Love, Chaos & Dinner. On a visit to San Francisco, it's impossible to resist finding out what an invitation to a show with a title like that will turn out like. And so we turn up to a lavish 1920s Speigeltent on the waterfront and prepare for anything. Teatro ZinZanni — Love Chaos & Dinner has been wowing audiences on San Francisco's The Embarcadero since 2000, combining some of the world's best circus artists, contortionists, aerial artists, jugglers and illusionists with live music and a five-course meal.

Be prepared to be part of the show, as the characters use the whole room as their stage, and book ahead, because its popularity is huge. For three hours, you'll be dazzled and perhaps confused but you certainly won't forget it.

This kind of spectacular entertainment is just one of San Francisco's after-dark offerings, with something for everyone.

For simple but essential San Francisco experiences, ride the cable car from Union Square to Fisherman's Wharf, by night a buzz of restaurants, jazz clubs, nightclubs and street performers.

At Pier 39, you can ride the carousel, adorned with twinkling fairy lights and painted with scenes from the city and bay. It's open until 8pm daily and 9pm Fridays and Saturdays.

Every February, Fisherman's Wharf takes an enthusiastic part in the annual San Francisco Crab Festival, which runs all month, celebrating the Dungeness crab. The Dungeness crab is the symbol of Fisherman's Wharf and has been fished there since the 1840s. Line up at a Fisherman's Wharf crab stand and watch as your crab is cooked and served up with melted butter or cocktail sauce. Remember to wipe your chin afterwards.

For more formal entertainment, another long-running musical show is Beach Blanket Babylon, a zany spoof of pop culture with extravagant costumes and huge hats. Premiering in 1974, it is the longest running musical revue in theatre history.

You can see it at Club Fugazi, a San Francisco North Beach landmark theatre. Continually changing parodies of popular icons keep the show fresh, with new characters, songs and send-ups appearing throughout the year. Currently in the line of fire, and wearing some outrageous hats are Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Mel Gibson, Borat, Donald Trump, Martha Stewart, George Bush, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the desperate housewives … and others.

The show runs Wednesday to Sunday, with two matinees on Sundays and a late show on Friday and Saturday nights. You must be over 21 to attend evening performances, because alcohol is served.

Getting out on the bay is another must while in San Francisco. At night you can admire the festive lights adorning the Bay Bridge. Take a cruise on the California Hornblower and sail under the magnificent Golden Gate while you have dinner and dance.

Cruises run every night aboard the 183-foot yacht, which has three large salons on three levels, with bars, dance floors and brass, teak and mahogany trims. Large windows provide spectacular views from every seat during a three-hour cruise, so you can spot some of the landmarks along the way — the TransAmerica Pyramid, the Embarcadero Centre's four "fingers" and Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill.

For one of the best panoramas of the night lights of San Francisco, head to The View bar on the 39th floor of the Marriott San Francisco hotel on Fourth Street. Fabulous art deco-style fan windows frame the sensational floor-to-ceiling view along Market Street, into Union Square and to the fringe of the Financial District.

It's all bustling with life and a great place to enjoy a cocktail at sunset. Or just sit and watch the fog roll in from the west.

Check out specially displayed single martini glass, the only remaining glass to survive the 1989 earthquake. Nicknamed "the jukebox", the hotel's unusual design is one you'll either love or loathe. On Friday and Saturday nights, there's a jazz or R&B band.

Fact file: United Airlines flies to San Francisco from Sydney. Website: United Airlines

Other useful websites: www.beachblanketbabylon.com
www.teatrozinzanni.com
www.marriott.com
www.onlyinsanfrancisco.com
www.hornblower.com