Frommer's Irreverent Guide to San Francisco, 3rd Edition (Irreverent) (Paperback)

~ Liz Barrett (Author) "San Francisco's famous palace hotels-which are as extravagantly grand as grande dames get-are finally getting a run for their money..." (more)
Key Phrases: metro station, ticket broker, San Francisco, North Beach, Mission District (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Are you the type of San Francisco visitor who will avoid Fisherman's Wharf like the plague? Do you scoff at the people in their rental cars lined up for several blocks just to drive down Lombard Street? Would you rather shop on Haight Street, dine on Valencia Street, go clubbing South of Market, and discover swingin' supper clubs? Then The Irreverent Guide to San Francisco is for you!

This is a hip little travel guide that will give you the lowdown on:

Hotels for writers in search of a muse

Where to dine if you like goofy decor and fabulous food

Sights off the beaten, camera-laden path

Where to find painted ladies, local exhibitionists (hey, we're talking about artists), and the spirit of John Coltrane

Where to find supper clubs with an attitude and clubs to dance the night away

From the Publisher

Irreverent Guides give you listings you won't find in any other travel guides, including:

Morbid Landmarks The last-call saloon crawl Beaching in the buff Recycled Regalia Goofatoriums Music Meccas Euro-style Lodgings

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Product Details

• Paperback: 228 pages
• Publisher: Frommer's; 3rd edition (March 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0028637887
• ISBN-13: 978-0028637884
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 4.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,234,954 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great supplemental guide book, December 28, 2003

By	"lockeanmechanism" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Frommer's Irreverent Guide to San Francisco (Paperback)

My wife and I recently visited San Francisco, and we absolutely fell in love with the city. One of the main reasons we loved the trip so much is because we received expert advice from this little book.

First, it helps shape the genre of the trip by advising you on what to avoid. For example, unless you want your trip to be completely filled with dime-a-dozen memories, the book honestly advises you to stay away from places like Fishermans Wharf and Alcatraz. The pulse of the city is not to be found there. It also tells you how to avoid wasting time on inefficient transportation and wasting money on touristy restaurants that have a lot of press without the goods. In other words, this book is not afraid to say to you, "Hey, don't go to that restaurant because (a) it's overpriced and (b) the food stinks." In a city that's as diverse as San Francisco, we found that having advice about what to avoid was just as helpful, if not more so, than advice about what to see.

Second, it tells you what to wear. We went to San Francisco in late July/early August, and you would be surprised at how you need to dress for San Francisco weather during these "summer" months.

Third, it gives you an insider's perspective on what is truly distinctive about San Francisco's city culture. As such, we were able to visit places that we ordinarily would miss if we were to plan our trip solely by the other city guides we had in our possession. For example, there are many restaurants, shops, cafes, and entire neighborhoods which are the delight of San Francisco locals, and we were really pleased to be able to soak up some of that local mood. This feature is what we found most valuable about Frommer's Irreverent Guide.

Finally, a word of caution. Frommer's Irreverent Guide is not meant to be a complete guidebook. It is best used as a supplement to another San Francisco guide book that gives the fine-print details. That said, however, the Irreverent Guide is great at what it aims to do-viz., to help set your frame of mind and plan the mood of the trip to be truly San Franciscan.