There is a lot to do in San Francisco for sure. I would go play at Free Gold Watch and the Gestalt Haus.
Free Gold Watch is a print shop, that has an excellent collection of games all on coin play. FGW is located right by Golden Gate park and is in the Haight neighborhood, lots of good food and stuff to check out there.
Gestalt Haus has some awesome sandwiches and some DMD games that are well taken care of. It is in the lower Mission and the Mexican food there is pretty great.

They aren't close to each other, but that's where I would go. If you were to cross the bay, head to Alameda to the Pacific Pinball Museum. About 100 games there ranging from woodrails to DMD's!

I second FGW, for sure.

Musée Mécanique in Fisherman's Wharf had a Hyperball last time I went, maybe some others that I'm forgetting? But the place is incredible, packed with old time arcade machines.

Just make sure you watch where you step...lot of poop.

Crab House at fisherman's wharf...get the dungenes crab.

pinballpete come check out the PPM! I am a volunteer/tech there during the week and there is a lot to see! Due to my recent joining of pinside, I cannot update the games shown on the pinmap, but there are only a few differences.

as Cornelius said, Musée Mécanique is a must see as well. It is in total tourist trap San Francisco, but the amount of coin operated gizmos there is truly one of a kind. I think there is a Four Seasons, Indiana Jones, and TAF there for sure, there is a Hyperball as well!

That Indiana Jones at Musee Mecanique had some horrible playfield wear when I was there in 2011. I can't imagine what it looks like now. That place is very cool though.

If you are staying in San Francisco and plan to go to the Pacific Pinball museum in Alameda and you are taking the BART and bus to get there, keep in mind...it will be an all day trip. Wife and I didn't realize what a trek it actually was and we were almost caught in Oakland after dark. That is somewhere you don't want to be.

I love taking public transportation around SF. That's the first thing I do when I visit - get a Metropass and just go random places!

freegoldwatch and Gestalt for sure, the beer selection in the latter is epic and awesome german sausage!

If you are into music at all, there is a place basically right across the street from Free Gold Watch called Amoeba Music. Huge selection of stuff that's music related plus occasional live shows. Definitely worth a stop just to browse and hang out with the locals.

pinballpete You can take a Ferry to Alameda very easily from San Francisco, but getting from the old Navy base where it lets you off is an uber/lyft sort of situation. Honestly, That would be the most pleasant, and easiest way to do it.

LesManley It is absolutely trashed haha. The one In Disneyland is in better shape, and that one is rough...

You are visiting Alcatraz, right?

There's a WW2 submarine near fishermans wharf.

Muir Woods is just north of San Francisco.

Hearst Castle is a 4 hour drive. Do all 3 tours there.

I actually gasped the first time I walked inside of that place! So big! So much! Give it all to me!

A young lady also attempted to sell me ganja in front of the store. That was nice. Too paranoid to take her up on it.

Alcatraz was really interesting. I wouldn't pass it up unless you have very small kids. Not sure it would hold their interest.

SF is my dream home. Someday soon.

Get there early. Not a lot of parking. I was there on Martin Luther king jr day 2 years ago. I had to park 3 miles away...along side of the road isn't the easiest way to park.

The boat to Alcatraz is a big boat that holds a couple hundred people.

Watch out for the scammers and panhandlers.

If anyone asks "I know where you got your shoes", just keep walking. Basically, if any stranger on the street talks to you, keep walking. But when you're walking, just try not to step in the poop.

If you're a Disney fan, the Walt Disney Family Museum is kind of interesting. It's located at the Presidio.

http://waltdisney.org/visit

If you're a baseball fan, catching a game or taking the tour at AT&T Park where the Giants play is worth the trip. I also like the cable car barn, and if you're into modern art, tough to beat the SFMOMA. I've been to the NYC MOMA, and IMHO, the Fisher collection (people who started the Gap store) is in a class by itself. And YES to Musee Mechanique, though NO to Fisherman's Wharf and any place to eat down by there. SF has way too many awesome restaurants to waste your time by the tourist-trap piers.

Gotta downvote the Oakland after dark take. First off, PPM is in Alameda, which is a pretty mellow town, and there's a decent neighborhood bar down on the corner to grab some brews. Not to mention a legendary BBQ franchise on the same block (Everet and Jones I believe).

Pacific Pinball Museum is MAnDATORy for a pinhead. Second, I don't think I've ever been there in the daylight...and I've been there with my sister, my wife and two young kids, and with friends...no worries whatsoever AND they have parking! Lastly, there are places in Oakland that are nice too, like Jack London Square, with jazz clubs and restaurants and all the stuff you want as a tourist looking to do a bunch of shit in a limited time frame.

Rec for Free Gold Watch. I'm pretty sure that place has the most pins in the city proper. I'm wearing my SFPD - SAN Francisco Pinball Dept. hoodie as I type this!

Last, is that damn Indy STILL at Musee Mech? It was there when it was still by the Cliff House out on Pacific Beach!! That and a Sing - A - Long, which is a great EM.

IMG_0317 (resized).JPG

I said the PPM is in Alameda, but depending on where you are coming from and how you are getting there you're going to at least go through Oakland. Alameda was fine, Oakland is like a demilitarized zone and I didn't want to be there in the day time, let alone night. And the fact that PPM has parking wouldn't have done us any good, we didn't have a car and didn't drive there. We had to get off the bus to transfer in Oakland and it was not pleasant, although it wasn't really pleasant on the bus either with the homeless people and the drunks. But at least they kicked off the drunk who was screaming obscenities, challenging people and wouldn't sit down. That was a bonus. I would go back to the PPM, I just wouldn't do it the way we did it before for sure.

Don't overlook uber/lyft has alternative transportation. Some places are just really awkward to get to by municipal transit systems.

TheFamilyArcade that hoodie is awesome man! are they still for sale?

Exactly. Getting from SF to the pinball museum is no big deal if you either rent a car or get an Uber. Not an all day endeavor. 30 min drive tops. And spending a couple hours there is probably plenty. It's not that big. < 1/2 day endeavor is more like it.

If you want to spend the day accross the bridge, I recommend going to the pinball museum and Playland not at the Beach.

And driving though Oakland is no big deal. Driving through Oakland on the freeway is really no big deal. Hanging out on foot after dark in a couple choice nighborhoods wearing a Rolex is not recommended.