Our Standout San Francisco Experiences (After 2 Very Different Trips)

San Francisco was easily the city we were most excited to see on our first 3-month western US road trip at the end of 2019. We spent three action-packed days exploring SF from dawn to dusk, and because we had our car, we were able to drive across the Golden Gate Bridge and visit harder to reach spots like Twin Peaks. Using Union Square as our hotel base, we then walked the remaining touristy areas of the city like Embarcadero, Fisherman’s Wharf and Chinatown. We also did an Alcatraz day tour and thought it was fantastic.

Then we returned to San Francisco for 3 days in September 2022. We stayed in Union Square again because it was easy and cheap (we wouldn’t stay there again next time though), but this time we didn’t have our car so we rented bikes and cycled across the Golden Gate Bridge. It was so much better than driving. Our Alcatraz tour in 2019 was superb, so we decided to do the night tour and it was even better. We also cycled to Golden Gate Park to visit museums and gardens, and overall it was a better trip because we knew the city well.

We don’t think San Francisco is on the same kind of “bucket list” level as New York City, but seeing the Golden Gate Bridge and touring Alcatraz for the first time are special memories from our travels. We’d say our major downside from both trips was how much it cost us – hotels and even food are super expensive because of Silicon Valley, a lack of space to grow, and high costs for doing business there. But on the plus side, we thought San Francisco’s top attractions were relatively affordable.

We honestly think three full days is enough time to see and do the best of SF as a tourist. That said, an extra day wouldn’t hurt for exploring deeper into cultural neighborhoods. That’s our one big regret, next time we’ll spend more time hanging out in neighborhoods like Mission, Japantown and the areas around Alamo Park. Based on our two totally different trips, we’re going to walk you through the experiences we consider unmissable for a first-timer visiting San Francisco. Let’s dive in!

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Biking The Golden Gate Bridge

Let’s kick things off with the one thing we think every single first-timer should do in San Francisco – snap way too many photos of the iconic, world-famous, “international orange” colored Golden Gate Bridge. In 2019, we drove across the bridge and parked at H. Dana Bowers Memorial Vista Point to see a front-on view of cars crossing. From there we walked up to Battery Spencer for a fantastic southeast-facing view, and finally we stopped at Golden Gate Overlook on the south side of the bridge.

Driving it was cool, and we took tons of photos first time around. But we still had this massive, inescapable feeling of wanting to see more of the bridge during our second trip in 2022. So we walked to Fisherman’s Wharf and rented bikes from Bay City Bikes for less than $30 each. Then we cycled through Fort Mason Park, along Marina Blvd, beyond the Palace of Fine Arts, and across Crissy Field to reach Golden Gate Postcard Viewpoint. Next, we cycled across to H. Dana Bowers lot, before cycling back across to Golden Gate Overlook.

For us, biking was a much better experience than driving. On the bikes we stopped dozens of times to take photos at various vantage points and angles, plus actually cycling over the bridge gave us a far greater appreciation of its size and scale. It took longer than we expected to cycle the 2 miles across, and we think it would be a good 40-minute walk. Also, looking down from the not-so-high (4.5 feet tall) pedestrian railing was enough to send shivers through our spines and butterflies through our bellies!

Having the bikes also helped us easily navigate to several our of our favorite Golden Gate Bridge viewpoints without getting stuck in traffic or clocking up a ridiculous amount of steps by foot. We even cycled down from the bridge to Golden Gate Park to visit the museums and gardens there (we cover this later). Getting the bikes was well worth it, and we’d do it again next time. The only thing we regret was not having more time or means to continue riding to Sausalito or hit the sand on Marshall’s Beach and Baker Beach. We’ll do them all next time.

Kristen’s biking tip: Cycling is the best way to experience the bridge, but it’s a fair bit of effort. If we wanted to do it without the exercise, we’d join this top rated e-bike tour that covers pretty much the same route we did but also goes on to Sausalito. It looks like an easy way to do it without breaking into a sweat.

Taking A Day Or Night Tour Of Alcatraz

We couldn’t wait to tour Alcatraz in 2019. Mark loves the old movie The Rock, and the prison has such a notorious and intriguing history. Our biggest fear was that it would be one of those hyped up attractions that ends up being disappointing. But you know what? It was the complete opposite. We thought they’d done a truly fantastic job of setting it all up for tourism. The route was efficient, the audio guides were descriptive, it didn’t feel too rushed, we learned a lot, and the big crowds didn’t feel too crammed in.

