Beautiful foggy hilly American city surrounded by water, combining West coast sunny California hippie-artsy vibes with East coast charmy old Victorian architecture and vibrant street life.
You could easily call San Francisco “the New York of California”, or “west coast version of New York”. Because it really feels like a balanced mix of both. I also highly recommend San Francisco for European tourists because I know they’ll love it. Tighter, more compact, denser, good public transportation, and lots of action on the streets. Buildings are built right next to each other which feels more familiar to Europe. Everything is much more walkable, similar to New York. It’s definitely the most European-vibe big city on the West Coast.
You can see the main highlights in 3 days, and feel like you really immersed yourself in the vibe. 5-7 days would give you time to check out more areas, and yes they’re worth seeing!
- San Francisco is an absolute MUST SEE for me, and so often overlooked for much inferior cities IMO. I’m already proud that you made it here…you’ve made a great choice! It is one of the best tourist cities in America!
- Last thing…you should really trust my guide because I’ve lived here. It was my home and I had friends all over the place and seen everything. Lots of local tips. 🙂
San Francisco is located in the central area of California state, known as “the Bay area” because of the bay nearby…giving the appearance of being fully-surrounded by water. Combine that with the extremely hilly peninsula of San Francisco and you quickly understand why it’s so beautiful and has such incredible views.
SF’s hilly nature causes 2 interesting phenomenons.
- One is that it often traps fog between the hills of different neighborhoods, often giving them a foggy/misty look and giving birth to the famous “fog city” nickname of SF.
- The other is that it changes how different neighborhoods are valued. Typically in most cities, the properties closest to the water or higher on the nearby hills are more expensive. In SF, the fog is more often trapped in certain neighborhoods…and so neighborhoods that don’t often trap fog are more expensive since they’re in “the sun line” and get much more sun.
- It’s an interesting thing that you don’t think about (and perhaps take for granted) but actually matters greatly for SF folks. You can look up maps online of where the sun is best in SF. And you’ll see crappy tiny rundown apartments in the sunny areas renting for double of much bigger nicer units in the foggy areas.
- You would imagine that living in the fog can be ok, but it’s really depressing. Some fog areas have fog almost every day of the year, making it feel like you’re living in a perpetual winter season whereas the neighborhood just 2 blocks down has sun half the year. Hahaha.
Other things to expect:
- fancy homes (victorian vs edwardian, art deco stuff)
- extremely expensive…most expensive in the US. (makes NY look cheap). many millionaires, poverty line
- adults playland (peter pan syndrome)
- homelessness really not that bad
- bay area is more than just SF.
- check the weather for the exact neighborhood you’re going to stay!
Where to stay:
San Francisco has many neighborhoods (also known as “districts”), each with its own stereotypes and unique oddities. You could spend a lifetime to get to know each one, but I’ll highly the main tourist-worthy ones below.
- Mission/Castro:
- If you don’t know what you’re doing, this should be your default place to stay. It’s beautiful with lots of colorful Victorian houses, next to iconic Dolores Park with incredible views, and near the more authentic tourist things in SF. Lots to do, and also centrally-located to the further touristy stuff you’ll want to do. This is in the sunny area of SF where you’re most guaranteed to have a colorful sunny view.
- Mission District – the vibrant chaotic hipster area that mixes posh and nice fancy places with run down immigrant places. It looks sketchy but don’t worry, it’s safe. The eclectic mix gives you a wider range of interesting things to see and do. Notably, it’s the hispanic area of San Francisco which reaches further down into the south of San Francisco. Most ideal is anywhere near the epicenter formed by Mission St & Valencia St, from 16th St to 20th St.
- Castro District – known as “the gay capital of the world” and has a big rainbow flag. Something like the vibrant Mission District but looks aesthetically nicer and cleaner (and might actually be even cheaper). It’s right next door (depending which side you stay) and has all the same benefits, if not more. Back in 2012 when I first moved in, you saw a couple naked dudes walking around every day in the summer. Hahaha. Unfortunately, those weird days are over. I personally like the area between Market St and Dolores Park (more vibrant), but you could also pick a spot higher on the hills (like around Corona Heights Park or southwest of Dolores Park) for more beautiful views.
- Surrounding areas – such as Noe Valley, Dolores Heights, etc. Are all beautiful places to stay. Just a couple blocks farther from the action, but you’re also more likely to find bigger housing units and street parking for your car. If you don’t have a car, then I suggest you to stay in the more walkable prime areas. You’ll save money on Uber rides and walking time.
- Cole Valley:
- Easily my 2nd choice pick. Solid spot. Vibrant, also has beautiful Victorian homes, lots of things to do, many beautiful parks nearby (Golden Gate & Buena Vista), and the iconic hippie area of Haight & Ashbury. It’s more in the fog area of SF but still gets sun so you’ll have a nice mixed view of both sun and fog. It’s also a great area if you see yourself visiting the parks a lot.
- Anywhere from the main intersection of Cole & Carl, up to anywhere on Haight St and as far east as Buena Vista Park is most ideal. And a couple blocks over nearby would be ok as well.
- Sunset/Richmond:
- Foggiest areas of SF covering both north and south of Golden Gate Park. Not so much of the authentic Victorian architecture but cheaper and more space. But yeah, it’s super depressingly foggy almost all year around. Richmond has incredible Asian food, and those typical late night places.
- East Bay (Oakland, Alameda, Emeryville, Berkeley):
- The East Bay is a whole different world in itself but often chosen as a nice cheap-er alternative to SF. It’s still very authentically “bay area” and has bay area vibes, but it’s also different in many ways from San Francisco. Different architecture and terrain. I listed these 4 cities because they’re a great alternative to staying in the city. Much cheaper, more space, and still many things to do in the surrounding area as well. Also very accessible to SF city via car or public transport. You’re also more easily-able to find street parking here.
- Oakland and Alameda are the closest to SF. You can cross the bridge and be in SF in just 5-15 mins. Oakland is the main big city in the east bay, with it’s own downtown and lively commercial areas. Alameda is more just a quiet residential area.
- Berkeley is close to the UC Berkeley and is a solid university town area, also busy.
- Emeryville is a little more like the smaller hippie artsy town in the east bay. Very cool and nice. A great fit if it’s what you’re looking for.
- Pacific Heights & Marina:
- AKA “Pac Heights”. This is like the upscale fancy area of SF, where people show off a little more and have a more cosmopolitan vibe instead of the usual dressed-down hipster vibe of everywhere else in SF.
- I wouldn’t stay here unless you know for sure it’s your vibe. But also too…even if that is your vibe, I would advise to skip that and stay in a more hipster place since the rest of the world is so busy being cosmopolitan already. In SF, it’s all about the hipster vibe IMO.
- If you want fancy posh upscale clubs/nightlife, these are the areas for it. As the rest of SF is more like uniquely SF vibe (which can seem “weird” compared to clubs elsewhere in the world). Again…I advise you to stick to the “weird” stuff in SF, it’s more fun/unique to this city.
- Downtown SF
- EWWWW. I only listed this to tell you DO NOT stay here. I don’t care how close it is to touristy crap. This is absolutely NOT the place to be. Downtown SF is anywhere from the downtown area Civic Center going north up to Fisherman’s Wharf and sweeping east past Union Square to the Oracle Park.
- If you absolutely want to stay around the downtown area, I would choose SoMa (short for “South of Market St”) because it still has a nice vibe and is close enough to other good tourist districts. Other areas (e.g. Russian Hill, Nob Hill, Telegraph Hill, Chinatown, Tenderloin) are either too boring, too expensive, too ugly/dangerous, or too far from the authentic vibe of SF.
- South San Francisco & nearby:
- Honestly, I just don’t like it. It’s no longer the cool hippie SF vibe and architecture, looks and feels like a dense big city but wrapped around the hills, and comes with many inconveniences. The only good part is that being on the hills, you get an incredible view of the city below especially at night with the house lights on and stars above.
