San Francisco City Guide - Getting There By Water

The Port of San Francisco (website: www.sfport.com) operates the 100-year-old Ferry Building on The Embarcadero, situated at the end of Market Street. The port is technically the 11km (7 miles) of San Francisco Bay waterfront, stretching from Hyde Street Pier in the north to India Basin in the south. It includes restaurants, promenades and the attractions of Fisherman's Wharf (see Key Attractions). The recently remodelled Ferry Building Marketplace celebrates food in all its forms. Shops offer artisan cheeses, fresh local fish, organic fruit and vegetables, specialty groceries and delicatessens, wine merchants, coffee shops, cafes and restaurants. The Book Passage bookstore hosts author events, seminars and legendary Mystery Writers' & Travel Writers' conferences. A farmers' market is held here four days a week: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, with Saturday being the biggest day. The Thursday and Sunday markets are open seasonally, and much of the produce is organically grown.

Ferry services: The Ferry Building is a terminal that serves sightseeing boats and local and Marin County ferries (see Public Transport). The Ferry Building, Pier 39 and Pier 41 are where the various ferries dock – many companies use several of the docks, depending on the routes served. Golden Gate Transit Ferry (tel: (415) 455 2000; website: www.goldengateferry.org) operates services to Marin County. Information on all ferry services is available online (website: www.transitinfo.org). Bay Crossings is the ferry ticket shop and tour information centre located centrally in the Ferry Building (website: www.baycrossings.com).

Transport to the city: The Muni F line stops at the Ferry Building and runs along Market Street to the Castro District or Fisherman's Wharf. The Embarcadero BART station is approximately three blocks southwest, along Market Street at Davis Street, with East Bay and citywide connections.