Holidays in San Francisco explored

A short San Francisco vacation

There is something about San Francisco that a short vacation feels like an escape and one that seems to escape even if you are only there for two or three days. It might be the fog of late-afternoon hill fog rolling over the hills. Or the clang of cable cars as they head up streets in what seem to defy the laws of gravity. Long weekends here in San Francisco never do just a weekend, for good reason, for whatever reason, tend to make your whole weekend come together into one that leaves you from the feeling like you’ve been there, as opposed to being in the city. The best part about a short holiday here is that you don’t need a rigid itinerary. The city is compact enough, you can drift but be left to your own devices and still find something significant. You have just enough time to get caught up without needing to see everything. You can walk over to the Golden Gate Bridge and even feel the wind picking up until you get in the middle, and still have an afternoon away to be lost in the pastel streets of the Marina or heighten the steps to Coit Tower for a view that stretches across the bay. Fisherman’s Wharf is touristy, no doubt, but there’s something charming about seeing the sea lions barking at one another while you eat a sourdough bread bowl. The Mission District is a totally different story, full of murals, vintage shops and some of the finest coffee on the West Coast. When it comes to accommodations, San Francisco has a range designed to suit almost any budget or temperament. If you want to indulge, the luxury hotels on Nob Hill or Union Square will provide that grand old-world feeling. Think high ceilings, afternoon tea and views that will cause you to pause before you drag the curtains. Places like the Fairmont or the St. Francis also feel of a different era, a style useful in a city wearing its history so heavily on its sleeve. At a somewhat different end of the continuum, the city has plenty of budget-friendly hostels, boutique motels and well-located Airbnbs, especially in places like the Tenderloin or near Hayes Valley. These areas may not have the same immaculate lobby, but they bring you right right to the action, and in doing so you often can get more of a feel for what a neighbourhood is like. What truly makes San Francisco stick with you however is not just the landmarks or the hotels. It is the layers. This is a city made by gold rushers, immigrants and beat poets, as well as technophiles and activists – and every one of them bears witness as they pass by. Chinatown is the oldest in North America, and you strolling down its bustling streets, past hanging ducks in restaurant windows and shops hawking medicinal herbs, you feel a history that is not just stored up in glass. The Castro comes with a strong story of its own, colourful and proud, while the Latinx influence in the Mission carries warmth, noise and flavour that seep into the sidewalks. For the taste thing, the food here is just as diverse as the population. It might begin with a dim sum brunch, a Mission burrito the size of your forearm for lunch, and conclude with fresh Dungeness crab or Italian food from North Beach. There are Michelin-starred tasting menus on offer, if you want them. But some of the best meals come from a tiny taqueria or a family-run Vietnamese spot in the Sunset District. The flashiness of the city does not want to impress you. It provides some good and you find it, for sure. Naturally, a holiday in San Francisco is not just quiet hills and leisure meals. The city may be packed. The traffic hums, the sidewalks fill, the energy of downtown can feel unceasing if you allow it. I was standing at a busy intersection near Market Street one afternoon, the noise a cacophony of buses, cyclists and street performers, and that familiar urban tension began to creep in. But then I looked up. Above the hustle the buildings parted just far enough to display a slice of blue sky, and a solitary gull floated its way by — but with no hurry, really! Nothing great, but it stopped me for a beat. I drew a breath, watched the crowd pass me, and in the thick of every city’s busiest corner I discovered that there is room to just be there. That is kindnesses soft reflection that a short holiday enables guests to receive. You do not need an open beach or a mountain to enjoy peace of mind. At other times, you simply need a few seconds of stillness between the clamour-filled music in order to recall why you came. By the time you’re gone, often with sore legs from all those hills, you take a bit of that San Francisco vibe along with you. It should be a city that tells you to slow down and at the same time hums with life, and a few days is exactly how long you need to learn that lesson.