All the Places you MUST SEE in San Francisco
We live in San Francisco (and have been since 2013) but recently gave his sister and her husband a trip to SF to visit us as their wedding gift. Their trip was short, just a weekend, so we had to reflect and think of about all the things they must see and do while visiting this fabulous city. It was her second time visiting (she came once when Rodney moved) but it was her husbands first.
We broke the trip down into things they needed to see, do and things they would enjoy and scoured the local events and experiences to come up with fillers in the event there was a dull moment.
Score Card: 6/10
- Transportation: 8/10 (From ride shares to public transportation to car rentals to scooter rentals to bike rentals and more. There are options for everyone, although some are a bit more pricey than others.)
- Price: 3/10 (Everything is expensive in the city — from lodging to food to excursions to tickets. But with a little time and effort you can find good deals)
- Safety: 6/10 (San Francisco is generally safe but it does have a few sketchy areas (the Tenderloin) and is known for car theft)
- Food: 7/10 (people rave about the dining options, experiences and quality. With a lot of trendy spots as well as mom and pop shops, everything is good but you’ll need to check reviews if you want to find things that are great)
- Culture: 6/10 (Different neighborhoods offer difference experience, each with their own culture. The city as a whole has the underlying tech vibe. Regardless, it’s a big city that is somewhat normalized to current trends)
- History: 7/10 (Being a major port, it has a lot of military history, architectural wonders and natural event information (like earthquakes and fault lines) to be learned)
- Excitement: 6/10 (You’ll have to seek out the exciting experiences but they’re there)
- Awe Inspiring: 6/10 (Some of the buildings and natural landmarks are awe inspiring)
- Technology Equipped: 8/10 (data and GPS throughout in most areas)
- Female Friendly: 7/10 (Aside from a few sketchy areas, it’s a female friendly city.)
- Solo Travel Recommended: 7/10 (A solo traveler can easily find themselves with things to see/do/experience and ways to meet people)
- Language Barrier: 10/10 (As long as you speak English you’re good to go)
Where to go:
Pro Tips:
- Check out Goldstar, Groupon, Gilt, and FindTicketsFast for good restaurant, event and experience deals!
- Rush tickets are available for the Symphony and only cost $20. There is a hotline you can call after 6pm the day prior (or Friday after 6pm for weekend shows) and it will tell you if they will have Rush tickets. If they do, you need to be there right when the box office opens as it’s a first come first serve basis and (I believe) you can only buy 2 per person.
- If you have friends or connections at Google, YouTube, Pixar, Tesla, Facebook, Apple they can take you on a tour. (But, if you do not — it is much harder to get a tour)
- Punchline and Cobbs comedy clubs both give away tickets to their shows frequently. Sign up for the text messages and see if you can ‘win’ 2 free tickets during your trip!
Experience Highlights:
Costs: $984 for 4 days/3 nights of events for 4 people
- $38.50 Symphony tickets (we found a good deal) x 4 people
- $500 Meals, groceries and random items for everyone for the weekend
- Free Accommodations (they stayed with us)
- Free Punchline tickets (won them)
- Free Pixar tour (hooked up by a friend)
- Free Helicopter tour (hooked up by a friend (score))
- $150 RT Flights from SLC to SFO x 2 people
- $15 Uber in the rain each way for the symphony x 2 ways
- Fun with family — priceless
Itinerary
- Thursday
- 9:15pm Landed in OAK, scooped up and brough them to our place
- Friday
- 8am Jog to and around Dolores Park
- 9am Breakfast at Universal Cafe
- 11:30am Pixar tour (courtesy of Rodney’s friend & lunch)
- 3pm Sailing from Oyster Point Marina to the Bay Bridge and Back
- 10pm Punchline Comedy Club
- Saturday
- SF Tour 8am:
- Fort Funston National Park, San Francisco, CA 94118 (dog park / hang gliding / horse tours + great view)
- Beach Chalet (for breakfast/lunch/dinner, good view of the beach and right by GG park)(1000 Great Hwy., San Francisco, CA 94121)
- Golden Gate Park (GG Park)
- Floor 9 of De Young Art Museum for 360* views of the city (it’s FREE except on Tuesday when it’s closed)
- Stow Lake for paddle boat rentals (by the hour, bring bird feed if you want to attract the birds)
- Huge Windmills near the entrance on the Great Highway side/Beach side
- Buffalo’s at 1237 John F Kennedy Dr. in San Francisco, CA 94121
- Archery at Golden Gate Park (47th & Fulton area), (take lessons/rent equipment at the San Francisco Archery Shop a short drive away)
- Sutro Baths / Point Lobos Ave., San Francisco, CA 94121
- You can walk to Lands End path and from there do a quick hike to Baker Beach where you can see the Golden Gate bridge from the ocean side
- Marin Headlands (other end of Golden Gate Bridge) for a photo opportunity
- GPS: 5702 Conzelman Rd Mill Valley, CA 94941
- Muir Woods (redwood forest we’re well known for)
- GPS 1 Muir Woods Rd, Mill Valley CA 94941
- Stinston Beach / Highway 1
- GPS 101 Calle Del Mar, Stinson Beach CA 94970 (parking lot turn in is right there)
- Amazing Vista points on the drive there for amazing coastal views
- Check to see if there are any road closures before going, if so — skip. Often with earthquakes and storms, parts of highway 1 will be eroded and closed.
