San Francisco is one of those places that seems to have an endless supply of things to do. Way more than I could ever have hoped to fit into just a few days. Staying with family in both San Francisco and nearby San Mateo made it really easy to explore the city. When I thought about San Francisco, of course it was the Golden Gate Bridge that immediately sprung to mind. Finally seeing the red bridge crossing the Bay was a dream come true, but there was so much more to explore. I had just a few days to explore the best places to visit in San Francisco.
On a side note, one of the first things I learned after arriving in San Francisco is that if you don’t want to stick out as a tourist immediately, then don’t call it San Fran, as apparently locals wouldn’t ever do that. The proper term is ‘SF’, or so I’ve been told!
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Palace of Fine Arts
The San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts looks a lot older than it really is. Built for the 1915 Pacific-Panama Exhibition, the Palace of Fine Arts has the feeling and look of an ancient Greek or Roman temple. It’s a beautiful place to walk around, away from the hustle and bustle of the city centre, especially with the artificial lagoon full of birds next to it.
A perfect place for Instagram-worthy photos, that’s for sure.
It was supposed to be demolished with the rest of the temporary exhibition buildings, but it was so loved by the city’s people that it was preserved (and rebuilt in the 1960s to make it more permanent and safe). The open rotunda and surrounding columns have appeared in several films and tv series, including being an inspiration for the Sept of Baelor in Game of Thrones.
Situated in the Marina district in the north-west of the city, the Palace of Fine Arts is the perfect place to start a walk along the bay towards the Golden Gate.
Fort Point
Located underneath the Golden Gate Bridge, Fort Point is an old military fort that gives you a unique perspective of the scarlet bridge above. Older than the bridge, the historic military fort dates from just before the American Civil War. It was considered a key defensive point of the US western coast, but it never came under attack.
Fort Point is a National Historic Monument and is free to visit, with periodic guided tours available. Visit the Fort Point website for up-to-date information on visiting the monument.
To my surprise, there was a group of guys surfing in the water under the bridge, the waves created by the tides pushing past the promontory on which Fort Point sits. With exposed rocks the surfers had to actively surf around, they were definitely a bit crazy.
Golden Gate Bridge
This globally-recognised landmark needs no introduction. A lot of people (me included) wonder why the bridge is a vibrant red colour instead of gold (or was it just me?). It’s actually named for the Golden Gate strait running underneath the bridge. Opened in 1937, the bridge has become an iconic symbol of the city and California, and is the most photographed bridge in the world, making it one of the best places to visit in San Francisco.
Walking along the bay from the Palace of Fine Arts, the famous red bridge gets closer and closer. It doesn’t look as impressive as I thought it would from far away, but as I drew nearer I realised just why the Golden Gate Bridge has captured the world’s attention for so many years.
To really appreciate the Golden Gate Bridge and the surrounding beauty, you need to see it from both sides. There’s a fantastic viewpoint on the Marin County side at Battery Spencer, overlooking the bridge from high above, the cityscape of San Francisco beyond and the Pacific Ocean stretching out to the west. Sunset is a particularly stunning time to visit this spot.
Painted Ladies
Even though there are hundreds of painted ladies in San Francisco (beautiful Victorian and Edwardian houses painted in various colours), the famous ones are located at 710 to 720 Steiner Street.
There’s not much to see at Steiner Street except for the pretty pastel-painted row of seven houses, and it’s definitely a bigger deal to fans of Full House, the famous tv show from the 90s. These houses have also been featured in over 70 other tv series and films. They’re not exactly unique, but these particular ones are now worth millions. And it’s a very pretty view from the park across the road.
Alcatraz
The creme de la creme of San Francisco tourist attractions, Alcatraz Island was the number one thing I wanted to see in the city. After rushing from the Painted Ladies, I actually missed my allotted ferry time at 9am by just a few minutes. Thanks to the lovely member of staff at the desk, I was able to jump on the next ferry no problem.
Alcatraz Island is so close to the city you can clearly see the prison on it, but as the ferry got closer I realised there was a lot more to the island than just the prison. It started as a military base, with officers’ wives and children living on the island too. Gardens cover the island, gardens that were first looked after by families, later by criminals. For many inmates of Alcatraz, working in the gardens was the closest they got to freedom. Some of the trees planted by inmates are still there. Everything on the island had to be brought here, including the soil.
Of course my favourite part of the island was the prison itself. The tour is a self-guided audio tour, taking you all over from the kitchen and library to the many cells and solitary confinement. It was so fascinating, especially learning about the various escape attempts. Seven years previously I was in Chicago, sitting in Al Capone’s favourite bar, and now I was standing in his prison.
There’s also an interesting side to Alcatraz history I didn’t know about until I got to the island. One of the first things I saw as the ferry pulled up to the island was large letters painted in red across the front of the building. The island was occupied by indigenous people from around the US. Starting in 1969, a group of people spent 19 months on Alcatraz in protest of the lands that had historically been taken from the Native American tribes of the area.
There’s so much history to unpack on Alcatraz Island, which makes it one of the best places to visit in San Francisco. You can’t come to the city and not see Alcatraz.
