40 THINGS TO SEE AND DO IN SAN FRANCISCO

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San FranciscoWith its famous bridge, it is one of the destinations that has surprised and excited us in the United States. The reasons are several: hippie neighborhoods full of art, wooden houses each of a different color, a jetty where a community of lazy sea lions lives and much more. In this post we will tell you the 40 things to see and do in San Francisco. And if you want advice, here are a few tips to prepare your trip to San Francisco.

To plan your trip, check out our UNITED STATES WEST COAST GUIDE

New: you can now hire a free tour of San Francisco (yas!). It is free, although it is always advisable to leave a good tip to the guide at the end 🙂 More info here.

1. Visit one of the most famous prisons (and feared) of the world: Alcatraz! Today it is no longer operational and works as Museum, although it still maintains that load of history and legend that you will notice when walking through its corridors surrounded by cells. Also the views of San Francisco from "La Roca" are stunning! Here we tell you our experience. You can join a San Francisco Spanish tour that includes a visit to Alcatraz.More info and hiring.

2. One of the icons of the city is the cable car, a very curious tram that works since 1873! He is handsome but not cheap: the single ticket costs $ 7! Will you want to climb? We, with the $ 7 saved, ate a burrito XD

3. Try a clam chowder in one of the many restaurants in Fisherman's wharf. It shouldn't cost more than $ 7-8 and it's delicious. Do you know what it is? It is a soup of potatoes and clams that is served in a round bread that serves as a bowl and that you can eat!

4. Fall in love at first sight of Golden Gate, the most recognized icon of San Francisco, and promise eternal love in each of the subsequent appointments.

Golden Gate at sunset, San Francisco

5. If you are looking for a place to surround yourself with green you have to go to Golden gate park, an enoooorme park with great views that also offers many activities (Botanical Garden, Japanese Garden or Huntington waterfalls).

6. Without leaving the park you can also cultivate a little in the California Academy of Sciences, which has a planetarium, natural history museum, aquarium (although after visiting Atlanta we do NOT recommend it) and even a Tropical Rainforest! You can buy tickets here.

7. Rent a bike and pedal to the pretty town of Sausalito, crossing the Golden Gate and returning by boat to the Wharf. The prices are not cheap, although here we leave you a little trick: you can find good deals on the Groupon website (up to 50%) or sign up for a tour on two wheels.

8. Stroll through Chinatown, the largest Chinatown in the world (outside of Asia, obviously). Here you can entertain yourself for hours, although it is essential to give yourself a binge of dumplings in one of its many restaurants.

Street in Chinatown of San Francisco

9. Just don't miss the chinese door That welcomes you to the neighborhood. It is located on the corner of Grant Avenue and Bush Street.

10. Take a tour to get to know Napa Valley and Sonoma, one of the most famous wine areas in the world. And drink wine, of course! It can be done in Spanish!

11. Go to Baker Beach, the water may be too cold for a dip (it is) but the views of the Golden Gate from there are amazing.

12. If after visiting Chinatown you prefer to breathe a more Latin atmosphere, your place is Mission district (more info), where street art alternates with Mexican restaurants and lots of atmosphere.

Street Art in Mission District, San Francisco

13. Shop, walk or eat an ice cream in Union Square, the liveliest area of San Francisco, with lots of luxury stores, department stores and all kinds of leisure businesses.

14. In North Beach there is a beautiful little sea shop, full of maps and vintage prints: Schein and Schein. If you like the scroll it is located at 1435 Grant Ave.

15. Do you want to see San Francisco at 360º? Go up to the Coit tower (8$).

16. Enjoy one of the best views of the city from Dolores Park…

Views of San Francisco from Dolores Park

17.… and the best sunset since Twin peaks.

18. Climb stairs. We know, it is not a plan that seems attractive but believe us, the stairs full of street tiles 16th Avenue They are a pa-so-te!

19. Eat free chocolates in Ghirardelli 🙂

20. Another great place to enjoy the view is Alamo Square, where you can also contemplate (and spy on) the most famous houses in the city: Painted Ladies, Victorian houses the sea of beautiful (and expensive).

The “Painted Ladies” houses, in Alamo Square, San Francisco

Pssss, don't fall asleep, there are still 20 other things to see and do in San Francisco!

21. Have a beer (or two) in one of the many craft breweries from the city. Try the Anchor beer * _ * how delicious!

22. Take a picture with the Golden Gate from Fort point.

23. Walk by Pier 39, one of the most visited points of the city, a pier full of restaurants (of course, Bubba Gump is not missing) and with atmosphere throughout the day and all night.