- It’s still quite expensive, but units are not much bigger. Street parking is absolutely horrendous at night (even worse than in the city). You can easily spend 1 hour looking for parking at nights, and the only thing you’ll find is 25-30 minutes walk from your place…I’m not kidding. And the drive into to the city, although it seems closer than crossing the bridge from the east bay, is actually full of traffic and will take you longer to get into the city.
Generally speaking, I think it’s best to stay in a cute charmy neighborhood and preferably a Victorian home in SF. (A cute Edwardian home would also be another alternate.) This is the most expensive but I think very worth it. However if you’re on a budget, then you have 2 choices. One is to pick a place in a foggy area. The other is to stay in the east bay and then drive or take public transport across to get to the city.
If you’re on a budget, keep in mind that the further you stay the more time you need to appreciate the city. Ultimately, I suggest spending money so you can enjoy every minute of it. Rather than saving money but losing time in transport.
Hostels:
- Hostelling International 240 Fort Mason – I personally never tried any but my friends stayed in this one and were happy with it. It’s also well-located to tourist stuff that I hate.
Neighborhoods & Walking areas:
- Mission – evenings time, you can eat here as well
- Cole Valley (Haight & Ashbury) – good for morning time
- Golden Gate Bridge & Wharves – good for morning time
- Marin County – morning and afternoon, paired with Golden Gate Bridge viewpoints
- Oakland – nice as well with its own bay-area charm
Activities to do:
- Golden Gate Bridge** – considered a must-see. Especially if you want the iconic bridge photos. There are several points along the way for the best photos of that bridge. The common ones are from the Torpedo Wharf, Golden Gate Viewpoint, Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Center, Fort Point National Historic Site, and Lonely Sailor Statue (opposite side). Less popular (but still beautiful and unique views) are from Crissy Field East Beach, Battery East, Golden Gate Overlook, Battery Boutelle, Baker Beach, and Battery Spencer (opposite side).
- Crissy Field East Beach – nice view of Golden Gate Bridge from farther out. Closer version of this is from Golden Gate Beach. This is more like if you wanted a park with a view of the bridge.
- Torpedo Wharf** – one of the best views of the bridge. Feels close enough to be close, yet far enough to take a photo of the whole thing. I would walk along the wharf and then up closer to where it feels like you’re right under the bridge.
- Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Center* – sure, more nice views of the bridge. But the big advantage here is to actually walk onto the bridge. You can also check out the view from Battery East trail just nearby as well.
- Lonely Sailor Statue* – now opposite side of the bridge. Different viewpoint. Depending on how the clouds are, this can also look very nice as the crowds hide all the structural stuff on the bottom and it looks like the bridge is magically appearing out of the sky.
- Fisherman’s Wharf & piers:
- Absolutely my most hated tourist area of SF. Total waste of time, commercial tourist trap of typical big brand eateries and shops. You shouldn’t spend a single minute here when the rest of SF is so much more beautiful and has such an authentic vibe. I die inside every time people say they’ve been to SF and when you ask what they saw, they say “I saw the Fisherman’s Wharf”. Nobody from SF ever goes here. EVER! It’s not the place to be.
- If you absolutely have to go here: go to Pier 39 (car parking avail), get a white clam chowder bread bowl at Chowder’s, walk to sea lion viewing area, can also watch the little stage for magic show. Then walk to the Fisherman’s Wharf to get photos of the Alcatraz Island, then head over to the Musée Mécanique (old arcade museum) that has really old arcade machines which I think is really cool to see. I think you should leave and be done with this area from here.
- If you have further curiosity, check out the USS Pampanito Museum (pricey but might be worth it) where you can climb on historic military battleships and submarines. Or just walk onwards to Power/Mason cable car turnaround, then further to Fort Mason Park (with maybe a stop at SF Maritime National Historical Park). Nearby is also the usual tourist crap like Wax Museum and Ripley’s Believe It or Not…but I know you’re not falling for that, right?
- All this stuff is a good idea if you just arrived, and hungry and tired, have a family (kids), and nothing else to do. Or maybe if it’s a super cloudy/rainy day, and you want to save the better parts of SF for sunnier weather.
