BUDGET Mission District SAN FRANCISCO CHILL LIKE A LOCAL Golden Gate Park is the most famous rectangle of green space, but Dolores Park on the Mission/Castro border is a real San Franciscan’s backyard. Now that DoPa’s two-part renovation is complete, the grass is in great shape and the new restrooms are spiffy — plus the city views, picnicking, and some of San Francisco’s best eye candy are as good as ever. Although waits can be lengthy on sunny afternoons, salted caramel ice cream from the nearby Bi-Rite Creamery (three scoops for $6) is a sweet accessory for a sunny afternoon. CHEAP FUN IN The going rate for a two-bedroom apartment in San Francisco may be astronomical, but that doesn’t mean the city isn’t bursting with cheap options for fun. While we heartily endorse splurging on chef’s tasting menus and fourth-row theater tickets while you’re in town, here are a few only-in-San Francisco ways to have a great time for under $10. TOWER OF POWER Coit Tower’s elegant tapering column has crowned Telegraph Hill since 1933. A legacy of San Francisco’s colorful Lillie Hitchcock Coit, who left a $125,000 bequest “for the purpose of adding beauty to the city which I have always loved,” the tower features a series of fresco murals by some 30 local artists from the Depression era. Guided docent tours of the murals start at $6. Elevator rides ($9) to the top of the tower offer spectacular 360-degree city views. OUTDOOR MUSIC San Francisco’s curious climate effectively means a few extra months get tacked onto summer, and that means an expanded calendar of free music festivals when most cities’ schedules are winding down. Hardly Strictly Bluegrass (first weekend in October in Golden Gate Park) and the Stern Grove Festival (Sundays, mid-June through mid-Aug.) vie for the title of Most Eclectic, while Sunday Streets (monthly, March-Oct.) closes various neighborhood thoroughfares to cars and opens them to musicians and street food. If you want a lunch-hour music break, People in Plazas delivers over 120 performances of jazz, opera, salsa and zydeco every summer weekday. BUDGET © Louis Raphael CONTINUES ON PAGES 62 AND 63 . 61
San Francisco Visitors Planning Guide 2017: Page 61
