Fisherman’s Wharf itself is the section of the city located at Pier 45.  It’s impossible to miss because it has a big sign indicating that you’re there, and if you somehow don’t see that, you can look at the strip of tourist stores, the famous Wharf restaurants like Boudin’s, the clam-chowder-in-a-bread-bowl carts and the throngs of other travelers and know that you’re there.  It offers a little bit of sensory overload and really lets you know that you’re traveling – it’s the kind of place that you think of when you think of tourist trap locations like Hollywood, Orlando, Atlantic City, the Vegas Strip and Virginia Beach.  It’s the cheesy souvenirs and the over-priced chain restaurants that you won’t find anywhere else in the city.  It’s a tourist spot.

But, I do have to say that, as a local who lives not all that far from the area, I make it down there more often than I might think that I would.  That’s due in part to the fact that there’s a strange appeal to the tourist activities sometimes.  That you can wander within your own city and see seals docked at the pier, buy fish ‘n’ chips from a street vendor and pick up ridiculous “city theme” gifts for Mom has its place.  And when the right houseguests come to town and want to splurge on expensive restaurants, the first choice might be North Beach but some of the local restaurants on the water run a close second.

My favorite thing in this neighborhood is Musee Mechanique, also known as the “old arcade game place”.  This free-to-enter, quarters-to-play museum of arcade games has a ridiculously odd selection of games which include old reenactments of foreign executions, electric ferris wheels made out of toothpicks by the former prisoners of San Quentin and eighties favorites like Ms. Pacman and Moon Patrol.  This place is fun in a not-quite-touristy-but-sorta-kinda way.

Fisherman’s Wharf has nightlife, although it’s not the place that I think of when I’m headed out on the town.  There’s a section to the west of the main intersection of the neighborhood which is home to a series of Irish bars where you can get Irish coffees and beer.  Many of these have terrific happy hours and live music, so it’s worth wandering through the neighborhood to see what catches your fancy.  However, it’s a tourist spot so you pay inflated tourist prices for most of the drinks and food in this neighborhood.  Similarly, you could choose to live in one of the homes which make up the small residential portion of this neighborhood, but you’d be paying a lot of money to live in a spot where you’ll regularly be woken early by the sounds of the tour buses passing by.  Instead, Fisherman’s Wharf is that neighborhood that you should be happy to visit and then pleased to leave.

Post from: San Francisco Voice

Telegraph Hill is generally located between San Francisco’s North Beach and the Embarcadero area which lines the bay.  The thing that you see sitting on top of it is Coit Tower, a famous landmark which offers a terrific 360 degree view of San Francisco.  This tower was constructed in honor of San Francisco’s fireman by their longtime historical fan, Lillie Coit.  (As a quirky note, she’s called the mascot to these fireman, having ridden along with them on their life-saving treks years ago).  Inexplicably, there is also a statue of Christopher Columbus up here; if anyone ever figures out why, they should let me know because I’ve always been curious.

To walk to Coit Tower, you can either take the Coit Tower steps (also known as The Filbert Steps) on the east side of Telegraph Hill or you can head east from the North Beach neighborhood, at approximately Union Street.  In either case, you’ll have to do quite a bit of uphill trekking, but the view that you’ll get from the top is worth the climb.  You can pay a few dollars and head all the way up Coit Tower itself or you can simply enjoy the scenery from the hill.  Even if you don’t head up to the tower’s top for the view, you should go inside and check out the murals that you’ll find along the circular walls there.  There are grassy areas up at Coit Tower and lots of peace so you can pack a snack, take a book and a camera and enjoy a few hours of absolutely relaxing in-city peace.

The thing that Telegraph Hill is famous for besides Coit Tower is the wild parrots that live there.  “The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill” were noticed years ago by a then-homeless man who had plenty of time to spend on Telegraph Hill.  They have since been commemorated with a book and a movie and sightings of them are sought after by San Francisco tourists who are curious to hear the calls of the wild birds.  I’ve only seen the wild parrots of Telegraph Hill once, but it was a beautiful experience; it just seems so rare to find a flock of parrots inside a bustling city.

Although Telegraph Hill really doesn’t seem like a bustling part of the city despite the fact that it is an active area.  There are a great number of trees here and many pockets of quiet.  It’s an urban retreat which is much less noticed than obvious choices such as Golden Gate Park.  The Filbert Steps which lead down from Coit Tower take you through the lush backyard gardens of the homes on this hill.  The streets, despite having tourist traffic, lack the pedestrians normally seen throughout the city.  It’s a place right in the heart of San Francisco that has a lot of small town peacefulness to it.  There’s not much to do in Telegraph Hill other than wander and enjoy the views but sometimes that is the best way to spend an afternoon in San Francisco.

Learn the history of Telegraph Hill here.