American Express-- For travel arrangements, traveler's checks, currency exchange, and other member services, an office is at 455 Market St., at First Street (tel. 415/536-2600), in the Financial District, open Monday through Friday from 9am to 5:30pm and Saturday from 10am to 2pm. To report lost or stolen traveler's checks, call tel. 800/221-7282. For American Express Global Assist, call tel. 800/554-2639.
Area Code-- The area code for San Francisco is 415; for Oakland, Berkeley, and much of the East Bay, 510; for the peninsula, generally 650. Most phone numbers in this book are in San Francisco's 415 area code, but there's no need to dial it if you're within city limits.
Business Hours-- Most banks are open Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm. Many banks also have ATMs for 24-hour banking.
Most stores are open Monday through Saturday from 10 or 11am to at least 6pm, with shorter hours on Sunday. But there are exceptions: Stores in Chinatown, Ghirardelli Square, and PIER 39 stay open much later during the tourist season, and large department stores, including Macy's and Nordstrom, keep late hours.
Most restaurants serve lunch from about 11:30am to 2:30pm and dinner from about 5:30 to 10pm. They sometimes serve later on weekends. Nightclubs and bars are usually open daily until 2am, when they are legally bound to stop serving alcohol.
Dentists-- In the event of a dental emergency, see your hotel concierge or contact the San Francisco Dental Office, 131 Steuart St. (tel. 415/777-5115), between Mission and Howard streets, which offers emergency service and comprehensive dental care Monday, Tuesday, and Friday from 8am to 4:30pm, Wednesday and Thursday from 10:30am to 6:30pm.
Doctors Saint Francis Memorial Hospital, 900 Hyde St., between Bush and Pine streets on Nob Hill (tel. 415/353-6000), provides emergency service 24 hours a day; no appointment is necessary. The hospital also operates a physician-referral service (tel. 800/333-1355).
Drugstores-- Walgreens pharmacies are all over town, including one at 135 Powell St. (tel. 415/391-4433). The store is open Monday through Friday from 7am to midnight, Saturday from 8am to midnight, Sunday from 9am to 10pm; the pharmacy is open Monday through Friday from 8am to 8:30pm, Saturday from 9am to 5pm; it's closed on Sunday. The branch on Divisadero Street at Lombard (tel. 415/931-6415) has a 24-hour pharmacy. Merrill's pharmacy, 1091 Market St. (tel. 415/431-5466), is open Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 6:30pm, Saturday from 9:30am to 5:30pm; the rest of the drugstore is open Monday through Friday from 7am to 9pm, Saturday from 8am to 7pm, and Sunday from 9:30am to 6pm.
Earthquakes-- There will always be earthquakes in California, most of which you'll never notice. However, in case of a significant shaker, there are a few basic precautionary measures you should know. When you are inside a building, seek cover; do not run outside. Stand under a doorway or against a wall, and stay away from windows. If you exit a building after a substantial quake, use stairwells, not elevators. If you are in your car, pull over to the side of the road and stop -- but not until you are away from bridges, overpasses, telephone poles, and power lines. Stay in your car. If you're out walking, stay outside and away from trees, power lines, and the sides of buildings. If you're in an area with tall buildings, find a doorway in which to stand.
Emergencies-- Dial tel. 911 for police, an ambulance, or the fire department; no coins are needed from a public phone.
Internet Connectivity-- Surprisingly, San Francisco has very few Internet cafes. However, there are locations around town where you can get online access, perhaps with a sandwich and a cup o' joe. The most fun and oh-so-San Francisco place to reach out and touch someone is Chat Café, the Castro's vibrant meeting house where access to the Web and a colorful and friendly clientele is free with a food (pastries and sandwiches) or beverage purchase. It's located at 498 Sanchez St., at 18th Street (tel. 415/626-4700), and it's open Monday through Friday from 8am to 4pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 5:30pm; hours vary in winter. You can do your laundry, listen to music, dine, and check your stocks online at SoMa's Brainwash, 1122 Folsom St., between Seventh and Eighth streets (tel. 415/861-FOOD). It's open daily from 7am to 11pm; rates are $1 per 5 minutes. For access without the ambience, try Copy Central, 110 Sutter St., at Montgomery Street (tel. 415/392-6470), which provides access for $12 per hour (or 20¢ a min.), as does Kinko's, 1967 Market St., near Gough Street (tel. 415/252-0864). Both of these companies have numerous locations around town.
