Sausalito is easy to get to from San Francisco. You can drive over the Golden Gate Bridge or take a short ferry ride from the Ferry Building or Fisherman's Wharf. Driving in San Francisco isn't much fun for the tourist (see a later post), but a ferry ride is relaxing and you get great views of the San Francisco skyline. The Ferry Building is the best departure point. Fisherman's Wharf has lots of souvenir shops and mediocre restaurants which are overrun with tourists. The Ferry Building on the other hand has a range of interesting shops, a good range of restaurants and is worth seeing in its own right.
In the 1960s Sausalito was something of a hippy and bohemian enclave and many people lived in houseboats. The houseboats are still there, but very wealthy residents have taken over. It is hard to imagine anyone but the well heeled, being able to buy anything in Sausalito today, even a houseboat. It is sad that many ordinary people have been priced out, but fortunately the arty alternative feel to the place has remained.
It would be easy to spend a few days in Sausalito as well as, or instead of the city. The views of the San Francisco skyline are great, there are good range of quality restaurants and a choice of places to stay. The Inn Above the Tide is a small hotel, which as the name suggests is right on the waters edge. Unfortunately it isn't possible for non residents to go in for a drink.
The wealth of the town is obvious, not just by the property, but the size of some of the yachts in the marina.
A couple of hours is enough to get a taste of this lovely place, staying for a night or two would be even better. It is the top of my list of what to do while in San Francisco.
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