Merry-go-round San Francisco

Imagine a modern American city so quirky that it's a surprise to find it has mundanities such as petrol stations, 7-Eleven's and McDonalds.

A city whose very geography screams unconventionality — with streets so steep that drivers often see nothing but tarmac and road markings in their car mirrors.

A city that crams the diversity of conurbations into an area that can be tramped back and forth over a long weekend.

San Francisco. Any more quirky and it would be inaccessibly eccentric.

Struggling up 1:3 inclines is what one does when surrounded by wildflowers and pines, not paving and parked cars.

Electric buses are one thing, but electric buses that run off overhead lines the way trams do?

And those famed cable cars? Little Toyland train carriages that move by clamping, louse-like, onto cables that run continuously under the street.

In addition to a quirk around every corner, San Francisco (SF) offers much beauty; enough, in fact, to be a worthy end point to the journey up from southern California.

With Hollywood, San Diego and even Las Vegas being where they are, many first-time visitors to the region are confronted with the journey from the south of the Golden State to the north, or vice versa.

This is an opportunity to drive along the famed Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) and not one to be missed.

The trouble is, the PCH is a slow road and there's lots to see, so fully appreciating its sights will need at least two days.

But luckily, freeways and freeway ramps in California are like convenience stores — there's one on every corner ... well almost.

This means it's easy to share the route between business-like freeway sections and picturesque coast sections.

One recommended route is to use the freeway to San Luis Obispo, littoraly coast up to Monterey, break for lunch, and hit the freeways again to SF.

Tropic of California

This route sets drivers down on the best part of the coast: through Henry Miller's Big Sur and the Monterey area.

However, even taken over a day with frequent photography stops, this is just the PCH taster.

The stunning scenery and numerous walks and drives off the main track inspire one to come back and do it properly — over two, three, may be even four days.

For day trippers, an early start from LA allows them to pull into Monterey, sated on scenery, but hungry for lunch. Dining at Monterey's Fisherman's Wharf is good preparation for the onslaught of the uber-version up in SF.

Restaurants here offer excellent views of boats and bay, as well as window ledges that allow eye-to-eye dining with greedy seagulls.

For travellers pressed for time though, the I5 freeway along central California is the fastest way up or down; a six- to eight-hour journey, depending on traffic at each end.

It isn't as much of a scenic penalty as many Californians suggest, especially since it passes through the heart of Steinbeck country.

The beauty of SF is that picture-postcard scenes don't end in the city. But more than the familiar views of great sights, it's the unexpected glimpses that impressed us the most.

Moments when we crested one of those impossible streets and glimpsed the bay between houses, with an instantly recognisable shape in the distance: that of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Photographs, books, movies — it's hard not to be minutely familiar with the bridge long before stepping into California.

On a clear day, it's just as ruddy and significant as one's best imaginings. There are viewing points with parking spaces at both ends — Fort Point on the SF side and Vista Point across the bay.

The to-do list there includes gazing round the bay area, fighting the haze for long shots of Alcatraz and jostling other camera-brandishing tourists for the best view of the bridge.

And whichever point chosen, a walk across at least part-way across the bridge is enlivening (it's about 1.2kms one way).

There are some great views of the city and the Bay area, bird's-eye views of ferries and even glimpses of dolphins feeding in the deep green water far below.

Watchers won't see one of the bay's infamous man-eating sharks (the ones that made escape from Alcatraz so fraught), because there aren't any. That's one of the myths surrounding The Rock, for the only sharks in the bay are small bottom-feeders.

Rock and bay

The lore surrounding Alcatraz results in two small surprises.

One is, how close the island actually is to the city. But apparently the waters in between are cold and full of dangerous currents, making swimming across a real feat.

The other, more a let down than a surprise, is that the prison isn't nearly as eerie as expected. Still, how can one not visit?

It's like going to Paris for the first time and not visiting the Arc de Triomphe (with the Golden Gate being the Eiffel Tower). Also, on a clear day the boat ride across the bay is beautiful.

The tours start at Pier 33, just five-minutes' walk from Fisherman's Wharf.

A ranger offers a free tour of the island upon landing and this is recommended because groups are sometimes taken to areas of the prison normally closed to visitors.

A well-made audio tour is offered for the main cell block and without it, Alcatraz is likely to disappoint.

Most guide books and SF regulars are of the opinion that missing out on the Bay Area is an unforgivable oversight.

The easiest way to get a Bay Area Passing Grade is by visiting Sausalito, a pretty, bustling seaside town just on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Once there, it's simply a matter of deciding which little restaurant to visit and then spilling languidly from one of its pavement tables while eating and watching people walk and cycle by.

Instead of trying to cram in more of the Bay Area, we decided to take "holiday" literally and spend as much time as possible doing as little as possible.

