Must-sees in the Bay Area?
April 30, 2017 9:16 AM Subscribe
I am in the San Francisco Bay Area for about two months (East Bay, to be exact). I'm looking for ideas for things to absolutely do before I leave, particularly weekend day trips. I am interested in music, technology, tabletop gaming, art, and the outdoors. Snowflake detail: I am limited to public transport.
I recommend getting a burner phone with a pay-as-you go for the couple of months so you have phone access. (Harder to do cheaply with a smartphone, but they might be available.) I live in the East Bay, and I'm almost entirely reliant on public transit. (Husband drives, but he's gone most weekends and often in too much pain in the evenings to drive me anywhere.)
Exploratorium in San Francisco is always a blast. When people are visiting the area, that's my top first recommendation.
Several game stores have open play - Victory Point in Berkeley is a cafe with game rental. (Haven't been there yet; have heard very good things about it.) Games of Berkeley is my longtime favorite. Both of those are near downtown Berkeley BART station. If you like the sausage-making aspects, East Bay Game Devs have regular meetups; they love players who aren't devs (like me) to test partially-made games.
Tilden Park in Berkeley is nice outdoors area; public transit is limited but possible. Berkeley Rose Garden is nearby. (I think of them as connected; they're probably technically not.)
If you're already here, Morris dancing at inspiration point begins at ofuckthirty on May 1st (as in, less than 18 hours from now), and the dancers dance the sun up while shivering pagans hold thermoses of coffee. No public transit, but rides are often available. (Not sure if I'm going this year. It's over before my workday starts, but only just.)
San Francisco has the Cartoon Art Museum downtown, easy BART access.
East Bay things to do - calendar by Funcheap.com
May 6 is Free Comic Book Day; several local stores will be participating.
I may come back with more; have just gotten a call about "you're coming with me to a Beltane ritual, right?" and I have 20 minutes to get ready. Eep.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 11:31 AM on April 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
Exploratorium in San Francisco is always a blast. When people are visiting the area, that's my top first recommendation.
Several game stores have open play - Victory Point in Berkeley is a cafe with game rental. (Haven't been there yet; have heard very good things about it.) Games of Berkeley is my longtime favorite. Both of those are near downtown Berkeley BART station. If you like the sausage-making aspects, East Bay Game Devs have regular meetups; they love players who aren't devs (like me) to test partially-made games.
Tilden Park in Berkeley is nice outdoors area; public transit is limited but possible. Berkeley Rose Garden is nearby. (I think of them as connected; they're probably technically not.)
If you're already here, Morris dancing at inspiration point begins at ofuckthirty on May 1st (as in, less than 18 hours from now), and the dancers dance the sun up while shivering pagans hold thermoses of coffee. No public transit, but rides are often available. (Not sure if I'm going this year. It's over before my workday starts, but only just.)
San Francisco has the Cartoon Art Museum downtown, easy BART access.
East Bay things to do - calendar by Funcheap.com
May 6 is Free Comic Book Day; several local stores will be participating.
I may come back with more; have just gotten a call about "you're coming with me to a Beltane ritual, right?" and I have 20 minutes to get ready. Eep.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 11:31 AM on April 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
The new Berkeley Art Museum is great. I suggest a day in Berkeley: museum then wander up the hill and through UC campus. It's beautiful. All near Games of Berkeley, too, and right off BART.
posted by wemayfreeze at 11:32 AM on April 30, 2017
posted by wemayfreeze at 11:32 AM on April 30, 2017
If you are limited to public transit, "East Bay" is not really specific enough to generate good answers, I think. Very different for Berkeley / Oakland than further south. Apart from the hearts of the cities, the Bay is pretty sprawling and car-centric.
For non-drivers with outdoor interests, there are web resources like Transit & Trails. Occasionally a no-car hiking story turns up in local papers / blogs, e.g. So supposedly you can take the BART to Walnut Creek for Mt. Diablo, which is a nice big park with a bunch of cool hiking and climbing. But it seems like a big schlep from the BART to the park -- maybe unless you bring a bike. But in my experience it's just a big pain to get around without cars, and I mostly stick near where I live unless I can catch a ride with someone.