- Picture from Under Golden Gate Bridge
- Drive to: 983 Marine Drive, San Francisco (Fort Point)
- Assuming the brown building (Fort Point) is open, go in and take the stairs all the way up. From the roof (open to the public) you get sweeping uninterrupted views of the Golden Gate bridge
- Crissy Field is just down the way from here — huge park where people picnic and have fun events outside
- Lombard Street (most crooked street)
- 2234 Leavenworth St, San Francisco, CA
- Palace of Fine Arts
- 3301 Lyon St, San Francisco, CA 94123
- Was erected as part of the 1915 Worlds Fair (everything else was taken down, one of the few remaining areas from the exposition). During that exposition they had the first call across the country (from New York to San Francsico)
- Fisherman’s Warf
- Go to Ghirardelli Square
- Check out the touristy shops and get a good deal on souvenirs
- Grab a sourdough bread bowl at Boudin
- Musee Mecanique for the penny arcadesbut I think they’re at least a quarter to play now
- Walk down to Pier 39 and see the sea lions
- Alcatraz Tour (tickets usually need to be booked in advance, if you can get tickets for the night tour I think it’s a better experience than the day tour)
- Coit Tower
- 1 Telegraph Hill Blvd, San Francsico, CA
- I’d skip the tour from inside but feel free to make the walk up the stairs if you’re in good shape (drive up otherwise) and get some photos of the skyline (and Lombard street) from there
- Ferry building (they have tons of places to eat inside)
- 1 Sausalito – San Francisco Ferry bldg, San Francisco, CA 94111
- Cupid’s Span (HUGE Bow & Arrow on Embarcadero, SF Google building is near there, too)
- Embarcadero & Folsom St, San Francisco
- Great night views / photo opportunities with the Bay Bright decked out in lights
- FullHouse house aka the Painted Ladies aka Alamo Square
- GPS 1709 Broderick San Francisco, CA 94115
- Twin Peaks / Sutro Tower (good spot to see all of SF)
- 501 Twin Peaks Boulevard, San Francisco, CA 94114
- 5pm Relaxed a bit
- 6:30pm Went and grabbed sushi at Blowfish Sushi
- 7:30pm Headed to Davis center for the San Francisco Symphony
- 10pm went to Treasure Island to see the San Francisco skyline at night
- 11pm grabbed dessert at Cream in the Mission
- SF Tour 8am:
- Sunday
- Breakfast at Atlas cafe
- 9am Church
- 10:30am mini work meeting / break
- noon lunch
- 1:30pm Helicopter tour of the city
- 2:30pm Bocce ball in the park
- 4pm Trip to the airport / flight home out of SJC
- Other Things we didn’t get a chance to do but are highly recommended:
- Riding the Cable Cars
- Walk/Bike over Golden Gate Bridge
- Do the GoCar tour (in those yellow 2 seater cars)
- Go to Union Square for ice skating if you’re visiting in the winter
- If you’re there during baseball season and don’t have time to go to a game but there is a home game going on – walk to the East side (waterfront promenade) of AT&T park, there is an area you can walk into that lines up with the outfield and you can watch some of the game! Great place for an afternoon run as well if a game is going on, just pop in! Should be toward the center of that side of the stadium.
- Complimentary SF Walking tours if the schedule matches with yours, great info http://www.sfcityguides.org/
Into Food? Check out these great San Francisco Food and Drinks spots
- Tonga Room at the Fairmont (good drinks/apps, eclectic venue – tiki inspired, and it rains from the ceiling plus boat on the indoor lake where a band plays): 950 Mason St, San Francisco, CA 94108
- RN 74 (drinks): 301 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94105
- 25 Lusk (drinks): 25 Lusk St, San Francisco, CA 94107
- La Mar (Embarcadero) Peruvian: Pier 1.5 The Embarcadero
- El Techo de Lolinda (Mission District – rooftop bar/restaurant) Mexican: 2518 Mission St, San Francisco, CA
- French Laundry (Napa/Sonoma – Yountville) Fine Dining (reservations are hard to get)
- SPQR (Japan Town) Modern / Italian: 1911 Fillmore St, San Francisco, CA 94115
- Swan Oyster Depot (Nob Hill) Oysters: 1517 Polk St.. San Francisco, Ca 94109
- NOPA (Nopa) Late night & brunch: 560 Divisadero St, San Francisco
- Elephant Sushi (Russian Hill) Sushi
- The Cliff House (Outer Richmond) casual to fine dining, amazing view
- Club Deluxe (Jazz spot 1511 Haight Street, San Francisco , CA)
- Blue Bottle (coffee spot): Various around the city
- Bourbon & Branch (Drinks, reservations required): 501 Jones St, San Francisco, CA 94102
Have More Time? Hit up these favorites
- Nightlife at the Cal Academy (every Thursday from 6-10pm, 21+)
- Exploratorium After Dark (every Thursday 6-10p, 21+ only)
- Hike Mission Peak (Fremont, CA / East Bay)
- Surf at Pacifica (surf rental shop Sonlight Surfshop 575 Crespi Dr Suite 1 Pacifica, CA 94044 or NorCal)
- Angel Island, only accessibly by boat but if you can get there take a bike ride around
- Google Tour (1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy, Mountain View, CA 94043)
- Dolores Park (they have movie nights on occasion)
- Sausalito Art Fair (grab food at The Barrel House after, be sure to request a seat outside – beautiful view)
- Kayak/boat out to the East side of the AT&T stadium during a baseball game and wait for balls
- Ferry from SF to Sausalito (grab food/drinks at Barrel House, be sure to get a seat on the upper level outside for a fabulous view!)
- Armory Studios tour
- Mini golf at Urban Putt (in the Mission)
- Off the Grid (food trucks galore) in the Marina area
- Saddle Rack (country bar in Fremont / East Bay, bull ride and all for the country lovers)
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