Fishermans Wharf

In the daytime, visitors throng the sidewalks and piers of Fisherman's Wharf - a centre for tacky souvenirs, Bay-view restaurants, shops, attractions and the spectacle of some 500 resident sea lions crowded onto pontoons to sunbathe. The sea lions appeared soon after the 1989 earthquake and have made this area home, leaving only briefly during the spring to breed in the Channel Islands. But in the early hours of the morning, from dawn until 0900, the ambitious visitor can get quite another view - that of a busy fish distribution centre sending out seafood both locally and further afield. Dylan Thomas once waxed lyrical to his wife, Caitlin, about the quality of the lobsters, clams and crabs here and small wonder - oysters, chowder, crab and shrimp cocktail are sold in disposable cartons on the wharf, for eating while strolling.

Pier 39, where Beach Street meets The Embarcadero, is actually one of 29 curiously numbered piers on the waterfront and is now the city's biggest attraction. Not only is it home to the sea lions but also many other attractions, such as the Aquarium of the Bay, where moving sidewalks are surrounded on three sides by water. Sightseeing boats leave from Pier 39 and the neighbouring Pier 41. The Cannery houses 30 speciality shops, while Ghirardelli Square, a former chocolate factory turned chic shopping centre, close by at the west end of Fisherman's Wharf, can also be approached from the wharf. Hyde Street Pier, which displays historic ships (including the Eureka, an 1890 paddle wheeler, and the schooner CA Thayer) and the art deco Maritime Museum, show how life in the city a century ago was much more entwined with the marine industry.