24. Here you will also meet the most beautiful (though somewhat lazy) inhabitants of San Francisco: a sea lion colony They spend the day sunbathing (if there is sun) and posing for tourists. They are as nice as stinky XD

Pier 39 of San Francisco, with its sea lion colony

25. If you want to live an unforgettable experience (or make a very, very handsome gift)… fly over the bay: San Francisco from a bird's eye view has to be a pass. More info here.

26. VisitNorth beach, the Italian neighborhood. When we went there was a very handsome festival although we are sure that it is always a lively place, full of places where you can have a drink or go for a walk.

27. Another important neighborhood of the city isCastro, the place where claims began in favor of gay rights, where the world was first shouted that love is love. If you are lucky enough to be in San Francisco at the end of June you will enjoy the Gay Pride, one of the most beautiful, colorful and fun in the world.

28. He flips with the steep curves of Lombard Street, possibly the most emblematic street of San Francisco, with its mythical sharp curves, its meandering path, its flowers and its cars waiting for the turn to go down it.

Curves on the ramp of Lombard Street, San Francisco

29. Take a relaxing time in Washington Square.

30. Know the San Francisco mission, the oldest building in the city, founded in 1776 by Spanish missionaries.

31. Walk the Financial district, this is where many of the most famous technology company offices like Twitter and Linkedin are located but…

32.… the most famous offices are those of Google and of Facebook. They're in Silicon Valley, place of birth and residence of the most important technological corporations in the world. A paradise for each nerd That boasts. Here we leave you an Anuevayork post with a very beautiful geek route.

Skyscrapers in the Financial District of San Francisco

33. And speaking of things geeks do not miss a view to the Apple Store from Union Square (don't stop climbing the most expensive staircase in the world ... it cost 1 million dollars 0_O).

34. Walk among the giant redwoods of Miur Woods. If you don't have a car to do it for free, you can sign up for a tour like this.

35. One of the things we liked most about our visit to San Francisco wasHaight ashbury, the hippie neighborhood, full of vintage and psychedelic clothing stores, cool little ones, bohemian air and houses that will make you want to ask for a loan from the bank.

36. Some of the most famous houses in the area are that of Janis Joplin (It's pink!) found at 635 Ashbury St. or the one in Jimmy Hendrix at 1524 Haight St.

Haight Ashbury neighborhood, San Francisco

37. Try some gastronomic delight in one of the good, beautiful and cheap restaurants that we tell you in this article.

38. If after visiting San Francisco you have some time, rent a car and go make a beautiful route along the west coast... soon we will begin to tell you ours 🙂

39. And if you don't have time, you can consider doing a Yosemite tour, to know one of the most beautiful parks in the United States. We recommend you do it for free and with more time but if it is impossible, then this option is not bad 🙂

40. And finally, take a cruise on the famous San Francisco Bay, to have a completely different view of the city and that you will remember forever. And if the budget is not a problem for you ... take a helicopter tour! It has to be a pa-sa-da.

San Francisco Bay at sunset

So far our recommendations of things to see and do in San FranciscoDo you know others

Useful information

:: Where to sleep in San Francisco?

Here we tell you what are the best areas to stay in San Francisco, and we give you a few interesting options.

We stay at HI SF Downtown, in a quadruple room (we traveled with Ire and Santi, Rober's sister and her boyfriend). We liked the site a lot: it's at the bark of Union Square, surrounded by shops and restaurants. There are very nice common rooms, they serve free breakfast (ains, what we miss the bagels with cheese!) And organize free fun tours that we recommend you do. We did the Mission where they took us to tour the neighborhood (and also with beer stop and with burrito piece!).

HI San Francisco

More info: //www.hiusa.org/hostels/california/san-francisco/downtown

:: Where to eat in San Francisco?

We have prepared a very cool article with 8 restaurants to eat in San Francisco, but if you only had one day ... go eat a clam chowder in the area of Pier 39!

:: How to get to San Francisco from the airport?

It is best to catch the BART (SF metro). It happens every 15 minutes and it takes half an hour to reach the center. The ticket costs $ 8.95. Also arrive inUber, super common in the United States. You can make an account with this invitation and get a discount of up to € 20 on your first race. The price from the airport to downtown San Francisco is around $ 25-30

:: How to get around San Francisco?

We, being 4, have almost always moved by Uber. The truth is that it was cheaper. Another day we take the tourist bus that runs through the main points of the city.

The subway is not very cheap: the single ticket costs $ 2.75 so calculate well what route to do and if you want to save the most ... walk! You can plan the trips here.

:: Do you have little time but want to see the maximum?

If you are only going to be one or two days in the city and want to make the most of your visit, a good idea is to take a full tour, which will take you to know the main attractions of the city. This for example, also includes the visit to Alcatraz (for us it is a must).

:: How to save on tickets?

If you plan to enter enough places to charge admission, you may find yourself getting one of the tourist passes, which include access to different attractions in San Francisco, check out these: