Golden Gate Park San Francisco
No visit to San Francisco would be complete without a visit to Golden Gate Park. In fact, so many of the city's great attractions are here that it is difficult to conceive of a visit to the Bay City without spending some time in the park. The grounds are beautifully kept and the park is so large that you will have a difficult time walking from attraction to attraction. For that reason, bicycles can be rented quite reasonably and make for an excellent mode of transportation around the park.

Peddle over to the Bison paddock. Long gone from the American west, bison (or buffalo) have grazed here for a century. The Steinhart Aquarium features fish, reptiles, amphibians, and a large black-footed penguin colony. There are other museums worth your attention in the Park as well, the California Academy of Sciences, which includes the Natural History Museum and the Morrison Planetarium have been damaged by a recent earthquake and have been temporarily reopened in South Market. Speaking of earthquakes, the Earthquake Theater lets you safely experience a San Francisco earthquake - right in the middle of a row of full-sized Victorian homes!

The Japanese Tea Garden is a beautiful and tranquil spot, perfect for a quiet stroll or an afternoon of reflection, complete with a beautiful red pagoda and temple gate, ponds, waterfalls and sunken gardens. Look for hedges shaped like Mt. Fuji or a dragon.

If you are traveling with little ones, they may prefer something a bit more animated. The playground and Carousel should fit the bill nicely. Not too far away there is a well equipped picnic area. And don't miss the Conservatory of Flowers, the oldest conservatory in the western hemisphere.

Rent a boat and explore Stow Lake and Strawberry Hill, which is on the island in the middle of the lake. Prefer a larger body of water? Ocean Beach provides miles of sandy coastline along the Pacific Ocean. But beware, there is no swimming here. The tides are very dangerous. The Beach Chalet is a Visitor's Center and Restaurant. You can find all the information that you need about the park inside. You'll have no trouble finding it. It stands right next to a large windmill whose arms are kept in perpetual motion by the coastal breeze.