Who needs your parents’ tired old tour books when you can download hip, original audio tours to your MP3 player. Thirty students at Galileo Academy of Science & Technology’s Academy of Hospitality and Tourism created audio tours of San Francisco based on eight themes, including a Coffee Lovers Tour that leads you through coffee houses in the city’s Mission District. One of their goals with this tour was to support businesses in a neighborhood virtually ignored by visitors. The Mission District has a rough reputation, but has recently drawn interest from young people, actors, painters, and dancers for its indie theaters and bookstores, fun bistros and quirky nightspots.
I’m seriously tempted by one called Desserts!Desserts!Desserts!, a sweet-tooth tour that takes you from Chinatown to Union Square. Along the way, the audio fills you in on the history of the Fortune Cookie Factory and the Cheesecake Factory. And–for all you sweet cheaps–this one comes with a FREE tasting at Z. Cioccolato. Other audio tours include: Seafood at Fisherman’s Wharf; Golden Gate Park Scenery; Family Fun in Chinatown; Hayes–the Hidden Gem; A Dainty Fling; and Live Like a True San Franciscan.
The brainchild for Audio Tours began when the students researched San Francisco’s other tours and tourist information, took tourist surveys, and brainstormed ideas. They have presented their ideas to the SF Visitors and Convention Bureau for critique. At the very least, they deserve kudos for executing a great idea!
DEAL: The San Francisco Audio Tours are FREE to download to your computer and MP3 players or iPods.
WHEN: Whenever you want–just press play. Tours range from an hour to all day. (Audios range from 6 to 15 minutes.)
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Going to my Ipod right now. Great tips.
Audio tours sound good. In fact, the dessert tour has my interest.
While you are walking around SF with your iPod, you might want to considering joining a food tour with real guides. I wrote a post on “Say yes to airport layover” for Conde Naste Traveler. In the post, I suggested San Francisco food walking tours. Check it out, http://www.nancydbrown.com/journal/2008/7/2/say-yes-to-airport-layover-in-san-francisco.html
It really is a great idea and the students really should receive kudos for such originality.