We were surprised to find parts of San Francisco - Union Square, Fisherman's Wharf - more overrun with crowds and megastores than any city (New York, London, Barcelona, Paris) we'd ever visited. So for any crowd- and shopping-adverse friends and family who are thinking of a trip to San Francisco, here are our DOs and DON'Ts.
DO take a morning walk in the Yerba Buena Gardens before visiting the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
If you buy a pair of earrings in the SFMOMA gift shop with the Visa gift card you received from your mother for Christmas, DON'T lose one on the return ferry from Sausalito.
DON'T drop $10 for two people to squeeze onto a cable car but DO take the city bus to Golden Gate Park for long walks in the Japanese Tea Garden and Botanical Garden.
And DO ride another city bus to the Mission District for a walk down Dolores Street. (Stop first at Chocolate on Castro for a coffee and selection of chocolate treats to get you up and down the hills.)
DO go to Y Ben House on Pacific Avenue for dim sum but DON'T visit the bathroom. DO consider a meal at the Hyde Street Bistro on Nob Hill but DON'T expect to be seated anywhere near the time of your reservation.
DON'T go to Fisherman's Wharf but DO go to the Embarcadero . . .
and take a commuter ferry to Tiburon or Sausalito
DO rent a car to cross the Golden Gate Bridge and visit Muir Woods (and DO leave early so you DON'T have to park miles from the park entrance.)
