Farmers Market at Ferry Plaza!

Ferry Plaza comes alive with a large, upscale farmers market several days a week (see schedule below). The displays are beautiful and there's lots of organic produce to buy. The Saturday market is the largest, and is held on the promenade in front of the Ferry Building and also on the bayside of the building- great views!

Ferry Plaza is a restored ferry building, with cute shops selling artisan cheese, oysters, and other specialty foods. Especially cool is Cowgirl Creamery, a store with cheeses from all over the world. You can even get Stinging Nettle cheese. You can sample cheese for free here. Make sure you try the Mt. Tam cheese. On Sunday mornings, Book Passage, a small bookstore with a good local travel section and great kids section, often has sing-alongs for kids at 10:30am. 
Take the trolley here and you will have the chance to ride one of the gorgeous imported trolleys that were brought to San francisco from all over the world. We rode in an Italian one and it was fun to see the signs posted in Italian.
Or you can catch a Golden Gate commuter ferry here, for much less cost (around $12) than the touristy Blue and Gold ferries. Children under 5 ride free. There are snacks to buy on board, and it's fun to go out on the deck- dress warm! The ferry to and from Sausalito passes right by Alcatraz- it's gorgeous. Even if you can't go on a ferry, your kids will love to stand and watch the ferries come and go from the Ferry Plaza!

Directions

The Ferry building is located at 1 Ferry Plaza, at the end of Market Street.
Take the trolley here on the F line- the trolleys go from Market Street to Ferry Plaza to Fisherman's Wharf.
The farmers market is Tues and Thurs 10-2, Sat 8-2, and Sun 10-2 (spring to fall only), call (415) 291-3276.
Cowgirl Creamery, (415) 362-9350.
Book Passage, call (415) 835-1020.
Ferry info: www.goldengateferry.org. A ferry trip costs around $12 for an adult and takes about 25 minutes to get to Sausalito.

Click on map for interactive view