Embarcadero

AERIAL ‘EYE SPY’

When you’re pounding the pavement — or oceanside walkway, in this case — it’s easy to forget to look up. But this city has a lot to see from above. The new Four Seasons Embarcadero is a prime place to capture an aerial vantage point.

Guests can head up to the hotel’s glass-encased sky bridge on the 48th floor, where clues are set out for an I Spy style game of “Eye Spy” — the E gives a nod to the hotel’s #embarcaderoexperiences — challenging visitors to spot city landmarks and learn more about them.

Not a guest? Try an Embarcadero photo adventure. Professional photographer Adam Jacobs has teamed up with the hotel to offer photography lessons for all levels and types of equipment — that iPhone is just fine! Jacobs leads hourlong Embarcadero walking tours — as well as online, self-guided versions — as a launching point for capturing the area’s landmarks, skyline, food and people.

DETAILS >> Learn more about the Four Seasons Embarcadero offerings, 222 Sansome St., at www.fourseasons.com/embarcadero/experiences. Check out Adam Jacobs’ photography at www.adamjacobsphotography. com, including his private San Francisco-based or remote classes ($125 per hour).

NATURE ON THE EMBARCADERO

You’ve sampled the gastronomic treasures, gawked at the views and amped up your photography skills. Now it’s time to relax in one of the neighborhood’s public parks, where a dash of greenery offers respite and moments of pause (or play!) after all your explorations.

Within just a few blocks, you can stumble upon Sydney G. Walton Square to enjoy groves of pines, willows and poplars, a striking masonry arch, public artworks and the Fountain of Four Seasons, with a cast bronze sculpture by Francois Stahly.

The 5.3-acre Sue Bierman Park stands nearby, with its pirate-inspired playground and ocean view. Heartbreakingly, the pirate ship was damaged in a fire on Sept. 30, but a portion of the playground is scheduled to reopen this month.

There’s a hidden gem of a public space at the base of the Transamerica Pyramid with towering redwoods, lovely benches and some literary history.

The pyramid and grove are built on the site of the former Montgomery Block building, a bohemian gathering spot for Mark Twain and other literary figures. A fountain here is adorned with jumping frogs, an homage to one of Twain’s famous short stories.

And next to the waterfront, hard-to-miss Rincon Park sits smack on the edge of the world, with the iconic Cupid’s Span — a gigantic bow and arrow sculpture by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen — set against the backdrop of bay and bridge, twinkling with lights as dusk descends.

DETAILS >> Find Sydney G. Walton Square at the corner of Jackson and Davis streets, Sue Bierman Park at Washington and Drumm streets, Transamerica Redwood Park (open during business hours) at 600 Montgomery St., and Rincon Park on the Embarcadero at Folsom Street.

KARL MONDON — STAFF ARCHIVES LEFT: Bronze frog sculptures by Richard Clopton are frozen midjump at a pond at San Francisco’s Redwood Park. The display was inspired by Mark Twain, who lived near the site in the early 1860s.

COURTESY OF AMBER TURPIN The new Four Seasons Embarcadero has an “Eye Spy” game set up in its glass-encased sky bridge on the 48th floor.

COURTESY OF AMBER TURPIN ABOVE: Rincon Park’s iconic Cupid’s Span is a gigantic bow and arrow sculpture by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen.