Short of running rampant through sewers and subterranean tunnels with half-historian/half-rat hybrids, walking tours are the best way to really get to know the ins and outs of a city. Learn the lay of the land without mutant interference with today's Groupon: for $17, you get an Embarcadero, Food, and Fortunes tour from San Francisco Urban Adventures (a $35 value). The tour lasts approximately 3.5 to 4 hours. Make sure to wear comfortable walking shoes.
The Embarcadero, Food, and Fortunes tour packs eclectic eats, regional history, and urban sights and sounds into a culture-filled half-day for city-curious touristas. Starting at the Ferry Building Marketplace, sample California-grown farmers' market fare and gaze out over the Bay while a guide lays bare the beams of the building's architecture and history. Then, the tour weaves its way through the Financial District's stately and shark-free skyscrapers and 19th-century buildings to the beat of talk about boom and bust cycles and the gold rush. In a nearby park, you'll have the chance to hug a rotund Redwood tree and try to mentally triangulate the Transamerica Pyramid before sipping some suds in a local pub. Next, you'll sit on a stagecoach and inspect gold nuggets at an interactive gold rush museum (the museum is closed on Saturdays and Sundays) and walk by SOMA's internationally renowned art museums. The tour concludes on the lush lawn of the Yerba Buena Gardens.
Whether you're visiting San Francisco during a break from your ego-wrestling career or you're a lifelong resident looking for a chance to try out your new hydraulic calf muscles, the Embarcadero, Food, and Fortunes tour is an ideal way to learn more about the city.
You must book your reservation at least 48 hours in advance.
Groupon Says
It's a Grand Old Flag
On Flag Day, it's important to honor the stars and stripes and to remember what they stand for: our hardworking American flag-makers. Here's what each element of the flag represents:
- The 50 stars represent the approximate number of stars in the night sky
- The seven red stripes represent the seven different blood types of the Founding Fathers
- The six white stripes used to represent liberty, but thanks to an exclusive licensing deal between the U.S. government and Proctor & Gamble, they now represent Crest Whitestrips, America's fastest-acting whitening tooth strip
- The whale wearing a top hat that appears in the upper-right-hand corner of the flag represents our national motto, "USA—A Whale of a Country!"
- The blue rectangle housing the stars represents America's favorite color, green
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