National Geographic Traveler: San Francisco [Paperback]

Jerry Camarillo Dunn (Author)

Book Description

Series: National Geographic Traveler | Publication Date: June 1, 2005

Taking travelers around a city that he knows intimately, native Californian Jerry Dunn showcases San Francisco's many different neighborhoods. The Financial District shapes the city's famous skyline with its sky-scraping buildings, but it also contains gems bespeaking the past, including the Palace Hotel, with its stained-glass-domed dining room; and the gold-rush buildings of Jackson Square. Next it's onto shop-filled Union Square and high-class Nob Hill, with its famous view from California Street overlooking the Bay Bridge. Dunn helps you find hidden temples and locally favorite restaurants in Chinatown, while Italian pizzazz, Beatnik memories, and magnificent scenery await in North Beach. Fisherman's Wharf is a crowd pleaser, with its stands of crabbers selling their daily catch and plenty of restaurants to sample the local fare. Here, too, you can embark on an adventure to Alcatraz. The Marina has its fabulous bay views, parklands, and street after street of Victorian beauties, along with two must-see museums: the science-oriented Exploratorium, and the world-class Palace of the Legion of Honor. Golden Gate Park is undergoing a period of flux, with its major museums undergoing renovations. However, its acres of landscaped grounds remain the idyllic city escape, with its westernmost reaches coming out at the Pacific Ocean. Dunn then brings you through the up-and-coming Haight-Ashbury district, and over to the Civic Center area, where the newly reopened Asian Art Museum shines anew. Finally, you explore the revitalized South of Market area, showcasing the Modern Museum of Art, the new Giants stadium, and the Ferry Building, which, while still working as a ferry terminal, containsa brand-new assortment of shops and wine-tasting bars. There are special in-depth features on the cable cars, the Beat generation, the Mission District's murals, and more, as well as specially commissioned 3-D artwork, including a magnificent rendition of Alcatraz. You can also get to know some of the neighborhoods better through guided walking tours-one, for instance, highlights Haight-Ashbury, while another focuses on Union Square. The book is rounded out with detailed background information, including restaurants and hotels and important travel information.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: National Geographic; 2 Rev Upd edition (June 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0792238834
• ISBN-13: 978-0792238836
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,473,159 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kudos for National Geographic Traveler books, January 9, 2007

By 

Joshua M. Harrison (College Station, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: National Geographic Traveler: San Francisco (Paperback)

I have found the National Geographic Traveler books to be ideal when planning a visit to a city. The San Francisco book seems up to the usual standards. These books cover the more interesting attractions, including some great photos, and are organized by area, which makes it easier to select what you want to see and plan your days. Another feature which should not be overlooked is the section in the back, which recommends some excellent restaurants.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars National Geographic have another winner!, January 4, 2006

By 

J. Guild (Toronto,Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The National Geographic Traveler: San Francisco (Paperback)

If you plan to buy a Guide for San Fransisco,you really owe it to yourself to check out this one.It covers everything you want in a guide and does a supurb job in all respects.First of all the construction is excellent. Nat.Geo.publish a Guide to Birds of North America,and make them so good that they are able to take a phenomenal amount of use and even abuse.Birders get daily use of them for years and I have never seen or heard of one coming apart.If anything,they are built too good-a rare thing today.If one were to use this guide every day,you would still be using it a year later.The paper,printing,color,etc.could not be better.Most travel guides are pretty ratty after a short time and you will be amazed ,that this book will stay in great shape.The detail of information could not be better.It is full of excellent photos,maps,directions,and organized very well.Of course it is excellent as a travel guide,but it will serve as well as an excellent resource to keep handy whenever you want to find information on any historical or other points of interest in the city.There are a lot of great drawings of the interior of buildings,such as the Sutro Baths,museums,Alcatraz,Early History and many neighborhoods and personalities.There is also a section on excursions,The Peninsula & Silicon Valley,Monteray Peninsula,Carmel-by-the-Sea,Berkley,Oakland,Marin County,Napa Valley,Sonoma Valley,Yosemite National Park and Lake Tahoe.And of course lots of info on travel,accomodations,shopping,dining,and just about anything you'd want to know about one of the most enjoyable cities in North America.Not only will it serve you well when visiting San Francisco,but will also serve as a great way to remember it all.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top notch encompassing guide for The City, June 3, 2003

By 

"kmattrick" (San Francisco Bay Area, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The National Geographic Traveler: San Francisco (Paperback)

This is one of the best guidebooks I have encountered that covers San Francisco as a whole. First of all, the layout is excellent (as one would hope for from National Geographic). The sections for each neighborhood are color-coded for easy access and each neighborhood features a great map that not only highlights attractions, but a feature that shows you where that neighborhood is located within the city--this is enormously helpful in putting the pieces of the city together into a coherent whole, and should be a feature in every city guidebook.

Second, the guidebook includes all major attractions and a number of the minor ones. Descriptions are brief, but adequate. The guidebook excels at giving great tidbits about SF history and of the changing character and culture of its neighborhoods (though be warned that they are slightly racy at times).

Third, the photographs are fabulous and do a great job of highlighting some of San Francisco's sights that must be 'seen'. This is particurarly well-done as the guidebook covers a lot of ground (dedicating space to all major parts of SF, not just the ones most visited) and uses photos to achieve maximum efficiency to convey information to the reader.

My complaints with the guide are few. The hotel and restaurant descriptions are included in their own section in the back. This allows each neighborhood section to be more compact (and accessible) but probably requires a bit more flipping to find a lunch when in a given neighborhood. In addition, the guidebook uses a price coding system that makes it more difficult to figure out how much hotels and restaurants cost (though, in their defense, they do repeat the key to the coding system every other page unlike most guidebooks that hide it somewhere in the introduction).

The other complaints I had were that the section on excursions outside of San Francisco was too rudimentary to be of much use--if you plan to go elsewhere in the Bay Area, you should compliment this book with one that has a better focus on Bay Area attractions. Finally the transit map on the back cover is not helpful. National Geographic tries to represent bus lines as being akin to the London Underground (with no attention to geographic realities)--this representation won't help you catch a bus. Get a Muni transit map once you get to San Francisco.

That being said, if you want a solid guide to the city of San Francisco itself--this guidebook from National Geographic is a good bet.