There is actually a ton of beautiful country around here, and many wonderful parks, but the public transit mostly sucks.
posted by grobstein at 11:33 AM on April 30, 2017
For non-drivers with outdoor interests, there are web resources like Transit & Trails. Occasionally a no-car hiking story turns up in local papers / blogs, e.g. So supposedly you can take the BART to Walnut Creek for Mt. Diablo, which is a nice big park with a bunch of cool hiking and climbing. But it seems like a big schlep from the BART to the park -- maybe unless you bring a bike. But in my experience it's just a big pain to get around without cars, and I mostly stick near where I live unless I can catch a ride with someone.
There is actually a ton of beautiful country around here, and many wonderful parks, but the public transit mostly sucks.
posted by grobstein at 11:33 AM on April 30, 2017
Get a prepaid SIM card for your phone, or get a cheap phone with data. Many phone companies out here do not require a contract, but are month-to-month. I suppose it's possible to navigate the Bay Area without one, but the bus schedules are erratic in the East Bay and it's so helpful to be able to call a Lyft when you need one because the last two buses never showed up.
I would suggest that you check out the Exploratorium (Thursday nights are adults only) and the DeYoung museum. All our museums are pretty cool, though! The Asian Art museum is my personal favorite. There's a video game museum in Oakland, and a mechanical gaming museum in SF called Musee Mechanique.
How Weird Street Fair is May 7th if you want a taste for the art, music, and culture that SF is known for.
posted by ananci at 11:36 AM on April 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
I would suggest that you check out the Exploratorium (Thursday nights are adults only) and the DeYoung museum. All our museums are pretty cool, though! The Asian Art museum is my personal favorite. There's a video game museum in Oakland, and a mechanical gaming museum in SF called Musee Mechanique.
How Weird Street Fair is May 7th if you want a taste for the art, music, and culture that SF is known for.
posted by ananci at 11:36 AM on April 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
Muir Woods!
Looks like the official Muir Woods shuttle is not running until June 1 or so because of a highway outage, but you can take the 61 from Sausalito and walk a bit.
Can you bike?
Do get a SIM card. It will make your life a lot easier, with live transit schedules, maps, etc. I've been using Ting-- with a referral credit, you can get two months of service for under $40, I think. You'll need a compatible phone, of course, but you can get one cheap if you need to.
posted by alexei at 11:44 AM on April 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Looks like the official Muir Woods shuttle is not running until June 1 or so because of a highway outage, but you can take the 61 from Sausalito and walk a bit.
Can you bike?
Do get a SIM card. It will make your life a lot easier, with live transit schedules, maps, etc. I've been using Ting-- with a referral credit, you can get two months of service for under $40, I think. You'll need a compatible phone, of course, but you can get one cheap if you need to.
posted by alexei at 11:44 AM on April 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Seconding the Exploratorium, but I'd specifically recommend that you hit up the Tactile Dome inside. It's best to make a reservation instead and go with a couple people.
Also SFMOMA. The new expansion opened a year or so ago, and there's a ton to see.
If you like technology and art and, not exactly music, but sound, The Encounter is playing at the Curran Theater for another week only. It's "A Trippy Existential Podcast Come To Life," everyone in the theater wears headphones so the performance is all inside your head. It's a pretty unique experience.
Call a MetaFilter meetup!
If you're here for two months, I'd really look into a US data plan for your phone; it will make things like maps and directions, Uber/Lyft, etc... a lot easier. You don't need a contract. Something like T-Mobile's prepaid plans would do the job, perhaps this one.
posted by zachlipton at 12:50 PM on April 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
Also SFMOMA. The new expansion opened a year or so ago, and there's a ton to see.
If you like technology and art and, not exactly music, but sound, The Encounter is playing at the Curran Theater for another week only. It's "A Trippy Existential Podcast Come To Life," everyone in the theater wears headphones so the performance is all inside your head. It's a pretty unique experience.
Call a MetaFilter meetup!
