Strolling Through San Francisco
The first time that I got tickets to an audio tour (at Alcatraz), I was skeptical. I just didn’t think that listening to someone tell a tale to me through headphones while I walked around was something that sounded nearly as good as getting the inside info from a live tour guide with whom I could interact and ask questions. But then I took the Alcatraz tour and I found out that I loved it. I didn’t have to listen to the questions of others in the group; I could travel along the sites at my own pace, lingering on those that actually interested me and passing by those that didn’t. I could take bathroom breaks without missing anything.
For that reason, audio tours now have my heart, and I’m happy to say that it’s possible to take tours of almost everywhere in San Francisco. That’s because Stroll San Francisco offers 33 different audio tours for the city. Each one brings you the voices of the past and relays the research of historians and journalists so that you can learn all of the inside info on the places that you want to see in San Francisco. And it’s nice and easy – you can load the tours right on to your own iPod.
You can hear samples on the website (here). You can even hear the story of Emperor Norton, the eccentric man who fit in so well in eclectic San Francisco and was welcomed as the emperor of the city during his time. Other off-the-wall audio tours available through Stroll San Francisco include Janis Joplin’s House, The Golden Dragon Restaurant Massacre and the debauchery of Maiden Lane. Of course, if you just want to learn about the history of places like North Beach and Chinatown, those tours are available as well.
You can buy the tours right on the website and access them from your computer. It’s less than $20 for the full 33-tour set or a little bit less for about a third of the major sites. It’s not just for tourists either – these tales give locals a way to explore the history of their own beautiful backyard.
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