PIER 39 is a festival marketplace with more than 110 stores, 11 full-service restaurants with bay views and numerous fun-filled attractions. PIER 39's two-level design complements one of San Francisco's most unique shopping districts, featuring everything from NFL merchandise to jewelry and imported chocolates. The activities and fun are endless.

Prepare for a wildly entertaining night in San Francisco as Tony and Tina tie the knot. Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding is a world-famous dinner show that is as hysterical as it gets, with wacky characters, a ceremony to remember and a reception where guests dine on fine Italian food, hold a champagne toast to the madcap couple, indulge in slices of the wedding cake, dance the night away and join in on the fun by interacting with each other and the cast. Fun for individuals, couples, corporate groups and bachelorette parties, this San Francisco dinner theater and comedy show is one that's not to be missed.

Think Escape offers the easiest way to access San Francisco attractions with a lengthy roster of sightseeing tours, day trips and vacation packages that epitomize the Bay Area experience. Visitors seeking places to go while visiting the San Francisco Bay area can choose a range of activities from yacht sailing tours of the San Francisco Bay to golf excursions to luxurious party bus tours of San Francisco’s hottest nightclubs. With Think Escape’s long list of day trip and event ideas, visitors and Bay Area locals need never wonder what to do in San Francisco.

Opened in 1996 and enhanced in 2001, Aquarium of the Bay is a unique educational and entertainment facility dedicated to the rich and diverse aquatic life of the San Francisco Bay and its surrounding waters. The Aquarium provides a window to the Bay that focuses on its distinctive ecosystems and seeks to entertain, educate and inspire preservation of this wonderful natural resource.

San Francisco's most popular and locally beloved nude beach is nestled in the western shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge. Aside from being the birth place of Burning Man, the great qualities of Baker Beach are its size, close shore breaks, tide pools, steep bluffs, and climbable rocks, and a totally nude north end that rubs friendly elbows with a decidedly family-style south side, complete with barbeque grills and picnic tables. While this stretch of the Pacific makes for rough swimming, it bodes well for panoramic sun bathing and excellent shore fishing.

The Powell-Hyde line begins at Powell and Market streets, terminating at Victorian Park near the Maritime Museum and Aquatic Park; the Powell-Mason line also begins at Powell and Market, but ends at Bay and Taylor near Fisherman's Wharf; the California Street line runs from California and Market streets to Van Ness Avenue.

The universally agreed Mecca of gay life is San Francisco's Castro District. The affluent North side of Market is home to a predominantly gay and lesbian community, excellent bakeries, boutiques, cafes, restaurants, and of course, gender bending bars. The famed Castro Theatre, the Castro's historic art deco movie palace, screens old and independent films from around the world. On Halloween, the center of San Francisco is the Castro, with crowds in the thousands celebrating in the streets.

San Francisco's bustling Chinatown is a tightly-packed warren of Chinese restaurants, shops, temples and street vendors. Great for gifts, and fireworks on Chinese New Year.

The third Cliff House, which was built in 1909, after its two predecessors burned, is considerably more modest than the eight-story French chateau built by Adolph Sutro in 1896. This newest one, built in 1909 by Sutro's daughter, is operated by the National Park Service as a restaurant and boast commanding views of the Pacific Ocean and Ocean Beach.

The wild local heiress Lillie Hitchcock donated the money for her posthumous tribute the San Francisco fire department, the 180-foot tall Coit Tower which overlooks an impressive 360 degree panorama view of the Embarcadero, Pier 39, the Golden Gate Bridge, Mt. Sutro, and the Financial District all in one dizzying sweep. Work up an appetite for North Beach's Italian flair by trekking your way up Telegraph Hill to peruse the view and the Diego Rivera style frescoes housed inside the Tower.

Conservatories became popular in the 19th century and the white iron and glass building at Golden Gate Park does look like a relic of the Victorian era. It is newly opened, however, after suffering wind damage in 1995. Inside, the four main rooms house different plant environments: Low and Highland Tropics, Aquatic and Potted plants. The Aquatic Plants room is home to Victoria Amazonica water lilies, which can reach six feet in diameter. Their tube-like roots are visible by means of a clever glass cutaway. The conservatory is within walking distance of the Haight and can be viewed in a worthwhile 30 to 45 minutes. (Jennifer Miller)

Founded in 1969 by noted physicist and educator Dr. Frank Oppenheimer, the Exploratorium houses a playful array of over 650 hands-on science, art, and human perception exhibits. From salt volcanos and bubble bombs to fault lines and frogs, the line up tests imaginations young and old. Just the building itself, a palatial domed structure left from the San Francisco Pan Pacific Exhibition of 1916, is worth a visit.

Popular with tourists and sea lions, Fisherman's Wharf is full of shops, silly museums and family fun. Still a working wharf, its vendors sell thousands of tons of fish and shellfish. Take an early morning walk down "Fish Alley" to see fisherman at work. Later, the Wharf is boardwalk-style family entertainment with decidedly tourist attractions such as Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum, the Red & White Fleet, a the Wax Museum. For maritime-lovers and WWII buffs, the San Francisco Maritime Musuem is at the foot of Polk St. and massive USS Pampanito is docked right at Pier 45

Shopping and waterfront dining at fine restaurants and shops in historic San Francisco Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory near San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf. The building was saved from destruction in one of the U.S.'s first examples of adaptive reuse.Ghirardelli Square Chocolate Festival takes place in early September.

