City Walks: San Francisco: 50 Adventures on Foot (City Walks)
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List Price: $14.95
Our Price: $3.49
Your Save: $ 11.46 ( 77% )
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Average Customer Rating:   
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Binding: Cards
Dewey Decimal Number: 917
EAN: 9780811845632
ISBN: 081184563X
Label: Chronicle Books
Manufacturer: Chronicle Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 1
Publication Date: 2004-12-30
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Studio: Chronicle Books
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Nice design and good, though superficial information, aimed at those new to San Francisco
Comment: These are OK cards for someone who wants a tour of a neighborhood to get a general feeling of what it's like and isn't as concerned about the details. I would've missed some interesting spots that I've seen on San Francisco City Guide tours if I only relied on these cards.
If you're looking for something a little more in-depth, then you may want to pick up one of the other books that some of the other reviewers have suggested. Either that or take some tours with the San Francisco City Guides (free tours through SF public library). The City Guides tour creators are required to do thorough research before creating a tour, and the guides are thoroughly trained on the history, architecture and sights of a neighborhood. You'll get a lot more out of those tours than from these cards.
Having said all that, these aren't bad for the casual tourist or new resident of the city. Just don't believe everything you read on the cards. In reading over the first 15 cards I noticed two "facts" that were wrong.
The cards claimed that Coit Tower was made as a tribute to firemen. Though Lillie Hitchcock Coit had a fireman thing, Coit Tower was built after she died. Money was given to the city upon her death for beautification and the city decided what to do with it. Coit did get a statue of firemen put in down the hill in Washington Square Park, but that's not the same place as Coit Tower.
Another card claimed that Grace Cathedral was built in 1910, when in actuality the Grace Cathedral that currently exists was started in 1928 and finished in 1964.
The routes on the cards are decent, but some of the routes leave out hidden gems that I think are more interesting than some of the things that were included. That and the fact problems make me think that these cards were put together by someone who had a moderate knowledge of San Francisco, but that isn't as much of an expert as some other authors out there.
The tips for places to eat and rest along the way seemed nice and the author seemed to know more about the shopping and commercial establishments than the history and architecture.
Don't get me wrong, these are handy cards with some good, if sometimes superficial, information for someone who is relatively unfamiliar with the city. They just don't measure up very well as a great resource for anyone who is already somewhat familiar with the neighborhoods of San Francisco.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Short but not sweet, it's OK but you can do better
Comment: I compare this to my two favorite books of San Francisco walking tours: Stairway Walks in San Francisco by Adah Bakalinsky and Historic Walks in San Francisco: 18 Trails Through the City's Past by Rand Richards (see my reviews of both). If Adah is your eccentric walking Aunt and Rand is her history professor, tour guide husband, this deck of 'walk cards' is their slacker nephew.
These cards are the slacker nephew saying "Dude, you should just go to the Ferry Building and then walk up the Embarcadero. They've got cool stuff at the Ferry Building" without the extensive directions and commentary you'd get from either of the other books.
Of course I exaggerate, but here each 'walk' is printed on a card about four inches by 5 inches. One side is a map with your route; the other is brief highlights of history, places to stop, and so on.
Each walk is explained in much less detail, but that's actually the strength here. The walks are shorter and quicker and the walk cards are easy to carry in a pocket or purse. This is probably a better resource for someone brand new to San Francisco or a casual tourist than it is for a resident or even a tourist who wants to get to know San Francisco by walking around.
With this deck it is easy to look for quick walks near your new home, new office, or hotel or tourist spot you are going to anyway. It should also appeal to people who find the structure and information in other two books to be overkill.
Customer Rating:
Summary: City walks
Comment: This nifty box of 50 walking tours printed on cards takes the drudgery of using a big flat paper map & gives you info about the individual tour & suggests stops along the way.
Customer Rating:
Summary: City Walks: San Francisco:50 Adventures on Foot
Comment: That walk you show online is virtually impossible for any but the most
physically fit walkers - and, like others in the book you don't end up where you started.
On the other hand,virtually all of Adah Bakalinsky's walks in her book, "Stairways of San Francisco" bring the walker, via most interesting routes, back to the point of the walk's origin. Great to have your car or bicycle right there after the walk. The stories of the stairways and the neighborhoods are fascinating. Good walks and a good read.
Customer Rating:
Summary: walks aren't very interesting
Comment: I was disappointed with this product. The format is convenient, but the walks they recommend aren't real intersting. Most of the walks are very short (usually only a few blocks) and are mostly in the touristy edges of the city. I much prefer "Stairway Walks in San Francisco" which has longer walks (a few miles each) and focuses more on the more diverse interior of the city.
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Editorial Reviews:
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Ditch the usual tourist traps and see the City by the Bay on foot! City Walks: San Francisco will give you an insider's experience of this breathtaking (and walkable) city. Each card in this deck offers a self-guided walking tour, complete with detailed map and local secrets. Discover where San Franciscans eat, drink, rest, walk, and play. Pick any card and conquer the hills of San Francisco!
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