Film Lover's Getaway to San Francisco

San Francisco is an oft-repeated backdrop for films of all kinds. Francis Ford Coppola's American Zoetrope Studios are here (in the oddly-shaped building at Kearny and Columbus), as is Lucasfilm (in the Presidio). Unfortunately, neither give tours, but for any film lover with a good visual memory, walking around town is like one big movie tour, anyway.

You can plan your San Francisco Film Lover's day trip or weekend getaway in a jiffy using the resources below.

5 Great Things for Film Lovers to Do in San Francisco

• Vertigo Film Sites: One of the most quintessential San Francisco films in terms of the number of San Francisco sites it portrays, Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo draws devoted fans to see its locales. You can take our self-guided tour, or save the trouble driving around and contact A Friend in Town tour company whose owner has been showing fans Vertigo locations for over 10 years.

• Sundance Kabuki Theater: If you want to see the film that's playing in their Auditorium 1, you're headed for one of the finest movie-going venues we've seen. Reserve a seat in the balcony, stop off in the bar for your beverage of choice and enjoy the experience. Get there early to eat a light meal, or order it to take inside with you. If you're running late, they'll give you a (quiet) pager so you know when it's ready.

• Castro Theatre: The Castro's calendar looks like it was assembled by an eclectic film-lover, with a mix of classics, sing-along film showings and campy little-knowns. Their 70mm mini-film fests also afford an extraordinary opportunity to see films like Lawrence of Arabia as their makers intended.

• San Francisco Movie Tours: We haven't had a chance to try them yet, but this looks like a fun way to see the city's film sites.

• San Francisco Movie Sites: Our guide will help you find locales from Dirty Harry, Bullitt and more classic San Francisco films.

If beautiful movie palaces are your passion, you may want to add a side trip down the peninsula. Palo Alto's Stanford Theatre mounts regular tributes to film stars and directors, often showing them in double features.

Annual San Francisco Film Events You Should Know About

• San Francisco International Film Festival, April-May: It claims to be the world's longest-running film fest, started in 1957.

• San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival, June: Screens at San Francisco's Castro Theater as well as other area venues.

• Noir City, January: This festival celebrates the stylish crime dramas of the mid-twentieth century. You know the ones: low-key, black-and-white filming, gritty crime stories, full of moral ambiguity.

If that's not enough, the San Francisco Film Commission lists more fests in and around San Francisco.

Best Bites

While it's not a real movie-going experience, the films flickering on the walls at Foreign Cinema will keep your film theme going while you fuel up. Kabuki Cinema also has a restaurant and serves gourmet chocolate and Peet's coffee in their snack bar.

Where to Stay

San Francisco is a compact city, so almost anywhere in town will work out fine. Check our recommended hotels.

Getting There

San Francisco is 87 miles from Sacramento, 385 miles from Los Angeles and about 200 miles from Lake Tahoe.