- But again, you really can just skip all this because you’ll see much better and more authentic stuff elsewhere. If you only have 1-2 days in SF, I’d probably skip this entirely.
- Buildings & architecture:
- Victorian houses – you will see plenty of these when walking around Haight & Ashbury, Mission & Castro district, and driving around to Lombard street already. You don’t have to actively search these out.
- Golden Gate Bridge – definitely a must see, especially from the viewpoints I mentioned.
- City Hall building – beautiful capital building in downtown SF if you’re passing by. There’s convenient parking right outside for you to snap a quick photo and take off. For extra amusement, you could have your photo taken while sliding down the children’s slide right in front. If you have extra time, you can walk inside and explore the architecture inside.
- Parks, gardens, green spaces:
- SF is full of parks. I’ll list the most important ones for you (and their unique quality). If you’re short on time, Mission Dolores is my must-see pick. And then the others, you can decide based on what you like. Just check the Google Maps photos of each to get an idea.
- Mission Dolores Park**
- Usually called “Dolores Park”, is the iconic SF hipster/bohemian park. To me this is the main SF park, not Golden Gate Park. It’s a patch of green within the busy Mission district. And has all kinds of folks hanging out there. It also has a beautiful sunset view!
- Back in its hay-day (before the remodel around 2015), you saw all sorts of SF weird here. People dressed in strange costumes (ranging from a giant robot to unicorn to gay disco underwear), and all kinds of activities happened there. It still is a little like that but back then the “weird” felt more authentic than nowadays. I used to call it “the Miami of SF” because weekends were packed with people laying on the grass almost shoulder-to-shoulder. You can google up images of the good’old days.
- BONUS TIP #1 is to make sure you walk all the way to the southwest corner of the park (Church & 20th). From here you’ll see the whole park as well as the city beyond it. There’s plenty of benches to sit, or you can also sit/lay on the elevated grass hill. Have a beer or smoke, chat with friends.
- BONUS TIP #2 is to walk into the residential neighborhoods for another incredible city view. Best time is probably right after sunset where there’s still a little light out, but honestly it’s beautiful both day and night (you’ll see why). From the SW corner of the park, you walk west on 20th one block, then turn north onto Sanchez St. Go north 2 more blocks and you’ll run into the epic panoramic view of the city. Then just walk back into Castro using the stairs. (I usually park my car just slightly on the hill south of 18th and Sanchez, then walk to the park and circle back to here.)
- Palace of Fine Arts*
- Easy 30min stop if you’re driving or biking along the way to GG bridge views. Nice little water pond with a big Roman-style architecture. Beautiful photos and very easy to enjoy. Look up photos and you’ll see what I mean. (PS: from the main street, Richardson Ave, you can see a cool view of the GG bridge.)
- Corona Heights Park*
- It’s a local neighborhood park, very quiet and few people, but offers an incredible panoramic view of the city. Just walk to the back and up the hill, and then up the trail to the top. Yes, you should climb the rocks. And yes, you should go up the trail even if you see scary city signs saying it’s closed or whatever (everybody does it). Just be careful not to climb outside of the edge fence where you can be pushed off the cliff by the wind. Super easy 30 mins stop with a great view.
- Golden Gate Park*
- Huge multi-purpose green space where you can get lost in a world of nature. Forests, ponds, gardens, and various other parks built in for different purposes/activities. Music festivals also held here. There’s also a botanical garden, Japanese garden here.
- I recommend having brunch in Cole Valley or Haight & Ashbury (like Parada 22), then walking over to GG Park starting from Kezar Stadium, then west on Martin Luther King Blvd all the way to Stow Lake, cross Stow Lake Bridge to the island, walk around the island or short hike up to Strawberry Hill for the views, then exit out the north side of the island to Stow Lake Drive E and call your Uber from here.
- Buena Vista Park – nice little park in the city with steep trails hidden in the mini-forest, and great views at the top. Think of it as a quick nature escape from within the city.
- Alamo Square – little park with nice views of the city and downtown. Also nearby the famous “Painted Ladies” victorian houses. I don’t care so much for these since you see so many victorian houses all over SF anyway. Common place to eat your lunch on the grassy hill. Doesn’t take much time to get up high with a view.
