The Rough Guide to San Francisco & the Bay Area

There's an almost 100-page-long part of the guide (called Listings) dedicated to such topics as Accommodation, Eating, Gay and lesbian SF, Shopping, Sports - which I found totally irrelevant to my sightseeing goals. (Of course, for other people all those themes might be of interest...) Most photos are black and white.

THE ROUGH GUIDE TO SAN FRANCISCO & THE BAY AREA 8 is an incredibly great guide to the San Francisco Bay Area, and shows it to be both wealthy and socially liberal, a place where you don't have be straight, white, and have good skin in order to be accepted. In addition, the book is very comprehensive in its coverage of sightseeing, dining, nightlife, shopping, neighborhoods, and even media outlets, although it should be noted that KKSF-FM is now a classic rock radio station. This book is a must-own for anyone interested in the Northern Pacific region.

I brought this on a trip to SF in the summer. Found it chockful of info and insight (just as much as the Lonely Planet guides). I pretty much roamed all of the city and Napa with this book and a map. It's a great buy. Almost like travelling with a friend who's a native.