Fisherman’s Wharf
Fisherman’s Wharf is one of the most popular places to visit in San Francisco. It has always been the city’s commercial fishing district, all the way back to the arrival of the Italian immigrants to the area in the mid-1800s.
Pier 39 is kitschy and soulless, let’s just get that out there. But it’s colourful and flashy and fun to nose around. Through the other side is one of my favourite parts of San Francisco – the Pier 39 sea lion colony. Together with a fairly decent crowd, I sat and watched the dozens of sea lions, all shapes and sizes, piled together on floating pontoons. I could have watched them arguing over space, power-napping, walking on top of each other and just generally being adorable sea-puppies for hours.
I was repeatedly told during my visit to San Francisco that I couldn’t miss the Boudin Bakery and their famous sourdough bread. The oldest continuously operating business in San Francisco, they still use the same starter for their bread as Isidore Boudin created in 1849. Walking past the bakery’s windows, full of loaves of all shapes and sizes (including bears and fish), taking in the smell wafting through the doors, is quite the experience, even if you don’t actually go inside.
Lombard Street and the SF Hills
San Francisco’s hills are no joke. As I walked around the city, I couldn’t even manage one block in some parts without needing to stop for a breather. And going down again? Kinda nerve-wracking.
Lombard Street has a section that is so steep the street couldn’t go straight, instead looping back and forth eight times to deal with the gradient. It’s not exactly fascinating, but it’s a quintessential sight in the city. Built in 1922, it’s recommended that you drive at less than 5 miles per hour going down the street!
It’s hard to get a good photo of all the loops from the ground, but it definitely gives you an appreciation for just how steep this city can be!
Old School Cable Car
As public transport goes, the historic San Francisco cable cars are expensive. Only tourists will be found on these cable cars, few locals use it as public transport and the price reflects that.
The cable car system in San Francisco is the world’s last manually operated cable car system in the world. The driver’s operate the cars using a long lever and a foot brake that’s noisy as hell but fun to watch. I hopped on the cable car a few blocks from Lombard Street and hopped off again (just yell whenever you want to get off) near Chinatown.
The Cable Car Museum on Washington Street is a great place to learn about the history of this classic form of transport and to get a glimpse of the underground workings of the cars.
Chinatown
At the southern entrance to San Francisco’s Chinatown is a beautiful green-roofed Dragon Gate, one of the nicest I’ve ever seen. Its only fifty years old, but the Dragon Gate looks like it’s been part of the city forever. The red lantern-lined streets beyond the gate are part of the oldest Chinatown in North America. It’s also the largest Chinese enclave outside Asia, so there’s a lot of history here.
San Francisco’s Chinatown also has some great street art (lots of dragons). And you know me, I love some good street art. As one of the best places to visit in San Francisco, Chinatown ticks a lot of boxes.
Read more: 9 Street-Art-Filled Cities You Need To See
Muir Woods
The road to Muir Woods takes you across the Golden Gate Bridge and along a winding forest road that was just pretty enough to distract me from the knots my stomach had going on. While the easiest way to get to Muir Woods is by car, there is actually public transport there, although outside of the peak season of June to August, the shuttle bus only runs on the weekends (see this page for more shuttle details).
Muir Woods has both Giant Sequoias and Californian Redwoods, though they’re not as tall as the ones in Redwood National Park in the north of the state. Ranger talks happen on a regular schedule each day which is a lovely way to learn more about the history and biology of the woods.
The trees of Muir Woods are ancient, with some over 1000 years old. There are loads of walking trails, from the flat, well-maintained paths of the valley floor to the trails rising up above the trees.
Muir Woods is an extremely popular place for tourists and locals alike, especially at the weekends, so to prevent too much traffic visiting at once, you need to reserve a spot in advance. There’s no way you can miss Muir Woods, it’s definitely one of the best places to visit in San Francisco.
This Wild Life Of Mine San Francisco Ratings:
Prettiness: 8/10. Though a lot of San Francisco is like any typical US city, there are spots which are just beautiful. Between the street art, the famous bridge, the avenues of painted houses and the Californian coastline, there are some seriously gorgeous places in San Francisco.
History: 8/10 Alcatraz, Chinatown, Fort Point…it seems like every place in SF has an amazing story to tell.
Weather: 9/10 It’s California, so um…yeah, pretty good weather.
Food: 9/10 San Francisco is a foodie dream. I had some of the best pizza of y life there. Then there’s the Boudin bakery, the street food, the… well, I’m really not a foodie, but I’ve heard it’s a great city for someone who is.
Budget: 4/10 Compared to many Asian cities popular with backpackers, any US city is going to seem really expensive. And SF isn’t cheap by US standards either. But sticking to street food and hostels will help.
There are quite a few really highly-rated hostels in San Francisco, you can check them out here.
Doggos: 4/10 I saw so few doggos during my visit! Very disappointing.
Other This Wild Life Of Mine city guides:
Visit Guadalajara: The Perfect Mexico Starting Point
Is Guanajuato The Prettiest City In Mexico?
Québec – Why You Need To Visit Canada’s European City
How To Spend Four Days In St. John’s, Newfoundland
Which San Francisco attraction would you most like to see?
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