- Corona Heights Park* – it’s not like a mini-forest nature escape, just a flat grass patch for playing with your dog. BUTTTT the big feature is you can go up the back side and hike up for incredible 360 degree panoramic views of the city. It’s very easy and very fast. (If you see any signs saying you can’t go up, I just ignore them. Be careful about not climbing outside the fence.)
- Bernal Heights Park – great views, and excellent option if you’re staying more by south SF.
- Other parks – you may have noticed I didn’t include other seemingly beautiful parks such as Fort Mason, Marina Green, Crissy Field Marsh, Presidio, Twin Peaks, etc. This is because they’re so inconveniently out of the way and/or I consider them more as a tourist destination (views of Golden Gate Bridge).
- Beaches, and water-points:
- Baker Beach
- Ocean Beach
- Arts & museums –
- Viewpoints & sunsets:
- Mission Dolores Park – I’m not sure you can see the sun going down but it’s a nice view and nice lighting. I’d sit at the southwest corner of the park.
- GG bridge – not the actual bridge itself but from the main viewpoints that you typically use to see the bridge.
- Coit Tower – classic “must-see” tourist spot recommended by locals. You can see panoramic views of the city and the water right from the parking lot just outside. Or go up the tower (costs money) for an even better 360-degree view. I hear it’s totally worth it to go up but I never did it.
- Lombard Street – famous winding road where cars start at the top and zig-zag down to the bottom (just 1 block). It’s another iconic tourist spot with incredible views of the city. I recommend parking your car and starting at the top (on Lombard & Hyde). Then walk down, taking photos along the water, then come back up to get your car and drive down. (FUN PHOTO OP: pay attention to Hyde Street as there’s an old trolley that comes by there.)
- Market St historic trains – on weekends, the city runs the old colorful historic trains. They’re beautiful and fun to see/photograph. Please note these are TRAINS, not to be confused with the old SF trolleys. You can also ride them. I believe they are “J” line trains.
- Shopping:
- Department stores – you’ll find all big brand shops downtown around Union Square.
- Thrift stores, vintage, secondhand – the best is Haight & Ashbury. Wastelands is most fancy, Crossroads has some nice items at better prices, Out of the Closet is more vintage and also cheaper.
- Souvenirs – I’d try Mission district on either Mission St or Valencia St.
Restaurants & Cafes:
- Mission/Castro:
- Kitchen Story – perfect brunch spot. Try the millionaire’s bacon!
- Starbelly – good american gastro and alcohol selection. Great for chill lunch or fancy dinner. Dinners will probably need reservation or else you have a 30-60min wait.
- La Mediterranee – awesome food.
- Dinosaurs Sandwiches – good vietnamese sandwich shop. Quick and easy, but I’d rather you get a nice meal in SF.
- My Thai
- sandwich shop in castro – I forgot the name
- vietnamese (mau kitchen? but its krn)
- indian in mission
- whole foods – food bar
- Harvey’s – closed, listed for posterity. Replacement brut bar closed too, I believe.
- Eureka – closed, listed for posterity. So sad, I freaken loved this iconic place. Super nice elegant restaurant. Small but somehow always had capacity to take more reservations. Of course, it was incredibly delicious.
- Cole Valley, Haight & Ashbury:
- Parada 22 (Haight) – really good Puerto Rican comfort food. Mofongo with shrimp, Pastellon…these are my top 2 favorite dishes. Bistec or chicken is probably my 3rd choice. The pernil asado, i don’t like so much.
- Zazie (Cole Valley) – brunch
- Hayes/SoMa:
- Suppenkuche (Hayes Valley) – delicious German food and german beer. Very cheeky service. This place is always full yet somehow they’ve always had room to accommodate groups without reservations.
- Sunset, Geary, Richmond – these areas have amazing asian food and many awesome late night options. Lively.
- East Bay – the chinatown area would have great late night stuff. During the day, great stuff is everywhere.
