ESPN

A city of inimitable neighborhoods and indelible imagery, San Francisco is at once a historic town and modern metropolis. Union Square, Fisherman's Wharf, the Mission District, Chinatown, the Haight-Ashbury and all the pockets of the area have distinct personalities, while the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, cable cars and endless hills make the city recognizable and enduring. With its proximity to Silicon Valley, San Francisco has endured the highs and lows of the dot-com boom and bust, though it remains a prominent West Coast banking and financial center and ranks among the country's top tourist destinations.

You won't want to rely on the famous cable cars for transportation, but no trip to San Francisco is complete without riding one. The three lines clang about the downtown area and cost $5 per ride. Preferable for getting around town are the Metro streetcars ($1.50), with six lines that stops throughout the city and hook up with Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train system, which serves the Oakland and the East Bay.

San Francisco International Airport is about 15 miles south of downtown and now offers BART service into the city for $5.15. Taxi fares will generally run between $25 and $35, depending on traffic.

Enjoy Baseball and a View at AT&T Park
With its retro look and waterfront views, the San Francisco Giants' ballpark has been a fan favorite since it opened in 2000. If you don't want to hang out inside the stadium, though, you can always paddle a kayak or raft into McCovey Cove, where eager souvenir seekers await potential home run balls beyond the right-field wall.

Catch a 49ers Game at Monster Park
The 49ers are no longer the dynasty they were during the years of Bill Walsh, Joe Montana, Steve Young and Jerry Rice, but the memories live on at Candlestick Point, where the team still plays in the same famously windy stadium, albeit renamed three times, where they won five titles in the 1980s and 1990s.

Hoof it in the Bay to Breakers Foot Race
Attracting nearly 100,000 participants each May - some wearing wacky costumes and some wearing nothing at all - the 7.5-mile race across the San Francisco peninsula begins at the Embarcadero in the east and finishes at Ocean Beach in Golden Gate Park. Parties, music and food all along the route round out the festivities.

Feel the Burn on the Filbert Street Steps
Flower gardens along the way and a terrific view from the Coit Tower at the summit will be your motivation as you ascend the nearly 400 steps up the face of Telegraph Hill. From there you can look out over the entire city and see the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and Angel Island out in the bay.

Take a Quick Swim at Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Brave the icy cold of the Pacific Ocean from a beach within the world's largest urban park. China Beach - along with Aquatic Park on the bay side of the Golden Gate Bridge - permits swimming, but if you're more content to remain on land, a walk along the 3.5-mile Golden Gate promenade will be exhilarating enough.

Golden Gate Park
Oak St. and Stanyan St., San Francisco, CA 94117, 415-831-2700
More than three miles long and nine blocks wide, Golden Gate is larger than New York's Central Park. And perhaps even more diverse. You'll need a sturdy pair of hiking shoes to cover it all. Enter at the east end, at Oak and Stanyan Sts. (there are numerous park entrances). Highlights: The Conservatory of Flowers, the Japanese Tea Garden, Shakespeare Garden, the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, Strawberry Hill, the Rose Garden, the Buffalo Paddock and, finally, the twin Dutch windmills overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the Golden Gate Bridge. The park entrance is located two miles west of downtown San Francisco. There is ample parking or take a cab or public transportation.
http://www.sfgate.com/traveler/guide/sf/neighborhoods/ggpark.shtml

Alcatraz Island
Ferries leave from Pier 41, near Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, CA 94113
415-773-1188
Tour what was once one of the nation's most forbidding prisons - the last home of Al Capone and Robert Stroud, the Birdman of Alcatraz, among others. Now a museum, The Rock features objects made by its notorious inmates, including escape materials. Exhibits include the Native American occupation of the island, from 1969-71, and the 75 years Alcatraz served as a military prison. The Blue & Gold Fleet Ferry provides the only tourism service to Alcatraz. Ferries depart from Pier 41, located three miles north of downtown San Francisco.
http://www.cr.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/alca/overview.html

The Exploratorium
3601 Lyon St., San Francisco, CA 94123, 415-563-7337
According to Scientific American, this is the best science museum in the country. Touch a virtual tornado, enter the Tactile Dome - a pitch-dark environment where you navigate with senses other than sight, blow bubbles the size of a basketball. It's a mad scientist's delight. The museum is located four miles northwest of downtown San Francisco. There is ample parking, or take a taxi or public transportation.
http://www.exploratorium.edu/

Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market
One Ferry Building (at The Embarcadero, at Market St.), San Francisco, CA 9
Visit on an empty stomach. This airy mall overlooking San Francisco Bay is a food festival - literally, a taste of California. The markets sell a cornucopia of local produce and flowers harvested by local farmers and ranchers. Many are gourmet items: cheeses from Cowgirl Creamery's Artisan Cheese Shop; breads from Acme Breads; conserves, chutneys and marmalades from Frog Hollow Farm; oysters from the Hog Island Oyster Company. Relax at one of the plaza's many restaurants, pastry shops or wine bars. The marketplace is located two miles northeast of downtown San Francisco. There is ample parking.
http://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/

Chinatown
Grant Ave. and Bush St., San Francisco, CA
Enter the world's largest Chinatown - outside of China - through the dragon-crested gate at the Grant Ave. and Bush St. Chinatown runs eight blocks along Grant Ave., San Francisco's oldest street, and is home to 1.5 million people of Chinese descent. Stop at the open street markets on Stockton St. Duck into the alleyways you pass along the way, teeming with shops and people. Visit a tea house, or the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory, where the first fortune cookie was made. When you've worked up an appetite, dine at a dim sum restaurant. The entrance to Chinatown is located two miles northwest of downtown San Francisco. Parking is extremely limited. Best bets: take a taxi or public transportation.
http://www.sanfranciscochinatown.com/about/directions.html

1995 San Francisco 49ers (defeated San Diego Chargers, 49-26).
1990 San Francisco 49ers (defeated Denver Broncos, 55-10).
1989 San Francisco 49ers (defeated Cincinnati Bengals, 20-16).
1985 San Francisco 49ers (defeated Miami Dolphins, 38-16).
1982 San Francisco 49ers (defeated Cincinnati Bengals, 26-21).
1975 Golden State Warriors (defeated Washington Bullets, 4 games to 0).