Alcatraz in San Francisco

Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, also known as "The Rock", is a great place to tour while visiting San Francisco. Its solitary existence out in the middle of the Bay beckons for company and thanks to day and evening tours organized by the National Park Service, you can help ease its loneliness.

Since September 2006, Alcatraz Cruises LLC has taken over management of the tours, which have just undergone a number of upgrades, from a brand-new itinerary to the refurbishment of cell locks -- all for a total experience.

The Tour:

• Frequent departures daily from Pier 33.
• An interesting tour full of trivia and facts.
• A nice break from souvenir shopping.
• SEAT (Sustainable Easy Access Transport).
• Requires climbing, sometimes up steep hills.
• Like the rest of the city, can be very chilly.

Almost as well-known by its moniker as it is by its given name, Alcatraz Island can usually be found near the top of every San Francisco visitor's "to do" list. Indeed, the tour is a popular one, yearly drawing almost 1.4 million people. What you need to decide is whether you'd prefer to go during the day or the evening -- when the temperatures drop and in rolls the cloak of night.

A past home to such criminals as Al Capone, George "Machine Gun" Kelley and Robert "The Birdman" Stroud, Alcatraz was imagined to be an escape-proof facility. Any attempted escape from "The Rock" was likely to fail. And did. On the tour, you'll learn of some of the more "Famous Escapes", as well as what life was like for inmates of the island back in the day. A highlight of the excursion is an audio tour of the prison's cellhouse, which requires some walking, but is well worth it.

• Day Tour: $10.75 to $18.75
for kids, adults and seniors.
• Evening Tour: $14.25 to $25.75; puchase tickets at least two weeks in advance if possible.
• Kids under four years old ride for free.

Island View:

And while the tour of Alcatraz remains the main draw, there's also the incredible views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Bay as you gaze back towards Fisherman's Wharf, Ghirardelli Square, and Pier 39. The Alcatraz Tour presents many photo opportunities and at night, the view of the city, with its lights twinkling in the distance, is really beautiful.

Call Alcatraz Cruises LLC at 415.981.7625 for tickets or go online.

Among the improvements completed in spring 2007:

-- A new entrance, originally used by prisoners!
-- New audio tour, available in English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Japanese, and two new languages: Mandarin and Dutch.
-- Museum store expanded.
-- Theatre upgrade.
-- Garden restoration, a volunteer project in partnership with The Garden Conservancy

^{* Alcatraz Island; P. Fuszard. Photo reprinted with permission of San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau.}