Fleet Week, Coit Tower & Hyde Park Schooners in San Francisco, California

I’m really excited to interview Ruth Carlson author of “Secret San Francisco: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure” about San Francisco, California. Ruth’s tips for the best things to do in San Francisco are awesome because she’s lived in the Bay Area since she was 17 years old. She loves how the city has preserved the waterfront and treasures its history with cable cars and Victorian homes.

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San Francisco, California

San Francisco is located in the Bay Area of northern California. It is one of the major commercial, cultural, and financial centers of California. Ruth considers San Francisco the most European city in the U.S. with live music, food from just about every country, and little villages throughout the city.

Ruth says that summer is the worst time to visit San Francisco. It is foggy, windy, and cold. Winter often has 80* days, so it can be a great time to visit. September and October have the best weather with temps in the mid-70s, sunshine, and cool breezes.

Fleet Week with Blue Angels is a fun experience for aviation lovers. Ruth’s favorite festival is the American Heritage Day Parade. Outside Lands concerts happen in the summertime and the San Francisco Opera singers perform for free at the ballpark throughout the year. Stern Grove has free concerts, ballet, and other events during the summer. And the Chinese New Year Parade is in February.

We share a lot of resources and local suggestions in today’s podcast, but you should also check out Travel to San Francisco, the local visitor’s bureau. They are a wealth of information and can help you plan an itinerary based on your time, budget, and interests.

If you’d like to learn how to travel for free using airline miles and hotel points, check out my free 7-day email course.

Getting around San Francisco

The local airport is San Francisco International Airport (SFO), which is easily accessible through the BART subway system. Use our Expedia tool below to find flight, hotel, and rental car options.

Ruth says that, if you’re staying downtown, there’s no need to rent a car. The city is very walkable, but its many hills can be a challenge for many visitors. Uber and Lyft are excellent ways to get around. San Francisco is also very well-known for its BART public transit system.

If you’re looking to explore beyond the city center, renting a car might be a good idea. For the best rental car offers, visit Avis, Budget, or Hertz.

When you only need a car for a couple of hours, you can rent by the hour with Zipcar. Join now to get $25 loaded into your account.

Places we talked about on the podcast

Here is a map of all of the places we talked about on the podcast episode with Ruth Carlson about San Francisco, California. You can zoom into the map and click on each dot to explore the city.

• Red dots = best places to eat in San Francisco, California
• Green dots = best things to do in San Francisco, California
• Yellow dots = best places to stay in San Francisco, California

Who is Ruth Carlson?

It makes sense Ruth Wertzberger Carlson ended up in San Francisco. Growing up in Dubuque, Iowa locals called it little San Francisco because of its hills overlooking the water, Victorian architecture, and a cable car! When she was 17 her large family (she has 9 siblings!) moved to the Bay Area for her father’s job.

She’s an international travel writer who has been published in American Way magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, Bon Appetit, and two anthologies. Ruth has also written two books, “Secret San Francisco: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful and Obscure” and “Secret California: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful and Obscure.” She loves hats, champagne, San Francisco, and getting on airplanes.

Here are a few articles promoting her books:

• San Francisco’s deepest secrets for travelers
• The weird and obscure San Francisco hot spots for both locals and tourists

You can connect with Ruth on her website and on Twitter and Instagram. You can also view her profile at Reedy Press to learn about her books.

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Stay tuned for our next episode

Listen to the next episode when author Rick Pender shares the best things to do in Cincinnati, Ohio. In this episode, Rick and I talk about watching the Riverfest fireworks, ballet at Civic Music Hall, and riding coasters at Kings Island Amusement Park. We hope you’ll join us when We Travel There.

What’s your favorite part of San Francisco? Send us a Tweet, let us know in the comment section below, or continue the discussion in our Facebook group!

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To see which cities we’ve interviewed and scheduled, please visit WeTravelThere.com/map. If you’d like to be a guest on the show, please submit an application at WeTravelThere.com/guest.

Related episodes

To learn more about California cities, listen to these other episodes:

• Hiking Mt Um, Local Wines & Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California
• Boardwalk Theme Park, Beach Concerts & Movie Scenes in Santa Cruz, California
• Hiking the Redwood Forest in Humboldt, California with Ian Snyder