Help me have my first solo day to San Francisco

February 15, 2023 1:30 PM

I'm from the Bay Area and grew up going to San Francisco, so I'm familiar with some things, but there are tons of other things I haven't explored. I have the whole weekday to myself this week, and I've never done a solo trip to SF before. What should I do?

So I'm an Asian American nonbinary queer person, but I've never really felt unsafe in San Francisco. However, I am three weeks out from recovering from a slipped disc back injury, so I have some discomfort and pain from sitting and standing for too long, and I can't carry heavy loads. My day will start at noon in SF, somewhere near the Powell BART station. Help me have an amazing time for my first solo trip!!

Places I've gone to multiple times:
SF Chinatown
SF North Beach
De Young Museum/Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Bridge/Presidio

Things I haven't done:
Fragrance shops -- I have discovered a new passion for learning about designer and indie perfumes and fragrances, and I heard San Francisco has some fantastic stores for that.
Muir Woods/Angel Island tours/Ferry tours -- I've never done anything like those, and they seem really fun!
Visit San Francisco institutions -- I have been thinking a lot about wanting to visit the 'weird' places that are still there despite the tech gentrification, like Spaghetti Shack, so am looking for suggestions like that
General shopping for supporting small stores like crafts or glass sculptures or anything cool, not generic tourist trap souvenirs


Things I love:
Eating and drinking!!! I love love eating. Some of my favorite restaurants in SF are Z&Y Sichuan Restaurant, R&G Lounge, and I love Stella Pastry in North Beach. What else should I eat?
Exciting cool art or music events, or even place to just meet people and chat casually

Constraints:
Because I have my slipped disc and I'm going to be going alone, I need to be really careful about not reinjuring it doing any activities. Any advice for traveling on foot/Lyft/BART would be helpful. I'm not super familiar with taking MUNI but I have taken it once or twice with my Clipper card.
I need to be back at my hotel by the evening, or if I leave a place in the evening, I will need to be able to take a Lyft back, because my night vision is terrible and I don't trust my own personal safety at night.

Questions:
Is there anything I should know and be aware of for my personal safety? Any tips? I've never been out to San Francisco by myself before that wasn't for work or commuting, and when I do have fun, I usually am with friends. I have ADHD/autism/sensory issues so I have many issues with executive dysfunction and get pretty stressed about logistics, but I just want to know that I can be safe and have a fun day!

Thank you in advance!

posted by yueliang to Travel & Transportation around San Francisco, CA (9 answers total)

Response by poster: Addition: my hotel is also in San Francisco as well, so that helps. Thank you!!
posted by yueliang at 1:31 PM on February 15, 2023

Best answer: Fragrance shop recommendation - Ministry of Scent! Lots of interesting indie fragrances from many different producers.
posted by soleiluna at 1:39 PM on February 15, 2023

Best answer: If you only have one day and have to worry about a slipped disc, I'd leave out the outdoorsy stuff. Muir Woods is great but it's a trek to get to; Angel Island is also great but the best bits are hiking/cycling around the island. The ferries themselves are cheap and you can take them to Sausalito and back, which is pleasantly walkable if a little generically bougie. They accept Clipper cards as well.

Muni is pretty easy to navigate. I really like Transit App for accessing Muni's buses. The Muni Metro lines (letters -- the light-rail vehicles) tend to be a lot easier for people to navigate, but the buses are also perfectly fine.

Given that you love food, I'd suggest Prubechu', which is Guamanian cuisine and absolutely delicious. They're a very easy walk from 16th St. BART.
posted by kdar at 1:45 PM on February 15, 2023 [4 favorites]

Best answer: Right now, the magnolias and camellias are in bloom at the botanical garden. It's a real treat and something I look forward to every year.

You can get up to that part of SF easily by taking the N-Judah MUNI train - one level up from the BART at Powell station. Get off at 9th ave. It's a block to the park, and another half block to the garden entrance.

The neighborhood where you exit the train has a lot of great food - Queens Korean deli, Arizmendi bakery, Tartine bakery, Fiorella, Underdogs, etc. etc. and a treasure of a bookstore - Green Apple Books on the Park. It's not a tourist neighborhood by any means.
posted by niicholas at 2:07 PM on February 15, 2023 [6 favorites]

Best answer: Start your day with some excellent pastries/bread:
b. patisserie or The Mill or Dynamo Donut

Something Arty:
Murals in the Mission
SFMOMA
or gallery hop.

Lunch:
Starbelly or Plow

Pick a neighborhood for wandering/shopping if that's your thing.
Hayes Valley, Mission, Castro, Marina etc

Dinner:
Pearl 6101

See what B-A Stuart recommends for the day you are visiting.
posted by jenquat at 2:11 PM on February 15, 2023

Best answer: Riding the ferry is magical, I recommend it if you have the time and energy.

The Hermes store downtown at least used to give huge free samples of their Hermessences fragrances, which are lovely. If they’re not still doing that you can at least sniff them. Hermes has great perfumes IMO.

I would also consider traveling across the bay for the Aftelier museum of scents—I’ve never been there, but it looks really interesting.
posted by music for skeletons at 2:36 PM on February 15, 2023 [2 favorites]

Best answer: If the situation with your back has you interested in something slow paced and meditative, but also completely charming, gripping, absorbing--SFMOMA is showing Ragnar Kjartansson's The Visitors, regarded by some as one of the best pieces of contemporary art in the 21st century (#1 on that list, for good reason.) It's marvelous and if you fall in its spell you could easily spend a few hours there.

Once again I fall into my feminine ways...
posted by Sublimity at 7:00 PM on February 15, 2023 [2 favorites]

Best answer: If you haven't seen the remodeled/expanded SFMOMA, it really is worth a visit. The new wing is nice and there's a ton of lovely new artwork.
posted by matildatakesovertheworld at 12:05 AM on February 16, 2023

Best answer: Fragrance: I have been to the Aftel Archive of Curious Scents (twice!) that music for skeletons mentioned and cannot recommend it enough. For fragrance fans there is really nothing like it. You get to touch and smell the raw materials that go into fragrances (frankincense, civet…), you get to smell all the individual components of a rose. There is a large scent organ with around a hundred vials of individual scents, organized by top, middle, and base notes, so you can identify what the smell of orris actually is…

That said, it is a slight detour, 45–50min from the SF Powell station (you can get a Clipper card added to your Apple wallet if you have an iPhone). If that is too far the Ministry of Scent on Valencia St. has a wonderful selection of niche and indie perfumes, some made locally, and along Valencia St. there are lots of great shops for small gifts and objects.

Food: Are you going on a Sunday? If so, highly recommend you get a pastry from Grand Opening, a bakery run by a Chinese-American woman. It is completely divine, maybe my favorite bakery. Many of the pastries and cakes are inspired by Asian desserts.

Art & design: The Yerba Buena Center of the Arts is wonderful. Across the street from the SFMOMA and often shows politically and socially engaged contemporaryart. The Letterform Archive is a rare and wonderful place and currently has an exhibition on the graphic design of protests, resistance movements, and so on. It's in a sunny and warm area and you can visit Neighbour Bakehouse next door.
posted by w-w-w at 4:26 AM on February 16, 2023 [1 favorite]