Liquor Laws-- Liquor stores and grocery stores, as well as some drugstores, can sell packaged alcoholic beverages between 6am and 2am daily. Most restaurants, nightclubs, and bars are licensed to serve alcoholic beverages during the same hours. The legal age for purchase and consumption of alcohol is 21; proof of age is required.
Newspapers & Magazines-- The city's two main dailies are the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Francisco Examiner; both are distributed throughout the city. The two papers combine for a massive Sunday edition that includes a pink "Datebook" section -- an excellent preview of the week's upcoming events. The free weekly San Francisco Bay Guardian and San Francisco Weekly, tabloids of news and listings, are indispensable for nightlife information; they're widely distributed through street-corner kiosks and at city cafes and restaurants.
Of the many free tourist-oriented publications, the most widely read are Key and San Francisco Guide. Both handbook-size weeklies contain maps and information on current events. You can find them in most hotels, shops, and restaurants in the major tourist areas.
Police-- For emergencies, dial tel. 911 from any phone; no coins are needed. For other matters, call tel. 415/553-0123.
Post Office-- Dozens of post offices are located around the city. The closest to Union Square is inside the Macy's department store at 170 O'Farrell St. (tel. 800/275-8777). You can pick up mail addressed to you and marked "General Delivery" (Poste Restante) at the Civic Center Post Office Box Unit, P.O. Box 429991, San Francisco, CA 94142-9991 (tel. 800/275-8777). The street address is 101 Hyde St.
Safety-- San Francisco, like any other large city, has its fair share of crime, but most folks don't have firsthand horror stories. In some areas, you need to exercise extra caution, particularly at night -- notably the Tenderloin, the Western Addition (south of Japantown), the Mission District (especially around 16th and Mission sts.), the lower Fillmore area (also south of Japantown), around lower Haight Street, and around the Civic Center. In addition, there are a substantial number of homeless people throughout the city, with concentrations in and around Union Square, the Theater District (3 blocks west of Union Sq.), the Tenderloin, and Haight Street, so don't be alarmed if you're approached for spare change. Just use common sense.
For additional crime-prevention information, phone San Francisco SAFE (tel. 415/553-1984).
Smoking-- If San Francisco is California's most European city in looks and style, the comparison stops when it comes to smoking in public. Each year, smoking laws become stricter. Since 1998, smoking has been prohibited in restaurants and bars. Although there have been arguments against it, so far the law has been enforced in most establishments. Hotels are also offering more nonsmoking rooms, which often leaves those who like to puff out in the cold -- sometimes literally.
Taxes-- An 8.5% sales tax is added at the register for all goods and services purchased in San Francisco. The city hotel tax is a whopping 14%. There is no airport tax.
Time Zone-- San Francisco is in the Pacific Standard Time zone, which is 8 hours behind Greenwich Mean Time and 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time. To find out what time it is, call tel. 415/767-8900.
Transit Information-- The San Francisco Municipal Railway, better known as Muni, operates the city's cable cars, buses, and streetcars. For customer service, call tel. 415/673-6864 weekdays from 7am to 5pm, weekends from 9am to 5pm. At other times, you can call this number to get recorded information.
Useful Telephone Numbers-- You might find the following numbers useful: tourist information (tel. 415/283-0177); highway conditions (tel. 800/427-7623); AOL Moviefone (tel. 415/777-FILM); and Grateful Dead Hotline (tel. 415/457-6388).
Weather-- For weather information, call or surf to the National Weather Service (tel. 831/656-1725; www.nws.noaa.gov).
