MeeGo Conference Spring 2011/Tourism

Latest revision as of 23:06, 16 May 2011

General Info

• What to do in San Francisco

Alcatraz

Tickets can be bought in person same-day. However, lines can be long, and the ferries do sometimes sell out. You can avoid waits, and ensure availability by purchasing tickets online in advance from:

• http://www.alcatrazcruises.com/ is where you do that

The ferry to Alcatraz does NOT leave from the Ferry Building. However, travel to the location is easy via the MUNI F train, a streetcar that runs in front of the Hyatt hotel down Market St and the Embarcadero. You want to take this train North/West to Bay St.

Easy Things Near the Conference

• See the Sea Lions on Pier 39.
• Wander Chinatown.

Vegetarian Restaurants

• A good list of vegetarian restaurants.
• Dawn's favorites:
  • Fancy food: Millenium (warning - expensive!)
  • Hippie Food: Cafe Gratitude (raw food, which is more delicious than it sounds)
  • Vietnamese: Golden Era (not a great neighborhood)
  • Chinatown: Lucky Creation (complete dive, but with good food)

MUNI

MUNI, or the San Francisco Municipal Railway, runs most buses and trains inside the city. The fare for adults is $2 for unlimited travel on any MUNI vehicle in any direction for 90 minutes. Important notes:

• The fare for adults is $2
• You can pay your fare in cash to the driver (exact change only), OR
• You can purchase a Clipper card card at Embarcadero Station vending machines. The card is a prepaid travel card like London's Oyster card or Boston's Charlie card. You can then load money onto the card via credit card or cash, and use it on MUNI, BART and commuter ferries.
• You must have proof of payment at all times. When paying cash, the driver will hand you a "transfer" slip of paper -- KEEP THIS. If you pay via Clipper, the card itself functions for this.
• Unlimited use passes for MUNI, known as "passports", may be purchased on arrival. Full details are here. Passports are valid for cable cars.
• All MUNI vehicles have transponders in them to provide live tracking. You can view the estimated arrival for your bus/train at any stop from here.
• MUNI vehicles typically operate from early in the morning until around 12am-1am each day. There are some 24 hour lines, referred to as OWLs. They operate less frequently, and sometimes on different routes than their daytime counterparts.
• All lines are listed as being Inbound and Outbound. This is relative to whether the vehicle heads downtown or not. Vehicles going downtown are Inbound, and vehicles leaving it go Outbound.

Transfers

• All fares included 90 minutes of unlimited travel in any direction.
• To use a paper transfer, show the paper to the driver in lieu of paying your fare. If at a MUNI station with fare gates, show it to the station attendant who will wave you through.
• To use a transfer on a Clipper card, simply tag your card on the transponder as normal. The LCD of the transponder will display a message indicating it was a transfer.

Cable Cars

Cable cars are not considered standard vehicles in MUNI. Additional details applies:

• The California Cable Car line, which operates in front of the Hyatt hotel and Embarcadero Station, is under construction and will not be in operation for the entire conference
• Standard fares for the cable car are $5 per person.
• If you get on a cable car at the Powell Street turnaround, buy your ticket before getting in line. Otherwise, you may purchase one from the Cable Car operator.
• MUNI Passports are valid on cable cars.
• Standard MUNI transfers will NOT work for Cable Cars
• Clipper cards cannot be used on Cable Cars (unless you have a monthly pass)