San Francisco itinerary
Every place in “12 Top Things to Do in San Francisco”. Save places in the guide to make this list yours.
- 1
Golden Gate Bridge - The City's Defining Landmark
The Golden Gate Bridge is the symbol of San Francisco, a 2.7 km Art Deco suspension bridge whose International Orange towers rise 227 metres above the strait where the bay meets the Pacific. Opened in 1937, it was the…
- Address
- Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, CA 94129
- Nearest transit
- Muni bus 28 to the toll plaza; Golden Gate Transit buses cross the bridge
- 2
Alcatraz Island - The Infamous Island Prison
Alcatraz Island, 'The Rock', sits in the middle of San Francisco Bay and once held the most notorious maximum-security prison in the United States, home to Al Capone and the site of a famous 1962 escape. Reached only by…
- Address
- Alcatraz Island, San Francisco, CA 94133
- Nearest transit
- Official Alcatraz City Cruises ferry from Pier 33 on the Embarcadero
- 3
Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 - Sea Lions and Sourdough
Fisherman's Wharf is the busy heart of the northern waterfront, where the city's fishing fleet still ties up beside seafood stalls selling Dungeness crab and clam chowder in sourdough bowls. Its best-loved sight is the…
- Address
- Pier 39, San Francisco, CA 94133
- Nearest transit
- Powell-Hyde and Powell-Mason cable cars terminate nearby; F-line streetcar along the Embarcadero
- 4
The Cable Cars - Riding San Francisco's Moving Landmarks
San Francisco's cable cars are the last manually operated cable cars in the world and a working national historic landmark, hauling passengers up the city's steepest hills by gripping a continuously moving underground…
- Address
- Powell Street Cable Car Turnaround, Powell St & Market St, San Francisco, CA 94102
- Nearest transit
- Powell St BART and Muni station at the turnaround; the lines climb to Fisherman's Wharf
- 5
Lombard Street - The Crookedest Street in the World
The block of Lombard Street between Hyde and Leavenworth on Russian Hill is famous as the 'crookedest street in the world', a steep slope tamed by eight tight hairpin bends lined with flowerbeds and brick paving. The…
- Address
- Lombard St, San Francisco, CA 94133
- Nearest transit
- Powell-Hyde cable car stops at the top of the crooked block
- 6
Golden Gate Park - The City's Vast Green Playground
Golden Gate Park is San Francisco's answer to Central Park, only larger - a 1,017-acre rectangle of gardens, lakes, meadows and museums stretching from the city centre out to the Pacific. Within it sit the de Young…
- Address
- 501 Stanyan St, San Francisco, CA 94117
- Nearest transit
- Muni bus 5, 7, 28 and 44 serve the park's edges; N-Judah light rail runs nearby
- 7
The Painted Ladies and Alamo Square - Victorian Houses and a Skyline View
The row of pastel Victorian and Edwardian houses on Steiner Street, known as the Painted Ladies or 'Postcard Row', is one of the most recognisable sights in San Francisco, their ornate gables framed against the modern…
- Address
- Alamo Square, Hayes St & Steiner St, San Francisco, CA 94117
- Nearest transit
- Muni bus 5 and 21 stop a short walk from the square
- 8
Chinatown - The Oldest Chinatown in North America
San Francisco's Chinatown is the oldest in North America and one of the largest Chinese communities outside Asia, entered through the green-tiled Dragon Gate on Grant Avenue. Its lantern-strung main streets are crammed…
- Address
- Dragon Gate, Grant Ave & Bush St, San Francisco, CA 94108
- Nearest transit
- A short walk from Powell St and Montgomery St BART/Muni stations; cable cars pass nearby
- 9
The Ferry Building and Embarcadero - Waterfront Food Hall
The 1898 Ferry Building, with its landmark clock tower modelled on the Giralda in Seville, has been reborn as the city's best food hall. Its nave is lined with artisan stalls selling local oysters, cheeses, chocolate…
- Address
- 1 Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA 94111
- Nearest transit
- Embarcadero BART/Muni station, a short walk; the F-line streetcar stops outside
- 10
California Academy of Sciences - Rainforest, Aquarium and Planetarium
The California Academy of Sciences is a natural-history museum, aquarium, planetarium and four-storey indoor rainforest all under one living roof, set in the heart of Golden Gate Park. Its green roof, planted with…
- Address
- 55 Music Concourse Dr, San Francisco, CA 94118
- Nearest transit
- Muni bus 44 and the N-Judah line serve Golden Gate Park near the museum
- 11
Coit Tower and Telegraph Hill - A 360-Degree View Over the Bay
Crowning Telegraph Hill above North Beach, the 64-metre Coit Tower was built in 1933 with a bequest from socialite Lillie Hitchcock Coit, and its observation deck gives one of the finest 360-degree views in San…
- Address
- 1 Telegraph Hill Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94133
- Nearest transit
- Muni bus 39 climbs to the tower from Washington Square; steep walking paths from North Beach
- 12
Muir Woods - Ancient Redwoods Across the Bridge
Just across the Golden Gate Bridge, Muir Woods National Monument protects a valley of towering coast redwoods, the tallest living things on Earth, some more than 250 feet high and over a thousand years old. Easy…
- Address
- Muir Woods National Monument, 1 Muir Woods Rd, Mill Valley, CA 94941
- Nearest transit
- Seasonal Muir Woods Shuttle from Sausalito; otherwise car or organised tour
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