Hi,
I don't think I've ever had to do a city tour on Marathon day (July 27 this year). The Marathon website describes street closures, but not terribly well. SFMTA does not show it yet.
For those of you who have done tours that day, does the following plan seem reasonable? Thank you!
--8:00 am Depart Marriott Fisherman's Wharf
--Take Columbus Ave through Italian North Beach (slow for distant view of the Crooked Street)
--Stockton St. through the heart of Chinatown
--Geary Blvd through Union Square
--Polk St to the Civic Center-- circle the Civic Center with a possible photo stop for City Hall
--Grove St out to Alamo Square (the Painted Ladies)-- although it requires a 1-block uphill walk, I'd recommend we do a stop here. There are restrooms available in the park.
--At this point, traffic impacts from the Marathon might require a change of plans, but ideally we'll cross the Marathon route on one of the designated cross streets (e.g., Steiner to Sanchez) and then take Market Street up to Twin Peaks.
--From Twin Peaks we'll make our way down to Golden Gate Park, however, with traffic impacts, we might find we need to drive directly through the park rather than visiting the Music Concourse and the De Young Museum (where we typically would do a restroom stop-- that's why I recommend the stop at Alamo Square)
--From Golden Gate Park we proceed on Park Presidio to the Viewpoint at the south end of the Golden Gate Bridge for a stop (with restrooms). (This area is scheduled to re-open at 10:00 am and we'll be getting there approximately 11:00.)
--After the bridge, if time allows, we'll proceed on the local roads through the Presidio; alternately, we can take the highway through the Presidio when we depart
--If time allows (unlikely), we can do a stop at the Palace of Fine Arts
--12:00 Conclude back at the hotel.