Bars & Clubs:
- Orbit/al Room
- Mission District
- Pac Heights & Marina
- the rest…follow some events or IG, etc…to know where.
Miscellaneous tips:
- General travel tips for the United States.
- Weather – San Francisco (and the bay area) is generally much colder than southern California. It’s usually always a little cold and a little windy. Be careful when you go between different neighborhoods as weather can change greatly depending on sun and wind exposure.
- Safety
- Crime – don’t listen to the idiot political talkpoints. San Francisco is largely safe and keeps getting safer as more areas get gentrified and become more expensive, rather than cheaper. Yes, there’s lots of homeless and some dangerous areas but they’re all mostly in the downtown area and Tenderloin district. The tourist areas you hang out in will be totally safe. Don’t worry, the bad areas will look and feel bad.
- Car break-ins – if you park a car on the street, make sure it is absolutely empty inside. Not only do you have to keep valuables out of sight, but you also have to hide your trash, even napkins, or any random objects. Otherwise, they WILL break into your car! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! DO NOT SHOW ANY SINGLE THING!
Itinerary:
Just FYI, my guide assumes you have a car. If you don’t have a car, then you can call Uber as needed.
- DAY 1 – Fisherman’s Wharf, look at Alcatraz, old arcade museum, boat, walk to Pier 39 (order clam chowder bread bowl and eat it at sea lion viewing area). You could also get a chowder bread bowl around the fish market at Fisherman’s Wharf and eat it there as well.
- DAY 2
- Brunch – Kitchen Story or Starbelly, or whatever place you fancy.
- Palace of Fine Arts – easy 30min walk around.
- Golden Gate bridge views – check out the viewpoints, and enjoy the scenic ride. Then cross the GG bridge to Sausalito.
- Sausalito – go to downtown sausalito, park on residential streets just a block up from the main street. Then walk along the water (first direction is Sausalito Boardwalk, next is the harbor).Then go back to the city. If you really love Sausalito, you might wanna check out Tiburon (if you have more time…there’s also a ferry from here back to the city)
- Corona Heights park – easy 5 min hike to top of hill for more incredible views of the city.
- Castro St – drive through this area for a quick idea. Then park at 18th & Sanchez, slightly north on the hill is easiest to find parking.
- Walk to Dolores park (get beers on 18th & Church if you want, then head to 18th & Dolores), now walk diagonally uphill through grass to highest corner of 20th & Church. Turn around and enjoy city view. Benches here for comfort. Then walk to 20th & Sanchez…then back towards 18th. You’ll have another incredible city view. Notice how entire city skyline doesn’t have gawdy billboards or advertisements?
- Eat in Castro or Mission District – Starbelly or La Mediterranee
- DAY 3
- Haight & Ashbury – park at bottom of Buena Vista Park, anywhere along the park. Haight & Central, if you wanna be closest. Then walk on Haight until Parada 22 for delicious lunch. Along the way you’ll see all kinds of shops. i think no SF visit is complete without jumping into a thrift/secondhand store.
- walk through cole valley, passing by the main intersection of Carl & Cole.
- Golden Gate Park – follow my tips above.
- City hall – convenient parking right outside for a quick picture.
- Lombard street – park at top and then walk down. then walk back up. then drive car down. look for historic trolley passing by at top.
- Coit tower – yes, it’s worth paying and going up the tower. 360 degrees all around.
- Dinner – in Mission district or SoMa/Upper-Market. Suppenkuche?
- DAY 4 (if you have extra time)
- East Bay – Oakland and Berkeley.
- south SF
- South Bay –
Nearby towns:
- Pacifica – so nice and so worth it. Especially if you’re driving south via the Pacific Coast. Stop by and have a beer overlooking the beach. Visit the Pacifica Municipal Pier where you can spot whales and other sealife. I think there’s other whalespotting points as well. It’s a quick easy stop.
- Half Moon Bay – so nice just to drive by.
- Santa Cruz – fancy restaurants on the water, or just drive by.
- Palo Alto, Cupertino, Mountain View – worth it if you got time and a friend to help you visit the Google campus.
Unfiltered notes: