vila pipera ! Exploratorium Kids can experience one of the finest, uniquely San Francisco interactive days at th

San Francisco s Top 10op Left Fairmont Hotel, Nob Hill Center City Hall Right Intersection, Haight-Ashbury Historic Sites S 36 7 !Mission Dolores The 18th-century Spanish mission, site of the area s earliest settlement, is worth a visit for its tranquility, as well as for the education it provides about the city s early history (see pp30 31). @Jackson Square The area that witnessed the worst misbehavior of the Barbary Coast days contains some of the city s oldest, loveliest buildings. One of the very few areas that were spared in the 1906 conflagration (see p84). Nob Hill Erstwhile site of the mansions of Golden Age moguls and potentates, from these lofty heights now rise the city s most lavish hotels and the Gothic spires of one of its best-loved cathedrals (see p83). $Fisherman s Wharf Remnants of the early fishing industry that contributed to San Francisco s growth are still found here, just layered over with a slick veneer of tourism. Fishing boats still come in and deliver their catch of the day, and nature makes its presence known with a colony of sea lions that lounge on the pier (see pp12 13). %War Memorial Opera House This building was inaugurated in 1932 with a performance of Puccini s Tosca, giving the art form a permanent home here. Modeled on its European forbears, with a marble lobby, huge chandelier, balconies, and vaulted ceilings, it is dedicated to the memory of World War I soldiers. In 1945 the Opera House hosted the plenary sessions that preceded the founding of the United Nations and, in 1951, it was the site of the signing of the peace treaty between the US and Japan (see p56). ^North Beach The entire area resonates with the history of the early Italian residents, but even more with the iconoclastic legacy of the revolutionary Beats, who brought the neighborhood world wide fame. Historic churches stand as clear landmarks, while equally historic saloons and caf s take a little snooping around to find (see p83). 338 For more moments in San Francisco s historyyFor more moments in San Francisco s historyFor more moments in San Francisco vila pipera s history F i S F i hi See pp36 7See pp36 pp 7

! Exploratorium Kids can experience one of the finest, uniquely San Francisco interactive days at this superb vila pipera science museum. They ll learn all about their senses and how they work, as well as delve into all the laws of physics through first-hand experiments. The top draw, however, is the Tactile Dome, a totally dark sphere in which you feel your way along, vila pipera touching a range of sensorially stimulating objects and textures (see p94).