handful of the city’s most cutting-edge restaurants, where entrees cost up to $20 – but at any of these places you can get away with ordering appetizers for dinner or splitting a main course. Our price categories refer to the cost of the majority of main courses at the establishment being reviewed. Unless otherwise noted, the restaurants in this chapter accept one or more major credit cards.

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The Shorebird Nature Center (160 University Ave.,) offers visitors a glimpse of bay marine life in its 100-gallon saltwater aquarium and runs all sorts of educational and environmental programs. For information on renting boats or hooking up with one of the sailing clubs stationed at the marina, stop by the Marina Office (201 University Ave.) To get to the marina, drive west on University Avenue across 1-80 or take Bus 51M from the Berkeley BART station.

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