Ghiradelli Square

Fisherman’s Wharf to Ghiradelli Square: This portion of the waterfront is very popular with tourists. Pier 39 is lined with New England-style shops; nothing authentic, but a popular shopping and restaurant arcade complete with street performers and a beautiful two-tier carousel. Pier 39 is also home to a new aquarium and some very boisterous and amusing sea lions (415-981-7437, www.pier39.com). Pier 41 is where you purchase tickets for the popular excursion to Alcatraz (see listing). Fisherman’s Wharf, where fishermen haul in their daily catch, has long been a favorite with tourists. It is difficult to find even the heart of Fisherman’s Wharf behind all the trinket-filled souvenir shops and tourist arcades, but look carefully and sure enough, you will see the colorful fishing boats bobbing about in the water at the waterfront between Jones and Taylor Streets. Nearby, Fish Alley, a small pier extending out into the harbor, affords a good view of the fishing fleet and the aroma of fresh fish mingling with the salty air. At the corner of Leavenworth and Jefferson The Cannery, formerly a fruit cannery, is today an attractive shopping complex. At the foot of Hyde Street Hyde Street Pier is home to the Maritime Museum’s fleet of historic ships, several of which can be boarded and explored. Our favorite is the Balclutha (1886), a three-masted merchant ship typical of the hundreds that came round the Horn to San Francisco. Inspect the comfortable captain’s quarters and cramped crew’s quarters and exhibits of nautical gear. Just beyond the Hyde Street cable car turnaround lies Ghiradelli Square, a lovely brick building that used to house the Ghiradelli chocolate factory, now a complex of attractive stores and restaurants. The ship-shaped building in Aquatic Park (in front of Ghiradelli Square) is the land base of the Maritime Museum, full of displays on the history of water transportation from the 1800s to the present, including marvelous photos of old San Francisco. (415-447-5000, www.nps.gov/safr)