N San Francisco's Chinatown is one of the largest outside Asia, offering an array of exotic shops, restaurants, food markets, temples, museums and venerable Chinese institutions. Grant Avenue, the district's main street, is a perpetual pageant, during the annual Chinese New Year and Moon Festival celebrations. For eight blocks, between Bush Street and Columbus Avenue, visitors are assured one of the most unusual walks in America. Its name stems from earlier days when a semaphore was used to signal to the town below the approach of ships through the Golden Gate. At the summit is Coit Tower.
Murals fill the tower's rotunda.
An elevator to its 210-foot observation platform operates daily. Visitors can save money and avoid ticket lines. Buy the CityPass at the first attraction visited. Includes admission to Academy of Sciences, de Young Museum, Exploratorium, Legion of Honor, Museum of Modern Art, the Zoo, and a San Francisco Bay Cruise. For more information, visit the Blue and Gold information booth on Fisherman's Wharf or purchase a City Pass at Ghirardelli Square.