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San Francisco is a beautiful, world-class city with many great sites and neighborhoods to explore. The views looking north from the Marina district or Twin Peaks (the most accessible high point in the city) are spectacular! Unfortunately, San Francisco has some well-publicized ugly problems. It is best to avoid the areas where such issues are based, but some encounters may be inevitable.
Homelessness and on-street drug use problems are visible in parts of San Francisco as they are in many popular cities, even in some (not all) nice and well-traveled areas, such as Hayes Valley (great restaurants), Union Square (shopping), and Civic Center (City Hall and the Asian Art Museum). Many areas are mostly free of these issues, such as Pacific Heights, Union Street, Chestnut Street, North Beach, Fisherman’s Wharf, China Town, and the Marina (all in the northern portion of the city).
Please look at maps of San Francisco before embarking on a walk. Fortunately, the Pacific Heights neighborhood, where our office and the Presidio Surgery Center are located, is safe, and there are many great shopping and dining options one block away from both. A short walk to the north of our office are epic views of the Bay and Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and Marin. Also, some of the most beautiful homes in San Francisco are within a short walk of our office, so please explore. It’s worth the experience.
For your safety and to limit your exposure to the unpleasant side of San Francisco, please avoid walking in areas South of Market Street, the Tenderloin neighborhood (just adjacent to the attractive Union Square area), Hunter’s Point, the Western Addition, and on Market Street between 5th Street and 9th Street.
Please think twice before renting a car for travel in San Francisco.
San Francisco is an exciting but congested city. Driving and finding parking can be frustrating and anxiety-provoking. Parking is expensive. Unless you are planning a trip outside of the city during your stay, please don’t plan to rent a car. San Francisco has a great deal of traffic, and there is always tremendous road work. You would be better off taking a car service like Lyft or Uber. If you don’t have the apps for Uber, Lyft, or Waymo (yes, we are the US center of driverless cabs) on your smartphone, please download them from your smartphone App Store and enter your credit card information. Everyone in San Francisco gets around by these cab services.
If you do rent a car for out of town excursions, please don’t leave anything exposed in your car! No luggage, purses, gym bags, sunglasses….. San Francisco has the unfortunate badge of the “break my car window and grab my bag” capital of north America. We don’t want you to be a victim.
Also, please be advised that travel distances in the Bay Area don’t correspond with your anticipated driving times. A few miles can take an eternity in traffic, so please use apps such as Waze, Apple Maps, or Google Maps to predict how long your travel will take and help you navigate.
We hope that your experience in San Francisco is a good one. Please do not hesitate to contact us and ask for our advice.
San Francisco, neighborhood by neighborhood:
- Hayes Valley (great restaurants)
- Union Square is known for high-end shopping.
- Civic Center (City Hall and the Asian Art Museum)
- Pacific Heights – beautiful homes, Filmore Street restaurants, and shopping
- Union Street – restaurants and shopping
- Chestnut Street – restaurants and shopping
- North Beach – Italian flavor, restaurants and shopping
- Fisherman’s Warf – touristy restaurants, sea lions, aquarium, large Ferris Wheel
- Marina/Chrissy Field/Tunnel Top – coastal walks
- China Town — the original and largest in the United States
Recommendations:
Hotels
Hotels in San Francisco are expensive and can be in short supply if you arrive during a large convention. We recommend staying in the city rather than by the airport so that you are closer to our office and the Presidio Surgery Center and can experience all that San Francisco has to offer. Staying at an AIRBNB or VRBO is always an option but there are also many wonderful hotels to stay in. Some great choices are:
- Inn on Broadway $
- The Marina Inn $
- The Queen Anne Hotel $$
- The Grove Inn $$
- Holiday Inn on Van Ness $$
- The Opal San Francisco $$
- Hotel Del Sol $$
- Courtyard by Marriott $$
- Inn at the Opera $$
- Kabuki: $$$
- Chateau Tivoli Bed and Breakfast (Alamo Sq.) $$$
- Hotel Enso $$$
- Jackson Court $$$
- Argonaut Hotel $$$
- Hotel Drisco $$$$
- Laurel Inn: $$$$
- Four Seasons, Market Street: $$$$
- Mansion on Sutter $$$$
Stuff to Do
If you’re traveling to San Francisco, you might as well enjoy the City and Bay Area’s many offerings. We recommend arriving a few days before your surgery to take full advantage of the area. Should you choose to stay for a few days after surgery, a few museum visits are certainly doable.
Here are our top picks:
- Tour Alcatraz – the famous jail in the Bay. Home to Al Capone….
- Reservations for the boat are required well in advance
- Tour Muir Woods – a beautiful redwood grove 15 minutes north of San Francisco over the Golden Gate Bridge.
- Car required
- Parking lot reservation required
- Walk the Golden Gate Bridge
- Visit Golden Gate Park, see the Conservatory of Flowers, sample tea in the Tea Garden, lounge on Hippie Hill, and visit the bison! The De Young Museum is a gem, too!
- Walk on Crissy Field and the gardens at the Presidio Tunnel Tops
- Explore the Presidio and Lands End parks — one of the few national parks contained within a city
- Visit the much-photographed “” Painted Ladies” Victorian homes in Alamo Square
- Visit the various neighborhoods to shop and eat in, see above.
- See the San Francisco Giants play baseball in one of the best ballparks in the US.
- View the City and the bay from the top of Twin Peaks!
- Go to a Warriors basketball game in the spectacular Chase Stadium.
- Visit our world-class museums: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, DeYoung Museum, CA Academy of Sciences, Legion of Honor, Asian Art Museum, Contemporary Jewish Museum, the Exploratorium, Cable Car Museum, and Walt Disney Family Museum.
Dining:
- It isn’t easy to provide a comprehensive list of the best restaurants this eating mecca offers, but we can list a few of the go-tos. Reservations are usually required. We also recommend using the Yelp app to find restaurants and get on the waiting list.
Travel to San Francisco by plane:
San Francisco is served by its international airport, SFO, and the smaller Oakland Airport (OAK). Both are around 12 miles from the northern portion of San Francisco. SFO certainly will have more direct flight options, depending on where you travel from.
Travel from either airport is best by Uber, Lyft, or limousine. Renting a car is fine if you have secured parking at your hotel, but be aware that parking in San Francisco can be difficult. Many areas have meter parking, time-limited parking, limited available parking, and car break-in issues.
All inquiries, surgery scheduling, and correspondences should be directed to my experienced staff at the San Francisco office (info@thesternbergclinic.com, 415.417.3377).
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Meet Your Surgeon, Dr. Jeffrey Sternberg
After many years performing major abdominal operations including open and laparoscopic resections for colon cancer, rectal cancer, Crohn’s disease, and Ulcerative colitis, I have chosen to concentrate my efforts in a few highly specialized areas of surgery where I feel I can make the greatest positive impact on patients.