Anyway, we booked our day tour ferry well in advance (we didn’t pay to step on the NPS-run Alcatraz Island – we paid a little under $50 each for the ferry round trip), lined up, climbed aboard, sailed across the bay, and docked on Alcatraz. We listened to a kind of island orientation talk, then entered the old prison, got our audio guides, and basically followed the stops through the prison and outer areas. On the ferry back we both said how impressed we were.

We couldn’t resist another visit when we were back in SF in 2022. But this time we wanted to try something different, so we booked the Alcatraz night tour instead of the day tour. It cost an extra $10 – so a little under $60 each – but it was more than worth the extra money. The ferry circled the island instead of going straight to the dock, we were able to watch a serene sunset behind the Golden Gate Bridge from the island, and we got exclusive access into areas that are closed off during the day like the eerie prison hospital wing.

For us, taking a tour of Alcatraz is the best thing to do on a first visit to San Francisco. It’s the one thing we tell our friends, families and travel planning clients to do. Tripadvisor readers also list Alcatraz as the number one SF attraction, so it’s not just us. Now, we encourage you to read our Alcatraz day vs night tour comparison to see which is best suited to you, but if pushed we’d say the night tour has a bit more atmosphere and on-theme eeriness.

Riding The Iconic SF Cable Car

After reading that riding the cable car was like a touristy rite of passage in San Francisco, we did a bit more research and discovered that the Powell-Hyde line was the best line for a first time tourist because it had steep climbs, dramatic bay views, and ended near Ghirardelli Square in Fisherman’s Wharf. And that was good enough for us.

We hopped on at Powell St & Bush St (near our hotel), and rode it all the way to the waterfront. The best part was getting our first glimpse of Alcatraz out in the bay as the cable car passed through Russian Hill, but really the whole thing was a cool experience. Back then it was a bit cheaper, we paid something like $6 each. Now it costs $9 for a single ride or $15 for a one-day unlimited use pass (here’s more on rates). Next time we’d buy a day pass if we planned to take two or more cable cars in a day.

We sat inside for the first few stops when it was full to the brim (apparently it fills up at the starting point called Powell St & Market St because conductors physically have to push the cable car 180-degrees on a wooden turntable), but as soon as space became available on the outside, we rushed out to try “hanging off the side”. We had to put our daypacks by our feet, and we went with two-hand tight grips to combat sudden sharp movements. It was so much more fun on the outside!

Mark’s hidden gem tip: We visited the free SF Cable Car Museum in Nob Hill with no expectations, but it turned out to be a complete hidden gem surprise. Highly recommend it.

Being A Tourist In Fisherman’s Wharf

We actually didn’t hate Fisherman’s Wharf. Sure, it was touristy, tacky, busy, and a bit like San Francisco’s version of Times Square without the skyscrapers and neon lights. But at the same time, it had loads going on and a surprisingly fun “vacation mode” vibe. We ended up walking around Fisherman’s Wharf on both trips – it’s kind of hard not to because of where it’s located, right on the waterfront at the top end of Embarcadero, not far from the Alcatraz ferry.

Our first time in 2019 we didn’t really do much except explore the Pier 39 boardwalk’s shops, watch the Buffalo Bills in Players Sports Bar, and see the famous Sea Lions sunbathing on wooden docks. But the standout thing from that first trip was eating delicious tomato soup bread bowls lunch at Boudin Bakery. We both love sourdough bread, so Boudin was top of our lunch wishlist.

In 2022, we had a bigger travel budget and we decided to be full-on Fisherman’s Wharf tourists. So we visited Aquarium of the Bay (it was small and overpriced but had a cool underwater tunnel), took a SF Bay cruise (which we cover later), drank Irish coffees at The Buena Vista, and bought overpriced hot chocolates at Ghirardelli – the sundae’s looked glorious but they were outrageously expensive.

The one place we missed that we’d do next time is Musee Mecanique, which hosts one of the world’s largest privately owned collections of video arcade games and musical instruments. The machines are coin operated so we’d arrive with a bunch of small change and our nostalgia radars on red alert. If we went back to San Francisco with our kids, we’d definitely take them for a walk around Fisherman’s Wharf.

