 |  | San Francisco with Kids - Kid-Friendly Fun is Easy to Find in San Francisco Monday, May 21, 2007 San Francisco is a treat for people of all ages, with plenty of fun things to do and see for kids (little and big). Here are some activities kids will especially enjoy.
In the Fisherman's Wharf area, you can catch the ferry to Alcatraz (best for kids over six). Buy tickets in advance to avoid a long line. You'll still have to wait to board the ferry, but kids will enjoy watching sea lions from the pier while you wait. If you prefer to stay on the mainland, tour the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, located on the edge of San Francisco Bay, or the Submarine USS Pampanito. And, for youngsters of the right age, you can't go wrong with Ripley's Believe It! or Not or the Fisherman's Wharf Wax Museum.
Of course, everyone wants to ride the famous San Francisco cable cars. The turnaround near Bay and Taylor Streets (close to Fisherman's Wharf) often has the shortest lines and will take you to the Union Square area, the shopping hub of San Francisco.
For teenagers or kid-shoppers, Union Square offers every major haute couture, jewelry and department store, including Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy's and Neiman-Marcus, plus a Virgin Megastore, Disney Store, and FAO Schwartz. The Union Square area also has casual eateries where kids will be comfortable.
The Cable Car Museum is popular with younger kids (four and up). The Wells Fargo Museum has a real stagecoach they can climb on. The Fire Department Museum is popular with most kids, featuring antique fire engines and loads of fire-fighting memorabilia. San Francisco's Exploratorium is the leading hands-on science museum and fun for all ages.
If it is a nice day, head for Golden Gate Park, where you can rent pedal boats on Stow Lake, or watch the radio-controlled boats on Spreckels Lake. The children's playground near Lincoln Avenue has a 1912 carousel with 60 animals to ride and the slickest slide in the west. The de Young art museum in the park was named "Best Museum for Kids in California" by Child Magazine. The park is quite large, so take a map and look for the free tours for families on Saturday mornings.
Just south of the Golden Gate Park is the San Francisco Zoo, with 250 different animal species, including gorillas, penguins, and of course, big cats.
If you have a car in San Francisco, don't miss the chance to drive down Lombard Street, known as the "crookedest street." Begin at the top of Lombard on Hyde Street, and wind your way down.
There are plenty of San Francisco tours that both young and older kids will enjoy. No kid (or kid at heart) can resist the Fire Engine Tour on a big, red, shiny Mack Fire Engine, complete with authentic fire gear for warmth and comfort (and seat belts). Make your own tour with rented bicycles from Bay City Bike on the Bay Trail bike path, which reaches from Fisherman's Wharf to the famous Golden Gate Bridge. Take a cruise on the original Red and White Fleet. For older kids and the adventurous, a San Francisco seaplane tour will showcase San Francisco's sights in a whole, new way. In the evenings, older kids (ten plus) will enjoy the San Francisco Ghost Hunt, walking to San Francisco's most notorious haunted places and meeting the ghosts that call them home.
If you are traveling to San Francisco, CRSHotels.com has the perfect hotel for you. Choose the La Luna Inn, in the trendy Marina district, with free parking; Hotel Griffon, in the financial district, voted Best Boutique in 2004; the Hotel Mark Twain, in the heart of San Francisco (check out the great CRSHotels.com deals below); the King George Hotel, in the center of downtown; the Renoir Hotel, near the Orpheum and Golden Gate Theaters (see the deal below); or, the Touchstone Hotel, in the historic theater district. Enjoy the Hotel Fusion, an oasis near Union Square shopping; the Hotel Diva, an avant-garde boutique hotel in Union Square; the Mosser Hotel, one block from the new Westfield Bloomingdale's Shopping Center or from the Metreon; the Inn at Union Square, which retains old-San Francisco ambience via period furnishings and original artwork (with a special deal below); the Adante Hotel, a boutique with deluxe amenities in downtown; the Hotel Metropolis, just one block from the Powell Street Cable Car line; Hotel Union Square, the newly renovated historic boutique; the Hotel Stratford, with Union Square and the cable car right on its doorstep; or the Kensington Park Hotel, on Union Square, with exquisitely designed rooms furnished in Queen Anne antiques.
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