Golden Ticket to Adventure

Golden Hall Pass Your Ticket to Adventure

Tony Bennet, famous crooner may leave his heart in San Francisco. You will take many exciting and happy memories home with you when you leave this spectacular city on the Pacific shore. There are three attractions that come to mind immediately when you plan a visit to the golden city. One is the magnificent Golden Gate Bridge, named one of the world’s modern wonders by the American Society of Civil Engineers. They see beyond the breathtaking beauty to the awesome engineering feat this suspension bridge exemplifies.

Your Golden Hall Pass will take you over this bridge, with scheduled stops for photo opportunities of the bridge itself and the bounteous gardens of Golden Gate Park. Your eyes widen with wonder as you view the place where the bay opens to the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Salt air and pleasant breezes will surround you and engulf your senses in a way no painting or travel brochure can ever portray.    

A second prominent sightseeing favorite is the famous trolley-car system that transports citizens and tourists alike. It has three separate trolley routes that deliver passengers to all parts of this amazing city by the sea. The Powell-Mason line takes visitors to Fisherman’s Wharf, which is the third tourist attraction that draws people from all over the world.

This historic area is a combination of commercial, neighborhood and tourist components that blends together into a place of wonderment. Professional fishermen can be seen working on one side of the docks while sleek tour boats await passengers on the other. These are the tour boats that take passengers around the Bay and to Alcatraz Island, an impressive sight from shore, especially at night when it takes on a ghostly caste.

Fisherman’s Wharf holds many wondrous tourist attractions including Ghirardelli Square, now transformed into an open air center with unique shopping venues. Browse the famous farmer’s markets and see the original chocolate-making machines still on display.  Attend the annual chocolate festival in September or the Wine Festival in May.

Visit the Bali artworks exhibit and performances at the Asian Art Museum with its enchanting Balinese presentations. Elaborate gilded chairs, carved rice sheaf paddles and ceremonial statuary of all types are on display. Or marvel at a silken cloth patterned in gold leaf. See the striking stylized tiger head and the frightening bird mask along with the mystifying statue of the Princess Rangkesari.

In the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, which has more than 27,000 works, you can immerse yourself in every phase of art from paintings to sculpture to photography. First and foremost in showing photography as an art form, this museum has photographs on exhibit from as far back as 1935. See a comprehensive historical overview of the art form and breathtaking snaps of California scenery.

Your Golden Hall Pass also admits you the California Academy of science and the Exploratorium with its many hands-on exhibits that children love. After spending some time indoors, return to the fresh salt air and sightseeing opportunities on Fisherman’s Wharf. You will find many restaurants from elegant seafood establishments to home style lunch diners with delectable fish and chips items on the menu. Your Golden Hall Pass will encompass nine days of pleasure, adventure and excitement in San Francisco, the “Golden” city by the Bay.