Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

111 Orte

111 Places in San Francisco That You Must Not Miss

Rate this book
San Francisco: the home of hills and valleys, of dreamers and trailblazers, of hippies and hipsters. From the gold rush to the Golden Gate, the City by the Bay has always basked in the glow of its colorful and celebrated history and world-renowned landmarks. But for those who live and love on this compact seven-mile by seven-mile metropolis, San Francisco is a treasure trove of unusual neighborhood sights and places that sparkle with the allure of hidden pleasures and local lore. Discover a stairway that transports you from the depths of the ocean to the heights of outer space; take a spin class amidst the grand elegance of a repurposed 1920s movie palace; or slide down a century-old sundial that sits at the center of what was once California’s first racetrack for cars. This is the real San Francisco. Strung together, the 111 experiences gathered here tell the B-side story of the city once romantically known as the Paris of the West.

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2015

7 people are currently reading
164 people want to read

About the author

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
33 (32%)
4 stars
34 (33%)
3 stars
26 (25%)
2 stars
8 (7%)
1 star
1 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
Profile Image for Gretchen.
748 reviews25 followers
December 29, 2017
A Christmas gift to my husband and son.... we will have many family adventures going to these historic and unusual treasures. I have lived in the Bay Area since 1984 and never been to Alcatraz! Now I need to go to see the gardens.

A quote from Elliott Michener, the gardener of Alcatraz: "If we are all our own jailers, and prisoners of our traits, then I am grateful for my introduction to the spade and trowel, the seed and the spray can. They have given me a lasting interest in creativity."
Profile Image for Sophie.
420 reviews
November 7, 2015
Great concept and lots of good stuff in here, just not sure how much I will actually refer to it when planning a day out. The entries are in alphabetical order but it would have been so helpful to have them grouped by district, even if that made it more like a conventional guide (which they are clearly trying not to be). Perhaps this is more for the armchair traveller.
Profile Image for Scoats.
315 reviews
September 5, 2025
The format of this book is a page of text on the left and a full page picture on the right for all 111 places.

Unfortunately the author and/or publisher decided that each place should each get a full page of text, whether it was warranted or not. More is not more here. For most places, there is too much text, and often you can scan the whole page without locating the point, or even figuring what exactly the unmissable place is. Sometimes the author has no idea what she is writing about (Anchor Brewery) but keeps on going to hit the word count.

Not all of the 111 places are unmissable. After many mehs, it's gets harder to plow into the volume of words for each new place. But there are some gems here that are not featured in other guide books. I especially liked the former bank that Patty Hurst robbed. I'm not going to search it out, but I found it very interesting. Though it's like mining for gold, tedious.

On the other hand, or page, the pictures are quite lovely.

Profile Image for Rich Farrell.
750 reviews7 followers
May 19, 2018
I’m spending a day in San Francisco this summer and thought the Chicago guide was informative so I picked up this one from the same series. It was a little heavy on nature, which doesn’t do me a lot of good for a one day stop-over, but there were some interesting little museums and author places of interest that might be worth a walk past. The book itself is easy to flip through though and worth checking out if looking for San Francisco stuff to see.
Profile Image for Fresno Bob.
847 reviews10 followers
December 17, 2018
I wouldn't say that you must not miss going to the Cow Palace, and you certainly can no longer go to Candlestick Park, there are some interesting "locals" places here, but nothing earth shattering or places you wouldn't get from a Lonely Planet book.
Profile Image for Joseph Lee.
186 reviews2 followers
May 28, 2021
I have lived in the Bay for almost 3 years, and I have yet to explore more! This guide provides the non-mainstream spots in San Francisco. Being a transplant, I had a good time learning about the magic behind each area, and I plan to check them out!
Profile Image for Darcy.
110 reviews
August 18, 2017
This book has really interesting information about each place, and it is just the right amount of text for an enjoyable read. But some of the pictures are a little weird.
Profile Image for Miranda.
11 reviews
March 17, 2024
The photos are the best part. But this book on touring San Francisco made me not want to go there. And I'm going there in a week so hurray...
65 reviews
July 9, 2022
Seems like an odd book to review on here but I actually read the whole thing. It has stories to go along with each place and gives you a look into what makes San Francisco San Francisco.
Profile Image for Tara.
715 reviews
March 3, 2017
Well-rounded. Brief history. Good tips- "It's an odd thing, but any who disappears is said to be seen in San Francisco."
Profile Image for Scoats.
311 reviews6 followers
August 15, 2017
The format of this book is a page of text on the left and a full page picture on the right for all 111 places.

Unfortunately the author and/or publisher decided that each place should each get a full page of text, whether it was warranted or not. More is not more here. For most places, there is too much text, and often you can scan the whole page without locating the point, or even figuring what exactly the unmissable place is. Sometimes the author has no idea what she is writing about (Anchor Brewery) but keeps on going to hit the word count.

Not all of the 111 places are unmissable. After many mehs, it's gets harder to plow into the volume of words for each new place. But there are some gems here that are not featured in other guide books. I especially liked the former bank that Patty Hurst robbed. I'm not going to search it out, but I found it very interesting. Though it's like mining for gold, tedious.

On the other hand, or page, the pictures are quite lovely.

Profile Image for Metalpig.
54 reviews3 followers
August 8, 2016
3&1/2*s maybe? I like the format with the mini-essays - I feel like I learned something! And a fairly fresh selection, at least for me. They cheated by including Marin though.
Profile Image for Ramesh Naidu.
312 reviews4 followers
December 31, 2022
A treasure trove of hidden treasures in the city !! Even if one dedicates a weekend for these , I would imagine it would take over a year to appreciate them all
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.