Funnily enough, these moments were the most fulfilling ones — communing with gulls in Sausalito, sitting in a patch of welcome sun at Alcatraz and getting lost in Chinatown.

The hidden city

But getting lost in the maze of this city-within-a-city was deliberate in a way, because we specifically chose to stay there.

While a cheap hotel in Chinatown may not offer the nicest room, it's hard to get closer to the beating heart of San Francisco.

Like a Forbidden City, Chinatown has its own gate, but it's anything but forbidding. Evenings are a lovely time to be here. Leave the car somewhere, anywhere, and walk. Old men play Chinese violins in the street; families are out shopping; ancient looking couples in traditional Chinese clothes cross the narrow streets. This is not some tourist trap: it's a living, breathing section of town.

As expected, there are restaurants everywhere, and it seems as if much of San Francisco comes pouring in of an evening for a cheap meal.

It's best to stay away from the bigger restaurants that cater to this inrush. Take the time to find the little gem that's round a corner and down a flight of stairs, filled with Chinese families from the area, and a good two or three dollars a dish cheaper than anywhere else.

Proprietors and waiters seem stand-offish at first, but once customers show interest in the food, they come out of their shells and help with a smile.

Portions are generous, and the food is always fresh and healthful. And this being California, diners can't go wrong with seafood in any language: right from the pan-fried oysters on the Wharf to garlic squid in Chinatown.

The Haight's of fashion

In terms of visible character, Chinatown is exceeded by Haight-Ashbury — the centre of the hippy movement in Sixties.

Today, the area is too run-down to be touristy, but too full of interesting shops and people to be grim. New millennium hippies on unicycles, costumed characters and deranged homeless people share the crowded streets.

There are purples, pinks and neon greens everywhere, beautiful graffiti art, and shops selling all the signs of flower-power decadence — guitars, sheeshas, platform shoes… just name it.

The famous used-music store Amoeba has its base here with a collection that reaches down many musical roads rarely taken. Even non-buyers will find browsing fun because it's a great place to people-watch: the cut-price aisles attract some very colourful characters indeed.

The area called Fisherman's Wharf is every bit as colourful, but without the (admittedly dubious) authenticity of the Haight area.

It has often been described as San Francisco's "necessary evil" and it would take a refreshingly naïve traveller to not find its Disneyfied excesses tiring and unnecessarily expensive.

One of its many restaurant attractions is the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co, themed on the company started by the eponymous movie character Forrest Gump.

It's crowded and brash, and more about the experience than the food. Unless there are children who must be appeased, or easily bored travellers who need quick immersion, Fisherman's Wharf doesn't need to be any more than a short stop after or before Alcatraz.

This, as with any of the choices we made, is debatable. The Bay Area is vastly more than lunch at Sausalito for example, so visitors may forsake the PCH and make time to delve further north instead.

Also, SF has plenty of art and many museums — everything from the SF Museum of Modern Art to military exhibits on converted warships. But this is the beauty of SF. You could trip around just one of its neighbourhoods for four days and still come away feeling fulfilled.

In a city so unconventional, the least you can do is make your holiday your very own.

From the UAE
KLM flies daily via Amsterdam from Dubai.
British Airways flies via London from Dubai.
Air France flies via Paris from Dubai.

How much
KLM fare: Starts from Dh4,980, exclusive of tax.
British Airways fare: Starts from Dh3,860 exclusive of tax.
Air France fare: Starts from Dh3,470 exclusive of tax.

Where to stay
Book a hotel in Chinatown and experience the beating heart of this city-within-a-city. Don't forget to plan a dim-sum morning.

What to do

- First-time visitors can't possibly miss the Golden Gate and Alcatraz.

- Fisherman's Wharf and Haight-Ashbury may not suit everybody.

- The Bay Area is a must-see, though we left most of it for another trip.

- Bicycle tours are popular and a good way to see the city. Bicycles are allowed on the Golden Gate Bridge. Segway tours are available and so are self-driven, computer-guided tours in cute little "GoCars", a three-wheeled cross between motorcycle and car. (www.buysanfranciscotours.com)
- Lunch in Sausalito is a must.

Information

- If travelling to San Francisco from southern California, don't miss the drive up the beautiful Pacific Coast Highway.
If there's only a day to spare, drive along the coast at least between San Luis Obispo and Monterey.

- Plan to stay as independent of a car as possible. Parking is hard to find and expensive, though there are many public parking garages (http://sanfrancisco.zami.com/Parking_Garages). If parking on a hill, don't forget to turn your wheels towards the kerb if facing downhill.

If facing uphill, turn the wheels away from the kerb and let the car roll back until the wheels touch the edge. Fines for not complying are as steep as the roads.

- It's wise to plan routes in advance. Many of the roads are narrow and one-way, making route planning complicated in some areas, especially Chinatown and its environs.

The writer is a journalist based in California. Information courtesy: Al Tayer Travel Agency