Experiencing America’s Original Chinatown

We actually stayed at Chancellor Hotel on the north side of Union Square on both our trips (because it was reasonably priced in a very expensive city), so it only took us 5 minutes to walk to the famous Dragon Gate on Bush St & Grant Ave – the touristy ceremonial entrance to San Francisco’s historic Chinatown neighborhood. And across our two trips, we must have passed under the gate at least 10 times as we connected between Union Square and North Beach (which we cover later).

Now, one of our regrets from SF is not doing Chinatown properly from a food and drinks perspective. We did try delicious Chinese sweets and baked savory food at Eastern Bakery, but next time we’d definitely go for a sit down meal at the high-end Mr. Jiu’s on our favorite street in Chinatown called Waverly Place. It has those glowing red lanterns, brightly painted balconies, and free to explore temples we were hoping to find. And Chinatown also looks like a great night out after dinner, with cool-looking cocktail bars and dive bars.

Instead of eating and drinking, we spent a lot of time slowly wandering around the touristy (Grant Avenue) and “real Chinatown” (Stockton Street) areas by day and night, taking photos of murals and lanterns, watching how the residents lived, and visiting the free Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory which was well worth it. But even without the sit down meals, we still felt like we really experienced the best of Chinatown, just by walking.

Kristen’s neighborhoods tip: If you’re more of a neighborhoods traveler than a tick off attractions traveler, plan your SF trip to include Chinatown, Japantown, Hayes Valley, NoPa, North Beach, and especially Mission District. Because we’ve done all the typical tourist attractions in San Francisco, our next trip will be exclusively for hanging out in trendy areas of the city. We’d actually consider joining this popular SF “love tour” which hits up most of the popular neighborhoods in just 2 hours.

Strolling The Embarcadero From Ferry Building To Exploratorium

There were only a handful of things we “re-did” the second time we visited San Francisco, and walking the Embarcadero from the Ferry Building Marketplace north to the Exploratorium was one of them. The half-mile walk gave us the same bay views, salty air and historic piers as Fisherman’s Wharf – just without the dense crowds and cheesy souvenir shops. This stretch of SF coastline was quiet, easy, and felt way more local.

The Ferry Building Marketplace is basically an old ferry terminal that’s been restored and filled with local food vendors and small restaurants. The building itself is easily one of our favorite photo spots in the city, and across our trips we enjoyed coffees from Blue Bottle, breakfast sandwiches from Mariposa, and tasty empanadas from El Porteno. But due to plain bad timing, we’ve missed the Ferry Building’s famous farmers market both times. It runs Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM, and Saturdays 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM.

Heading north from the Ferry Building, we’d slowly stroll past Pier 1 and Pier 3, looking left to see historic F-Market streetcars rumbling by, until reaching the long wooden Pier 7 boardwalk stretching out into the bay. We walked to the end of Pier 7 both times for awesome views over the Bay Bridge and Transamerica Pyramid (looking back), with barely anyone else around. Then we’d bypass Pier 9 and head straight to Pier 15 for the surprisingly entertaining Exploratorium.

Trust us when we tell you, this place is not just for kids. We will 100% take our kids there when they’re a bit older, but we’d also go again just the two of us. In essence, it was like a fully immersive and interactive hands-on experience with countless devices, machines and instruments to play or tinker with. We spent ages both times trying to figure out puzzles and generally being amazed at physics. If only physics classes at school were this much fun! We did think $40 entry was pretty steep, but it’s worth it (see tickets).

Exploring Golden Gate Park’s Museums & Gardens

We didn’t even consider visiting Golden Gate Park the first time we went to San Francisco because it was a pain to reach from the touristy northeast side of the city and we had so many other attractions to get through. But we didn’t want to miss it again the second time, so we planned a full day with bike rentals to do the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park in one hit.

Why didn’t we want to miss it? Because it’s a massive outdoor green space that’s home to some of San Francisco’s best museums and gardens. We started our cultural afternoon with a visit to the de Young Museum, which housed fine arts like American paintings and photography, and art from Africa and the Americas. There was also a 360-degree glass view from the top at Hamon Observation Tower that was well worth a quick elevator ride.

