For what ever reason you visit, San Francisco attractions that entertain, educate and enlighten will compete for your attention.

Entering San Francisco from the north we actually get to cross Golden Gate Bridge. It’s an iconic landmark that has come to represent the City by the Bay. Spanning the Golden Gate Straits since 1937, the bridge connects Marin County to the north with the Presidio district of San Francisco.

The Presidio

Following Highway 1 south off the Golden Gate Bridge takes us through the wooded Presidio district. Once a U.S. military garrison, the Presidio is now part of the National Park system as is Alcatraz Island.

Highway 1 continues south into Golden Gate Park but we have a couple of truly scenic San Francisco attractions to visit before entering the park. Just hang a right to go west on Geary Boulevard and a few blocks through the Richmond district discloses a sweeping curve of the road to the south along the west coast.

Cliff House

The world famous Cliff House restaurant sits at the curve with a grand backdrop of the Pacific Ocean and the cluster of Seal Rocks. The vague outline of the Sutro Baths ruins lies nearby.

Sutro Baths

Once the Sutro Baths was a gigantic Victorian greenhouse-like structure that covered swimming pools, a curio’s museum and a restaurant until burning to the ground. All of this is on the border of the Lincoln Park district to the north, home of the Palace of the Legion of Honor.

Golden Gate Park

Golden Gate Park

Continuing south, the Great Highway parallels the coastline. All of this area is protected as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Enjoy a couple of miles of this lovely coastline and then make a left turn on John F. Kennedy Blvd to enter Golden Gate Park. As you pass the Dutch Windmill and Beach Chalet restaurant feel the tensions of everyday life dissolve as we cruise past the grassy fields and wooded groves. The urban life of the cosmopolitan city is lost in the enchanted setting.

It’s amazing how many of the famous San Francisco attractions are found among these green glades and small bodies of water. You will leave the Golf Clubhouse and Soccer fields behind before finding the Buffalo Paddocks, where bison have grazed since the 1890’s, on your left. On the other side are the Anglers Lodge and Fly Casting pools, near the Polo fields.

Further along on the left is the Model Yacht Club and Spreckels Lake.

Dutch Windmill in Golden Gate Park

On the right hand side there are large picnic areas with barbeque pits and grassy lawns before JFK drive meets Highway 1 where it crosses Golden Gate Park as the Park Presidio Drive.

We are a little more than halfway through the park and most of the interesting things to see are still ahead of us:

• Academy of Sciences
• Conservatory of Flowers
• De Young Museum
• Japanese Tea Garden
• Music Concourse
• Strybing Arboretum

Stow Lake

Don’t miss the loop drive around Stow Lake with its island called Strawberry Hill and the scenic vistas as the road climbs to the lake. There is something to suit all tastes in activities:

• Baseball fields
• Tennis courts
• Bowling greens
• Horseshoe pits
• Handball courts