Fodor's Expert Review Hyde Street Pier

If you want to get to the heart of the Wharf, there's no better place to do it than at this pier. Don't pass up the centerpiece collection of historic vessels, part of the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, almost all of which can be boarded. The Balclutha, an 1886 full-rigged three-masted sailing vessel that's more than 250 feet long, sailed around Cape Horn 17 times. Kids especially love the Eureka, a side-wheel passenger and car ferry, for her onboard collection of vintage cars. The Hercules is a steam-powered tugboat, and the C. A. Thayer is a beautifully restored three-masted schooner.

Across the street from the pier and a museum in itself is the maritime park's Visitor Center ( 499 Jefferson St.  415/447–5000), whose fun, large-scale exhibits make it an engaging stop. See a huge First Order Fresnel lighthouse lens from the Farallon Islands and a shipwrecked boat. Then stroll through time in the exhibit "The Waterfront," where you can touch the timber from a gold rush–era ship recovered from below the Financial District, peek into 19th-century storefronts, and see the sails of an Italian fishing vessel.