Arguably the world's most beautiful bridge, the mammoth rust-red deco San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge connects San Francisco with Marin County and can be experienced from near countless angles. Drive, bike, or walk across the two-mile long suspension bridge or get down to the base and look up from the tide pools at Baker's Beach or from a Frisbee toss at Crissy fields, both in the adjoining Presidio.

The gothic landmark of the west coast, the ornate beauty of Grace Cathedral is home to hidden gardens, curling dragon statues, and a redwood pulpit that has seen the likes of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and the Dalai Lama. The Grace hosts glorious concerts year round and its Columbarium is the only sacred landmark in San Francisco where freshly cremated remains may be laid to rest.

A drive over any of San Francisco's mind-blowing hills leaves the impression that building a city here took some guts. On world-famous Lombard Street, developers chose the easy way out by making a series of switchbacks to ease Russian Hill's 40-degree grade. Half the delight of America's Crookedest Street is the lush plantings that adorn each inner-curve, and the top-notch views of Coit Tower and the Bay. The street can be prone to tourist gridlock; a good option is to park nearby and make use of the pedestrian staircases. (Jennifer Miller)

With more than 40 hills in seven square miles, no wonder San Francisco is home to some of the most scenic stairway hikes in the world. Climb the Lyon/Broadway stairway to heaven and see why the Pacific Heights neighborhood is so named. Reward yourself at the end of this five-story ascension with vim, vigor, and a bird's eye view of prime real estate rooftops, the Palace of Fine Arts, Alcatraz, and the Golden Gate Bridge.

The heart of San Francisco's predominantly Latino neighborhood is 24th Street, a colorful collection of authentic restaurants, taquerias, Mexican bakeries, produce markets, specialty shops and murals. Mission Dolores at 16th and Dolores streets is the oldest structure in San Francisco (many of San Francisco's Spanish pioneers are buried on the site). Two blocks away on Dolores and 18th St., the palm tree studded Dolores Park still has a Spanish flavor.

San Francisco's version of the Red Light District, North Beach at night is a bustling neon home to strip joints, bars, cafes and restaurants. Meander through the narrow streets off Broadway and see why this is San Francisco's "Little Italy." Like is Italian heritage, North Beach still holds onto its 1950s Beatnick legacy with the bohemian City Lights Bookstore at the corner of Columbus Ave and Jack Kerouac Alley. Don't miss Tai Chi in the nearby Washington Square on weekdays or the North Beach Jazz Festival every August.

Anyone who has seen the Giants play at Pac Bell Park knows that Barry Bonds and other star players are not the only draw. Like a ship in harbor, the three-year-old park is nestled against the bay. Zen moments can be had and baseball forgotten when dizzy seat-searchers realize that yes, the water is right down there. A waterfront promenade allows spendthrift oglers to catch glimpses of the games through a fence. Pac Bell Park, located in San Francisco's SoMa district, is easily accesible by public transportation. (Jennifer Miller)

If San Francisco had a palace, the beloved Palace of Fine Arts would be the place. Designed by Bay Area architect Bernard Maybeck to be a romanticized Roman ruin, San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts is surrounded by lush gardens and a lagoon and the whole dynamic has an otherworldly and transportive effect. Originally meant to be a temporary open-air art gallery for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exhibit, the Palace has been built and rebuilt, a testament to the love San Franciscans have for their ruddy masterpiece. While currently not a gallery, the Palace of Fine Arts' theater does host film festivals, concerts and performing arts as well as being home to the Exploratorium.

Perched atop a hill in the very Northwest corner of the city, the most striking thing about this San Francisco museum is the vistas its location affords (aside from the grand, chateau-esque mood). If you've forgotten what a gorgeous city San Francisco is, a glimpse of its glinting whiteness, the Pacific behind you, will set you straight. Built by a wealthy couple in the twenties, the Palace of the Legion of Honor replicates a World War I tribute in Paris. Among the small collection, French and Italian works, as well as sculpture, including noteworthy Rodin holdings, stand out. Temporary special exhibits are usually good; all ahead on weekends to reserve a spot. The Palace offers free admission on Tuesdays. (Jennifer Miller)

Driving through the sea-swept and verdant Presidio, it's hard to believe the area was once a stretch of grassy dunes. Beginning with Spain in 1766, 200 years of military occupants altered the ecosystem by planting forests. United States Army control ended a decade ago and the Presidio is clearly still finding its identity. Peaceful forest settings and beaches, historic buildings and an eclectic range of attractions, from an idyllic, white-stoned cemetery to a bowling alley to a native plant nursery, make up an odd but charming world. Former military buildings are leased for residential and business use. New projects are also underway, most notably the George Lucas Letterman Digital Arts Center. The setting is ideal for a lazy drive: forgo the map and see what turns up. Cycling and hiking are also popular. (Jennifer Miller)

Fumihiko Maki's daring architecture is home to eclectic exhibitions, performances and films. The lawn of Yerba Buena Gardens above is great for frisbee throwing. The nearby Sony Metreon, which opened in 1999 has become a major South of Market destination with 350,000 square feet of shopping, restaurants, movie theaters, interactive arcades and attractions.