EyeWorld is the official news magazine of the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.
Issue link: https://digital.eyeworld.org/i/111385
34 EW ASCRS PREVIEW February 2013 April 19-23, 2013 San Francisco attractions the San Francisco Bay���s marine animals. Crystal tunnels in the aquarium allow visitors to walk beneath swimming sharks and other fish. The best times to visit are when the aquarium first opens and late afternoon, about an hour or two before closing, according to the aquarium website. Hours of operation times vary by season. Coit Tower T he city of San Francisco has many attractions to offer visitors, from an infamous federal prison to impressive bridges, waterfront areas, architecture, and unique public transportation. Below is a list of only a few. Alcatraz Pier 33, Alcatraz Landing www.alcatrazcruises.com, www.nps.gov/alca/index.htm Alcatraz, the notorious federal penitentiary on an island, can be visited daily by ferry. The island, in the National Park Service, was the location of the first lighthouse in the Western U.S. and was an infamous jail from 1934 to 1963. Tours on the island are self-guided with an audio tour for the cell house portion of the visit. The National Park Service recommends advance purchase of tickets because they often sell out weeks in advance. Alcatraz Cruises, the official ferry provider to Alcatraz, begins departures at 9:10 a.m. for early bird tickets, running on halfhour increments. San Francisco fun fact San Francisco is known for its coffee shops. Caffe Trieste was the ���rst coffee shop, established in 1956. There are now more than 300 coffee shops in San Francisco. Source: gocalifornia.about.com Pier 39 Beach Street & The Embarcadero www.pier39.com, www.aquariumofthebay.org, www.marinemammalcenter.org Pier 39 is the Fisherman���s Wharf���s most famous pier on the San Francisco Bay. It features dining at 14 full service restaurants, shopping at 110 specialty shops, and entertainment including street performers. Visitors can spend hours exploring all the pier has to offer, as well as admiring the views of Alcatraz, the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges, the San Francisco Bay, and the city skyline. In addition, the famous residents of the pier���the sea lions���live on the KDock. The Marine Mammal Center���s Kiosk, located near the sea lions, features staff that can provide more information about the animals. Weather in San Francisco can change quickly, especially at the pier. Wearing layers for both cold and warm weather are recommended. Aquarium of the Bay 415-623-5300 www.aquariumofthebay.org The aquarium, located on Pier 39, offers the chance to see 20,000 of 1 Telegraph Hill Boulevard, North Beach 415-362-0808 San Francisco boasts many architectural wonders, including beautiful buildings and the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges. Coit Tower, atop Telegraph Hill, is another example of intriguing architecture. The 210-foot tower���s top landing affords amazing views of the Bay, Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and downtown. In the ground floor lobby, 10-foot-tall murals from the early 1930s, painted as part of a New Deal program, grace the walls. Access to the tower is by one winding and narrow road. The tower can also be accessed on foot, up the steep Filbert Steps, located near Filbert and Montgomery Streets. Cable cars www.sfmta.com The San Francisco cable cars are living history���the three cable lines, the Powell-Hyde, Powell-Mason, and California Street, are operating in a similar way to when they first began in 1873. The refurnished cable cars were named a national historic landmark in 1964. Not only does riding one of the cars feel like going back in time, but they also provide public transportation around the city through the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA). It is often best to catch the cars at their first stops before they fill with passengers. Timetables and maps for the cable cars��� route can be found at the SFMTA website. When riding the cars, it is recommended to hold on tightly and be extra cautious in wet weather before entering and exiting the cars. In addition, the cars are quiet when operating, so the SFMTA advises pedestrians to be aware of approaching cable cars when crossing the tracks in the city, especially in the morning and at intersections.