My husband & I have an opportunity to spend a weekend in San Francisco and I'm considering bringing our 3 yr. old son with us (rather than leaving him with my parents). Anyone have suggestions on what fun things we could do as a family?
I used to live in San Jose and loved going to the Exploratorium and Fisherman's Wharf as a kid.
Why not check out the city's website and see what they have on tap for the weekend?
You can always do the standard things: zoo, aquarium, parks... But they may have an events calendar or family section that will tell you about other things that are going on that your son might enjoy. Same with places to eat and stay...
Check out here:
http://www.onlyinsanfrancisco.com/itineraries/kidcity.asp...
- Ghirardelli Square ... haven't been there in a few years, but they used to have the BEST sundaes.
- Lombard Street
- BART
Some fun things to do in San Francisco include riding the cable car, visiting the Zoo, heading to Crissy Field, carousel at Yuerba Buena, checking out Golden Gate Park, or venturing over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito where you can go to the Bay Area Discovery Museum which has fantastic views of the city. There are many more things to do if you want to get out of the city also (beaches, farms, hikes, etc). I'm sending you a few links to help you out.
http://www.bigbluetrunk.com/reviews/399
http://www.bigbluetrunk.com/reviews/544
http://www.bigbluetrunk.com/reviews/411
http://www.bigbluetrunk.com/triplog/631
I took my 5-year-old to San Francisco for the long weekend a few weeks ago. We had a blast! I got a book called "San Francisco with Kids" or something like that, which recommends fun family activities in the city. Try the travel section of your local bookstore or library.
We bought a City Pass, which provides public transit, admission to several museums, and an hour-long boat trip under the Golden Gate Bridge for a fairly reasonable price.
We rode cable cars and buses, visited the Golden Gate Bridge, went to the Exploratorium (great hands-on science activities for all ages) and the newly-renovated California Academy of Sciences (natural history museum, planetarium, aquarium, and 4-story indoor rain forest) and the Aquarium of the Bay at Pier 39. We watched the sea lions and the street performers at Fisherman's Wharf. We managed to fit a lot into just a few days, and had fun exploring the city.
Remember that San Francisco is very hilly, so it's hard to push strollers up and down the hills. Public transit works well, though.
I hope this helps. Have a great trip!
We just took our 2.5 year old to San Francisco in May. We took him to Pier 39 where he was able to wander around, look at boats and birds and sea lions. He loved it. Ghiardelli Square has some good little kids stores and the Ghiardelli store is renowned for it hot fudge sundaes. We also took a day trip down to Monterrey and went to their aquarium - one of the best. He had a blast and you can also spend a little time in the ocean down there (it's a little warmer than the city). Warning: If you plan to walk around the city it is VERY hilly and I was literally in pain from pushing our stroller all around. My husband and I took turns on the big hills but it's really difficult. However, our son never would have made it walking on his own. So either park close to where you plan to be or be ready for a serious workout.
I grew up there and always loved the Palace of Fine Arts. It is the neatest museum for children! Have a good trip!
K
