The cruise ships dock at two locations. One of them is Pier 27 (James R. Herman Cruise Terminal), the newer cruise terminal, opened in 2014. It has been designed to handle cruise ships carrying 2600 passengers, but can take up to 4000 passengers. The Pier is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified – because there is electric shore power, the ships don’t have to run their engines while docked. There aren’t shops and restaurants at the terminal, but its excellent location means you are walking distance away from shops and restaurants near the pier on The Embarcadero street. There are plenty of public transportation links near the terminal. The local train, called “Streetcar” stops right outside the terminal. The distance to San Francisco International Airport is only 14 miles, or 26 min away by car. There aren’t parking facilities at the Pier. The popular local attractions Pier 39 and the Fisherman’s Wharf are less than a mile away.The older cruise embarkation point is Pier 35. It’s only used now for transit ships at busy times, not for embarking ships.
Hang out at Fisherman’s Wharf. There are in fact fishermen at Fisherman’s Wharf and they deliver every morning the freshest seafood you can get, paired with the popular sourdough. The San Francisco Dungeons and the antique arcade games at Musee Mecanique are also here.Listen to the barking and bellowing of the sea lions that have turned K-dock at Pier 39 into an improvised sunbathing beach party. And have done so for the past 29 years. They are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act and therefore enjoy perfect living conditions in San Francisco. Known for their intelligence, playfulness, noise and size, they are the regular entertainment for people dining at the fish restaurants across the pier. Here is the Aquarium by the Bay as well, home to more than 20,000 marine animals.Walk, drive or cycle along the Golden Gate Bridge. Known as the gateway to San Francisco, the bridge stretches at 4200 feet high and is as tall as a 65-storey building. It links the city with Marin County and is an internationally recognised symbol of San Francisco.Take a night tour of Alcatraz prison, time permitting. The facility on Alcatraz Island once held some of the most notorious and dangerous criminals such as Al Capone and Robert Stroud. The prison was known as impossible to escape from, although there were numerous attempts through its years of operation from 1934 to 1963.There is a lot more than San Francisco has to offer. There are a few impressive museums in the city, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Arts is a must – see, as well as the Museum of Asian Art and the Walt Disney Family Museum. There are a few fun and entertaining cultural facilities that offer unique experiences, such as the California Academy of Science, where you can touch starfish and sea urchins, speak to macaw parrots, or immerse yourself into the ocean’s depths with the help of virtual reality, all under one roof. Although not a museum, the Audium is a unique theatre that bathes the audience in sound that creates sculptures around them. The Exploratorium is a museum that encourages visitors to learn about the world hands-on by using touch, sound, colour and more.
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