Over sixteen million tourists flock to San Francisco each year to take in its majestic scenery, rich history, world-renowned food scene, and diverse cultural offerings. But what do San Francisco locals do when it’s time for us to take a vacation? We leave. As a result, many of us never take time to see some of the most popular tourist haunts that are actually worth visiting, let alone those hidden gems we always dream of getting to.
But with our country’s current economic woes and the skyrocketing cost of airfare, I’ve decided there’s no better way to use my vacation days than to vacation—or staycation—in my own city. I’ve put together my dream staycation itinerary that I’d proudly recommend to any local, not to mention all sixteen million of those tourists (or at least those on a budget). It’s relatively inexpensive (with a few splurges here and there) and if you hit everything on the list, you’ll have an amazing and well-rounded San Francisco experience.
Tour of Staircases
For a city that’s only seven miles long by seven miles wide, San Francisco has a lot of hills—forty-three to be exact. I love all the tucked away staircases that wind their way up and around those hills, revealing amazing views. I’ve often thought that if I had enough time, I’d tackle the city neighborhood by neighborhood, street by street, so I could climb every staircase and enjoy every single view. Since there are over 300 staircases in the city, climbing all of them might take longer than a staycation allows, but there are a few that can’t be missed, all with incredible views: the Filbert Street and Green Street stairs, both in North Beach, the Lyon Street stairs in Presidio Heights, and the 20th Street stairs in Noe Valley. For a full list of stairs and locations, check out Sister Betty’s Stairways of San Francisco.
Tour of Burritos
San Franciscans have strong opinions on pretty much everything, from our favorite neighborhood, to the Giants vs. the As, to—and many would argue that this is the most important debate of all—our favorite burrito (Taqueria Cancun). If you’ve always wondered whether one taqueria’s burrito really is better than another’s, there’s no better time to find out than by trying a different burrito every day of your staycation. (No one ever said staycation had to be healthy.) Finding enough to sample won’t be a problem—there are 181 taquerias listed on burritoeater.com, a Web site devoted entirely to the decadent pursuit of finding San Francisco’s most delicious burrito. Check out the site for their recommendations, but aside from Taqueria Cancun (Mission at 19th), I also recommend Papalote (24th at Guerrero) for a healthier burrito (although block off some time—they are inexcusably slow) and El Farolito (Mission at 24th). If you’re closer to the Cow Hollow/Marina area, try La Canasta (Buchanan at Union). There’s something about burritos in the Mission that taste better to me, but these will still hit the spot, and owners Alberto and Lili are quite possibly the nicest people ever.
