Visitors guide to The Marina District 

 

The Marina has just about everything a traveler could want – great waterfront, quaint “main street” and a grocery store (Safeway) known as a pickup place for "real housewives." Not the normal kind.

 

Chestnut Street is one of the most adorable neighborhood streets in the city, lined with quaint shops and fun eateries, and lots of well-paid people strolling with carriages and coffee and sunglasses. Spandex everywhere except on their gorgeous labradoodle.

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The rich and beautiful have long loved to live in the Marina District, and for good reason. It has the Marina with its beautiful Golden Gate views and a nice open waterfront park. It has a seaside boulevard to rival many, beaches and great shopping are steps away, and the Palace of Fine Arts is one of the most stunning picnic spots in the city.

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The palace's Greco-Roman rotunda and colonnades are the only remaining structures from the 1915 World Fair event that put San Francisco back on the world map after the devastating 1906 earthquake. They were rebuilt in the 1970s and sit beside a duck pond and quaint homes. The  little park routinely hosts young brides looking their best for photo shoots. 

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From the palace, take a few steps across extra-wide Marina Boulevard to the actual marina for which the area is named. It is often quiet, often foggy, always beautiful. And always full of pigeons and seagulls who poop all day long. They have no indoor bathrooms, but you’re in luck - there are free public bathrooms at the marina, and that's a rarity in the Marina neighborhood. 

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The walk from the marina to the harbor at nearby Fort Mason Center, along the edge of Marina Green park, could be a trip highlight for a nature lover. It offers views of the bay, Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz that are hard to match. The birds, fish, sailboats and windsurfers can be a photographer’s dream.

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An historic army post, Fort Mason is a popular destination for locals as well as visitors looking to eat or shop or take in awesome views from the hill above it. Here you find Great Meadow Park, which is quite picturesque itself with the San Francisco skyline behind it. It fills up with picnic goers on sunny days.
 

The Marina District is bordered by Van Ness Ave and Lombard Street, not the crooked part. This part of Lombard Street is busy with cars going to and from the Golden Gate Bridge. It has a lot of hotels, none exactly high-end, and feels like many other cities. 

 

A block off busy Lombard, many fine stores dot Chestnut Street, from big fellas Apple, Sephora and Pottery Barn to the lovable local shops Two Skirts, Morning Lavender and Books Inc., where you could spot a celebrity signing or wrapping a book. 

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Chestnut Street coffee and food options rival most neighborhoods anywhere. Try the Squat & Gobble if only for the name. Also for its adorably colorful patio dining in an alley. 

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A seasonal favorite at Super Duper Burgers is the mushroom burger, with brown sugar lemonade. They make a fine soft-serve ice cream cone too.

 

Delarosa attracts crowds with its sidewalk seating and Italian fare. Pacific Catch for seafood, Toma for burritos and Causwells for its quartzite bar and European spin on American food. 

 

Normal American cuisine is popular at Mel’s Drive-In on Lombard Street, and there’s free parking. Pluto’s is the place for large and in charge salads made to order with real fresh ingredients.

 

Oddly: Waves make music in the Marina. The Wave Organ is a wave-activated acoustic sculpture created by the Exploratorium. You pretty much have to go at high tide. But if you’re into walks by the sea, take this out-of-the-way detour on the bay side of the yacht club, walk along the jetty to the music. Sort of. It’s free entertainment, and the views of Alcatraz are free too.

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Getting around: Walking and biking are the ways to go. Bike rental places and bike share stands are popular in the Marina. If you tire from exploring the bayfront and want to Uber across the Marina District to Chestnut Street, the driver might not be mad at you. They’ve escorted others just a block or two. 

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Beware: It gets cold. And sometimes parking is hard. But this ain't "the hood." The only thing you really need to beware of in the Marina is guys with no socks. Horrible folks. Maybe beware of earthquakes given that the whole neighborhood is built on sand and it suffered a lot more damage than other areas in the last "big one."

 

Hot tip: The Palace of Fine Arts just might be the best picnic spot in the world. More research really isn’t needed. 

 

Hotter tip: You can find a Philz Coffee truck at the marina, near Safeway, which is notorious for guys and gals hooking up. Presumably not on the premises. That store also is a fine place to buy probiotic granola, or M&Ms if you prefer.

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Hottest tip: Free parking and plenty of it in San Francisco? You must be joking. But, no, just stop by Marina Green. No extra charge for the view of Alcatraz. 

 

Good eats: Trek across busy Lombard Street to Golden Gate Market, which has a deli to die for. So many sandwiches, you can spend 10 minutes enjoying the names before settling for the San Franpsycho (turkey and bacon) or the Escape From Alcatraz (chicken, bacon, avocado). Take the divine offering of your choice back across Lombard Street to picnic at the Palace of Fine Arts. Perhaps propose there. It’s a good choice.

 

Nearby: You can be forgiven if you blow off much of the time you set aside for the Marina District and just spend it at the beach at Crissy Field, which is right beside the marina, and has amazing views of the Golden Gate Bridge. The Disney Museum is steps away in the Presidio, too, and across Lombard Street in the Cow Hollow neighborhood, there is an Octagon House. Yep, 8 sides, one house - all built 160 years ago. Union Street in Cow Hollow rivals Chestnut Street for shops and food and people watching. It’s adorable at Christmas and has better clubs.

 

Photo op: It’s hard to beat the Palace of Fine Arts. Go just before sunset. That pond makes it special. But check out shots of the Golden Gate Bridge from either side of the marina. And don’t sleep on views from the hilltop above Fort Mason.