If you're here for two months, I'd really look into a US data plan for your phone; it will make things like maps and directions, Uber/Lyft, etc... a lot easier. You don't need a contract. Something like T-Mobile's prepaid plans would do the job, perhaps this one.
posted by zachlipton at 12:50 PM on April 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
Angel Island and Alcatraz (with audio tour) are both really worth doing.
The Great American Music Hall is a pretty special music venue in SF, oldest in the City, I think. In Oakland, the Fox is pretty impressive.
The Oakland Museum is a nice, not so expensive destination. They do some nice events too.
Walking around the Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland is nice on a nice day. It's designed by Olmstead (who did Central Park & Golden Gate Patk) and the Chapel of the Chimes/Columbarium was designed by Julia Morgan. There's an unusual music event there on the Solstice.
posted by vunder at 1:23 PM on April 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
The Great American Music Hall is a pretty special music venue in SF, oldest in the City, I think. In Oakland, the Fox is pretty impressive.
The Oakland Museum is a nice, not so expensive destination. They do some nice events too.
Walking around the Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland is nice on a nice day. It's designed by Olmstead (who did Central Park & Golden Gate Patk) and the Chapel of the Chimes/Columbarium was designed by Julia Morgan. There's an unusual music event there on the Solstice.
posted by vunder at 1:23 PM on April 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Get a Citypass, even if you only use it for part of the time.
It's worth it just for a week of free cable car, bus, and street car rides. The cable car guys don't look too close when you flash the booklet. Those hills are STEEP even if it's just a block.
And it gets you admission to the Exploratorium (3rd'ed) and the California Academy of sciences (we went on Thurs. night when they do this "after dark" thing and it was a blast).
Take a tour of Alcatraz but you'll need to book your tickets a couple weeks in advance. Watch the movie "The Rock" beforehand for fun. A lot of people enjoy hiking around the island too even if a tour of a notorious prison doesn't do it for you.
posted by VTX at 1:25 PM on April 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
It's worth it just for a week of free cable car, bus, and street car rides. The cable car guys don't look too close when you flash the booklet. Those hills are STEEP even if it's just a block.
And it gets you admission to the Exploratorium (3rd'ed) and the California Academy of sciences (we went on Thurs. night when they do this "after dark" thing and it was a blast).
Take a tour of Alcatraz but you'll need to book your tickets a couple weeks in advance. Watch the movie "The Rock" beforehand for fun. A lot of people enjoy hiking around the island too even if a tour of a notorious prison doesn't do it for you.
posted by VTX at 1:25 PM on April 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
My personal favorite touristy things I've done:
1. Hiked from the Castro up to the Haight up through the Presidio and then across the Golden Gate Bridge. You can take a bus back pretty easily. We had no specific route, we just kinda picked out landmarks and went from place to place.
2. Coit Tower. It's nice, and maintains a proletarian vibe that is charming.
3. Musée Mécanique. It's a museum of coin operated entertainments of all kinds. They're kept in functioning order as much as possible. So if you want to see an orchestrion play, or watch a horribly racist mechanized opium den diorama, or play a scrolling shooter, or play pinball... it's a good spot.
posted by billjings at 2:04 PM on April 30, 2017
1. Hiked from the Castro up to the Haight up through the Presidio and then across the Golden Gate Bridge. You can take a bus back pretty easily. We had no specific route, we just kinda picked out landmarks and went from place to place.
2. Coit Tower. It's nice, and maintains a proletarian vibe that is charming.
3. Musée Mécanique. It's a museum of coin operated entertainments of all kinds. They're kept in functioning order as much as possible. So if you want to see an orchestrion play, or watch a horribly racist mechanized opium den diorama, or play a scrolling shooter, or play pinball... it's a good spot.
posted by billjings at 2:04 PM on April 30, 2017
You can sign up for phone that includes voice, text and data with Cricket (and a number of other providers) for $60 USD for the duration of your trip. You'll get a new, local number that you can just cancel when you leave. There is no commitment if you just get a SIM card. If you have a smartphone at all, it will work here just by swapping in the card.
Be aware that public transit in the Bay Area is generally terrible. You can at move around San Francisco on transit, as well as along BART lines and Caltrain (which is not in the East Bay), but other than that, it's extremely difficult to get around. You're almost certainly going to need a smartphone to plan your multiple transit connections to get anywhere.
I am interested in music, technology, tabletop gaming, art, and the outdoors.
Must sees while you're here:
* Golden Gate Bridge
* Muir Woods
* SFMoma
* Bay Cruise/Alcatraz
* Coit Tower
* Ride a cable car
* A burrito in the Mission District eaten at Mission Delores Park
* Twin Peaks
* Golden Gate Park (de Young and the California Academy of Sciences)
* Chinatown (you'll need to go during the day, as there's not much happening at night).
* Exploratorium
* See a show at the Greek in Berkeley or the Fox in Oakland (or the Independent or Fillmore in San Francisco).
* Great (and popular) hiking spots (really hard to get to with transit, but not impossible with Lyft or via rideshare in a hiking Meetup group)
* Mount Tamalpais
* Point Reyes
* Tilden Park in Berkeley
Other things you might enjoy:
* Stern Grove Festival (though it might take a few hours to get there on transit) from the East Bay
* The Computer History Museum in Mountain View (the Android lawn statues are near here too). Again though, this might be a half day on transit to go 50 miles.
posted by cnc at 3:33 PM on April 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Be aware that public transit in the Bay Area is generally terrible. You can at move around San Francisco on transit, as well as along BART lines and Caltrain (which is not in the East Bay), but other than that, it's extremely difficult to get around. You're almost certainly going to need a smartphone to plan your multiple transit connections to get anywhere.
I am interested in music, technology, tabletop gaming, art, and the outdoors.
Must sees while you're here:
* Golden Gate Bridge
* Muir Woods
* SFMoma
* Bay Cruise/Alcatraz
* Coit Tower
* Ride a cable car
* A burrito in the Mission District eaten at Mission Delores Park
* Twin Peaks
* Golden Gate Park (de Young and the California Academy of Sciences)
* Chinatown (you'll need to go during the day, as there's not much happening at night).
* Exploratorium
* See a show at the Greek in Berkeley or the Fox in Oakland (or the Independent or Fillmore in San Francisco).
* Great (and popular) hiking spots (really hard to get to with transit, but not impossible with Lyft or via rideshare in a hiking Meetup group)
* Mount Tamalpais
* Point Reyes
* Tilden Park in Berkeley
Other things you might enjoy:
* Stern Grove Festival (though it might take a few hours to get there on transit) from the East Bay
* The Computer History Museum in Mountain View (the Android lawn statues are near here too). Again though, this might be a half day on transit to go 50 miles.
posted by cnc at 3:33 PM on April 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
The Long Now Foundation had a museum by the waterfront, but now it's a bar / cafe / museum
posted by anonymisc at 6:34 PM on April 30, 2017
posted by anonymisc at 6:34 PM on April 30, 2017
Best answer: If you're interested in art and the outdoors, you've gotta see the Albany Bulb.
I am not sure whether it's accessible by public transport or not, but you could easily Uber to it. A tracphone or the like is cheap and easy.
The Albany Bulb is unique. You're not going to see its likes elsewhere, and shouldn't miss it, especially given that you're in the east bay for a whole two months.
posted by nirblegee at 6:41 PM on April 30, 2017
I am not sure whether it's accessible by public transport or not, but you could easily Uber to it. A tracphone or the like is cheap and easy.
The Albany Bulb is unique. You're not going to see its likes elsewhere, and shouldn't miss it, especially given that you're in the east bay for a whole two months.
posted by nirblegee at 6:41 PM on April 30, 2017
Redwoods Regional Park in Oakland. I haven't taken the bus there, but there are busses. They are probably pretty annoying, and I don't have any useful advice about that. But it's an amazing park; hiking down from the top of the ridge into the trees is like nothing else in the East Bay.
posted by unreadyhero at 8:38 PM on April 30, 2017
posted by unreadyhero at 8:38 PM on April 30, 2017
For art, consider: Guide to San Francisco's Mission District Murals. The Mission District is easily accessible via BART (16th St. Mission or 24th St. Mission stations) or Muni (#14 bus). The Mission District is worth visiting just for the burritos alone; also, it provides a close-up view of gentrification in action.
posted by mhum at 3:11 PM on May 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by mhum at 3:11 PM on May 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
I always recommend the San Francisco City Guides walking tours - they're guided by excellent, well-trained volunteers, and free (donations welcome).
