Top 10 Places to Visit in San Francisco
San Francisco has so much to offer, both well known and places that most may not know about. With so much to do, how do you narrow down what places are a must visit? On my last visit to San Francisco, I was able to narrow down my top 10 favorite places that I visited and that I recommend to you if you take a trip to the Golden City! This list, in descending order, will describe the place, why it’s a must visit and if it well known/touristy or a hidden gem!
10. Lombard Street
The “Crookedest Street in the World” had to be on the list because it is something San Francisco is known for. This street is always busy with people driving down to experience all the twists and turns. It is at the bottom of my list because once you visit, you’ll look at it and say “yup, that’s a winding road”. It’s also hard to get photos of with the lush flowers and greenery. If you’re hoping for cute Insta pics with the street in the back, it’ll be hard to do unless you can somehow get more of an aerial view.
My recommendation is to visit during the week in the morning for a less busy street. If you plan on driving down it, be ready for lots of stopping along the way. If you plan on seeing it on foot, you stick to the stairs on the sides of the street, and if you get lucky with a break in the traffic you can snag a pic on the actual street.
9. Salesforce Park
A hidden gem and fairly new addition to San Francisco is this five and a half acre rooftop park. This park is beautiful with great views of the San Francisco skyline including Salesforce Tower. It is home to 600 trees and 16,000 plants that are grouped into 13 different ecosystems. This is a great green space in the middle of the city and is not super busy so if you want to enjoy looking at plants and city views while doing something not so touristy, this is a great place to spend some time!
8. Fisherman’s Warf
Fisherman’s Warf by itself is (in my opinion), just ok. It is very touristy and mainly a place where the tourists go to visti Boudin Bakery and get some chowder in a sourdough bowl or seafood from one of the other food stands. For this, I want to combine Fisherman’s Warf, Pier 39 and Ghirardelli Square into one since they are all toursity and they are close together so they can all be accomplished quickly in the same day. These are on the list because they are so popular, I’ll list the things to do in each here:
Fisherman’s Warf
- Boudin Bakery: A must see and get some sourdough bread (something San Francisco is known for)
- Musée Mécanique: This place is SOOO cool! Filled with antique coin-operated arcade games. Great way to spend some time playing historic games! Bring some cash and you can have some fun where $5 goes a long way!
Pier 39
- Sea Lions: Visiting the Sea Lions is a must! They flock to this area because of the dock space and the Marina’s protected environment. The population of sea lions here can vary day to day but can increase to around 900 sea lions during the winter months!
- Shops: There are so many unique and cute shops on Pier 39, definitely spend some time exploring them and maybe even find some unique gifts!
Ghirardelli Square
- Walk through the Original Ghirardelli Shop, see how the chocolate is made in a small small demonstration area. You can also buy some chocolates or get some ice cream or hot chocolate! (They used to give a free sample of chocolate, hopefully they will again in the future)
- Ghirardelli Square has more to offer than just chocolate. It is also home to a few restaurants, San Francisco Brewing Company, the Cheese School of San Francisco, and other shops. Click HERE for a list!
7. Chinatown
San Francisco is home to the largest Chinatown outside of Asia and the oldest in North America so naturally it is a must visit while in San Francisco. There’s a lot to explore in Chinatown and just walking around and seeing the culture is amazing. On the weekends there is more going on such as live performances, but during the week days you see more of the locals walking around, and going to the market. This is a great place to get souvenirs from any of the local shops, grab some dim sum for lunch, and of course pick up some fortune cookies from Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory while you see them being made fresh.
6. Redwoods
If you have time and ride, I highly recommend seeing the beautiful redwoods just north of San Francisco. One of the best places to see the Redwoods is at Muir Woods National Monument. If you want to visit Muir Woods you’ll either need to have a car and reserve parking in advance or will need to reserve a spot on the shuttle service that only runs on the weekends. If you do not reserve either, you will be unable to visit, and there is no service to try and get an Uber or Lyft. You can expect to spend at least 2 hours at Muir Woods. If you didn’t make reservations or have time to visit Muir Woods, I suggest visiting Old Mill Park to see some Redwoods with free parking.
5. Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park is a hidden gem in San Francisco that not many tourists know about. This park is larger than central park in NYC, consisting of 1,017 acres of park space in San Francisco. There is so much to see and do at this park with many gardens, picnic areas and sporting areas. There is a Japanese Tea Garden and Botanical Gardens which can be visited for a fee but some of my favorite free areas in the park were the Queen Wilhelmina Tulip Garden, Strawberry Hill (featuring a waterfall), and the Bison Paddock where bison live. The park is located on the West side of San Francisco and is so large that you will need a vehicle to explore the park.
4. Palace of Fine Arts
The Palace of Fine Arts was originally built in the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition to show works of art. Since then, it was completely reconstructed from 1964-1974 and is the only building from the Exposition that remains. It is a popular location for photo shoots and weddings and a popular location to visit because of its beauty. I put up towards the top of this list because it is so beautiful, great for photos and a place to relax.
3. Alcatraz
Alcatraz is truly a must visit! I put it a little further down on this list just because it does require a paid ticket entry. This is a must visit because of all the history of this island since its been used as military defense, a military prison and the most famous federal prison. Tickets are required since it requires a ferry service over to the island.
Be sure to get your tickets from Alcatraz City Cruises, the official partner for Alcatraz tours through the National Park Service! Other companies claim to sell tickets for Alcatraz but simply just circle around the island on a boat. The tour includes an audio tour that you don’t want to miss out on, and you should plan on staying at least 2 hours to tour the facilities on the island. For a more in depth tour check out their night tours (which sell out quickly) and be sure to book your tickets for either day or night in advance since depending on the season, tickets sell out months in advance.
2. Painted Ladies
The Painted Ladies are a set of beautiful Queen Anne Victorian homes back dropped by San Francisco’s skyline. It is a popular tourist destination since they were featured in the opening of Full House. The painted ladies are located in Alamo Square and its a great place to relax and take in the view, picnic or take photos. This is towards the top of my list because it is a free activity to do, the painted ladies and the view is beautiful and there are many restaurants around Alamo Square including my personal favorite Bar Crudo and it is easy to get to since it is centrally located.
1. Golden Gate Bridge
The number 1 place to see in San Francisco is the Golden Gate Bridge. One of the seven modern wonders of the world since it was a bridge “that could not be built”. There are so many places to view the Golden Gate from and here are some of my favorite viewpoints:
- Battery Spencer – Across the bridge is one of the best viewpoints of the bridge. You will need a car or you can lyft or uber but it will be relatively expensive and hard to get a ride back so expect to wait.
- Chrissy Field – There are great views from Chrissy Field in the Presido and its dog friendly too.
- Torpedo Warf – In the Presidio, this is an area extends into the bay with one side a view of the bridge and the other side a city view.
- Viewpoint Golden Gate Bridge – If you walk up the trail to the left of this parking lot you can find two trees that perfectly frame the Golden Gate. It makes for stunning photos.
- Marshall’s Beach – Another great place in the Presidio. Marshall’s beach is a 0.5 mile hike to have great views of the bridge from a beach. Be prepared for a steep hike back, and be aware that clothing is optional here.
- Fort Point National Historic Site – Visit this old military fort located right under the bridge.
I have added map pins below for each of the places to be easier to find!
Lombard Street, Russian Hill, San Francisco, California, 94133-1312
Salesforce Park, Transbay, San Francisco, California
Fishermans Wharf, Port of San Francisco, San Francisco, California, 94133-1312
Chinatown, San Francisco, California, 94108
Muir Woods National Monument, Marin County, California
Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California, 94118-4504
Palace of Fine Arts, 3301, Lyon Street, San Francisco, California, 94123
Alcatraz Island, San Francisco, California
Painted Ladies, 716, Steiner Street, Western Addition, San Francisco, California, 94117
Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California, 94129
There you have it, the Top 10 Places to visit in San Francisco.
I hope this will help you in your travels to San Francisco!
