Downtown

This is the place for shopping, and doing the touristy stuff. You can get pretty much anywhere in the city via public transit from here.

When you start talking about Downtown San Francisco you have to start with Union Square one of the best shopping districts in all of SF. If there is any spot in SF where you could mistake the area for New York City, it is Union Square.
From the multiple story department stores, to the classy hotels with doormen as heralds, the area just exudes the commercial vibe of a large metropolis. In December all you would need is some fake snow to the get the same cheer you find in a New York.

So what is there to do in this area?

Shopping: Let’s start with the department stores: Bloomingdale’s, Nordstroms, Macy’s, even a Loehmann’s. And that’s just department stores. Looking for jewelry? You can find more than a dozen jewelers in this neighborhood. Want original artwork? You have a gallery for each finger on both your hands. A great bookstore: those covered too. Put simply, if it is pricey—you can find it here.

Hotels: The Four Seasons, Donatello or Palomar are right in the square and the Intercontinental and its clutch of high class rivals are just a few blocks north in Nob Hill.

Restaurants: Five-star restaurants where you can spend as much on one meal as some people make in month? Try Masa, for French; Farallon, for seafood; or the classic Morton’s, for a good bloody steak.

Bars: You also have a range of night spots, from high class joints like Summer Place to dives like Chelsea Place, you’ll find them here.

Theaters: Of course this is also the epicenter of the theater district, including one of the very best West Coast companies, the ACT and the Geary Theater. The Curran is also here, so you definitely have your bases covered when it comes to high brow art.

Put simply, if you can’t find something to like about this area (even if you can’t afford any of it), then you should really check whether you are still alive.

Downtown is the beating heart of San Francisco. Its filled with upscale shopping, extravagant hotels and larger than life office buildings. During the day, the streets are buzzing with traffic, window shoppers and suited business people. It’s a great place to walk around and enjoy the massive buildings and exquisite architecture.

Upscale shopping boutiques and big name brand stores (like Macy’s, Apple Store, Sak’s Fifth Avenue) line Market Street. If you’re looking to unwind, grab a bite to eat and relax at Union Square. The 1x1 block gives out-of-towners a nice open space to enjoy the sun. On weekends, street performers fill the sidewalks offering some urban entertainment. The talent ranges from hip hop dancing to drum solos performed on empty buckets. If you walk a block off market, there are plenty of happy hour spots for people to grab drinks with coworkers. The crowd is mostly young, well-dressed and ready to blow off some steam.

There is always plenty to do in downtown San Francisco. The Museum of Modern Art is a great option for people who want to soak up some San Francisco culture. During the winter, most of the downtown area is elaborately decorated with Christmas ornamentations and people can enjoy a temporarily installed skating rink at Union Square.

Transportation is easy to come by. San Francisco offers a monorail system called the Muni (for short) which connects people to every part of the city. Commuters from the East Bay and down the San Francisco peninsula take Bart into the city. Downtown San Francisco is also bike friendly with many residents riding to and from work. Traffic is pretty congested in San Francisco, especially during work-commute hours so many people take Bart in from the East Bay or down into South San Francisco.

Downtown San Francisco is gorgeous and exciting. I felt as though I could shop and shop for days. Of course, you will find all the typical stores you would expect in any other big city such as Macy’s, Saks, Gucci, The Apple Store, Coach etc. However, you can also find some charming eclectic stores downtown as well.

Don’t miss shopping at Union Square, which is just amazing. This area has the best shops as well as a lot of art galleries as well. Union Square also seemed to have an endless amount of restaurants. If you stay downtown when you visit, you will find that there are an endless array of delicious, famous restaurants.

The A.C.T American Conservatory Theatre is also located right on Geary Street in Union Square. This is a gorgeous building and the theatre has an amazing history. I didn’t get to see a performance there, but I would have if I had planned in advance. Of course, downtown San Francisco also has additional entertainment options including the Opera House, Symphony Hall and the Museum of Modern Art.

Not surprisingly, downtown SF also has tons of nice hotels. I stayed at the Westin St Francis, which was extremely convenient. It was directly facing Union Square. It’s very cool to sit in the lobby and watch the cable cars go by.

My first apartment in the city after moving out of the dorms was in the Ternderloin (Hyde at Ellis). I lived in a cramped studio for over a year before I finally managed to move out and up next to Nob Hill (Pine at Mason).

The difference really is like night and day, and it's only six blocks up! You can clearly see the shift away from the Tenderloin as you go up, and the slide into Chinatown as you go down towards Fisherman's Wharf. I can walk outside at night without being afraid of being mugged (although I still watch my back), and I can go down the street to the store without being harassed for change or yelled at incoherently by a crazed homeless man.

The area hosts a plethora of restaurants (as with most of SF) that I've just begun to explore, as well as three different convenience stores in as many different directions, and that's just within one to two blocks of my front door. traffic on Pine can get obnoxious when the workday comes to a close, but I'm a cheap pedestrian, so all the cars serve as good people-watching from my front window.

Downtown San Francisco is centered around Union Square and the neighborhood overflows with an eclectic mix of stores, boutiques, retail spaces, and offices. There is a residential 1920s apartments, condominiums, and a handful of lofts as well.

Local shoppers and tourists flood in by all means of public transportation including the cable car. Large retail destinations include Macy's, Niketown, Crate & Barrel, H&M, and the vertical shopping malls at the Westfield Shopping Center and San Francisco Centre. There are also the finest in luxury shopping at Saks Fifth Avenue, Louis Vuitton, Neiman Marcus, Gucci, and Tiffany & Co.

Eating options abound in downtown San Francisco. Some of the options include Michael Mina or Millenium (offering luxurious vegan cuisine - my personal favorite). Sears Fine Food boasts their eighteen Swedish pancakes, which is a favorite among the locals.

Be sure to catch a show in the theater district at such venues as ACT's Geary Theater or the Curran Theater. For more wild and late night shows check out Ruby Skye and the perennial Gold Dust Lounge.

Downtown San Francisco is absolutely stunning at night. The lights are amazing from a high rise hotel and you will truly fall in love with this wonderful city.