They have several tours every day; they offer extra tours in May, so your timing is excellent. Some of the special May tours that are pretty close to BART:
1906: Phoenix Rising - rebuilding after the earthquake
Tenderloin (and more Tenderloin) - diverse history and great architecture in a grittier part of the city
Undercover Folsom Street - LGBT and leather community history
Embarcadero Skyway - skyscrapers, urban planning
For the regularly scheduled tours, check out this list of walking tours by neighborhood - many of the walks in these sections are pretty close to BART:
Union Square & Financial District
Civic Center
SOMA & Potrero Hill (this is a bigger area and some may be too far from BART)
The historic streetcars on Market Street are lovely and are a good way to get up and down Market as far as the Castro - or you can take them to Fisherman's Wharf.
Personally, my can't-miss would be the Pacific Ocean - spend some time at Ocean Beach (and Sutro Heights, if you have time), check out the WPA murals at the Beach Chalet, have something to eat at Louis', wonder about the ruins of the Sutro Baths, then have a nice easy hike at Lands End. You could even squeeze in a bonus bit of Golden Gate Park - the west end includes the tulip garden and windmill and Chain of Lakes. Ocean Beach is not, of course, on a BART line, but it's definitely reachable via the 38 Geary bus line. If you're up for a lot of walking, you could take the 1 California - that'll get you almost to the far end of the Lands End trail at 32nd Avenue and Camino Del Mar. (I've seen people recommend the 1 California as a tourist destination in itself - it runs through the Financial District, Chinatown, and Pacific Heights.)
Also, the Cartoon Art Museum is a great recommendation, but sadly, at the moment, it's closed; it'll be re-opening near Fisherman's Wharf later in the year.
posted by kristi at 10:22 AM on May 4, 2017
They have several tours every day; they offer extra tours in May, so your timing is excellent. Some of the special May tours that are pretty close to BART:
1906: Phoenix Rising - rebuilding after the earthquake
Tenderloin (and more Tenderloin) - diverse history and great architecture in a grittier part of the city
Undercover Folsom Street - LGBT and leather community history
Embarcadero Skyway - skyscrapers, urban planning
For the regularly scheduled tours, check out this list of walking tours by neighborhood - many of the walks in these sections are pretty close to BART:
Union Square & Financial District
Civic Center
SOMA & Potrero Hill (this is a bigger area and some may be too far from BART)
The historic streetcars on Market Street are lovely and are a good way to get up and down Market as far as the Castro - or you can take them to Fisherman's Wharf.
Personally, my can't-miss would be the Pacific Ocean - spend some time at Ocean Beach (and Sutro Heights, if you have time), check out the WPA murals at the Beach Chalet, have something to eat at Louis', wonder about the ruins of the Sutro Baths, then have a nice easy hike at Lands End. You could even squeeze in a bonus bit of Golden Gate Park - the west end includes the tulip garden and windmill and Chain of Lakes. Ocean Beach is not, of course, on a BART line, but it's definitely reachable via the 38 Geary bus line. If you're up for a lot of walking, you could take the 1 California - that'll get you almost to the far end of the Lands End trail at 32nd Avenue and Camino Del Mar. (I've seen people recommend the 1 California as a tourist destination in itself - it runs through the Financial District, Chinatown, and Pacific Heights.)
Also, the Cartoon Art Museum is a great recommendation, but sadly, at the moment, it's closed; it'll be re-opening near Fisherman's Wharf later in the year.
posted by kristi at 10:22 AM on May 4, 2017
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posted by Grinder at 9:58 AM on April 30, 2017