Next, we explored the unique California Academy of Sciences which housed a planetarium, aquarium, natural history museum, and glass rainforest filled with birds and butterflies flying all around us. Honestly, it was more our scene, way better than we’d expected, and similarly to Exploratorium – we left feeling like it wasn’t just a place to take the kids, it was also great for adults. We’d go again for sure.

By then we had museum burnout, so we circled down to the San Francisco Botanical Garden for a relaxing walk among 55-acres of plants, flowers and trees from around the world. The problem? September was one of the worst months of the year there. It’s famous for magnolia trees which bloom in January, February and March. Then the spring wildflower bloom is April and May. So really, we’d only do it again if we visited in winter or early spring. Any other time of year, we’d skip it.

To finish, we completed our clockwise circle of Golden Gate Park attractions by visiting the San Francisco Japanese Tea Garden. And you know what? It was awesome. We’d say it’s arguably the best Japanese garden we’ve seen outside of Japan. And we were able to join a free walking tour around the gardens which was fantastic. The Drum Bridge, five-story pagoda, and bonsai-style pine trees were exceptionally photogenic – and we drank matcha at the historic Tea House. It was excellent and we’d 100% do it again.

Mark’s money saving tip: We bought a 3-day multi garden ticket which gave us entry to the Botanic Garden, Japanese Tea Garden, and Conservatory of Flowers for $25 each. If we’d paid individually for the Botanic Garden and Tea Garden, it would have cost us $31 each. Plus, the ticket included the Conservatory of Flowers which we didn’t have time to do but would be a great addition.

Cruising San Francisco Bay

Even though we’d taken a ferry to Alcatraz Island twice, we wanted to try a proper San Francisco bay cruise that passed underneath the Golden Gate Bridge. So on our second trip, we turned up in person at a kiosk next to Pier 39 in Fisherman’s Wharf and booked a 90-minute sunset cruise with Blue and Gold Fleet. And we booked in the morning for that same evening, just in case it filled up during the day.

Honestly, the cruise was no-frills, super relaxing, and did what it said on the tin – took us out into San Francisco Bay, passed by Alcatraz and Angel Island, floated below the Golden Gate Bridge, and had a low-key narration that explained landmarks along the way. Of course, the best part was watching a striking sunset directly over the Golden Gate Bridge from the water on our way back to Pier 39.

Did it blow us away? No. But was it worth doing? Absolutely. And we’d tell our friends, families and clients to add it to a first time SF itinerary. Next time, we’d do the sunset cruise again (for us it’s well worth the extra few dollars to get soft light and a romantic sunset), and then we’d walk up Stockton Street to North Beach for a late dinner and drinks. Or we’d consider joining this sunset catamaran bay tour to do the same thing but in a bit more style.

Kristen’s attractions pass tip: We actually used SF CityPASS tickets for our bay cruise, along with Exploratorium, California Academy of Sciences and Aquarium of the Bay. The CityPASS tickets cost us $87 each at the time, but individually those attractions would have cost us $169 each. The pass only included a daytime cruise, but we paid $10 each we upgraded to the sunset cruise. So overall we saved $72 each. It’s a no-brainer if you’re planning to tick off lots of attractions. Here’s our San Francisco CityPASS review to learn more.

Walking Through North Beach To Coit Tower

Strangely, we didn’t really pay much attention to the “Little Italy” North Beach neighborhood during our 2019 trip. We definitely walked through it several times because it connects Chinatown to Fisherman’s Wharf, but we never really stopped there. So in 2022, we mapped out a morning itinerary just for North Beach and it was one of our favorite mornings of the trip.

We started with breakfast at Mama’s, arriving before 8:00 AM to make sure we got in without having to wait in line. Mark had pancakes and Kristen got an omelette. It was expensive, but the food was good and the setting was super attractive. After breakfast we sat on Washington Square for ten minutes, looking up at the striking Saints Peter and Paul Church.

Once our food had digested a bit, we walked along Columbus Ave to the famous City Lights Bookstore. We didn’t realize but it actually has a colorful history – it was the headquarters for 1950’s anti-establishment “beat generation” names like Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. The book store itself didn’t look like much from the outside, but the inside was so cool – there were narrow and creaky staircases, and mazes of bookshelves covering every topic imaginable.

After browsing books for a good hour, we walked east on Broadway and north on Sansome so we could climb the old steep wooden Filbert Steps to Coit Tower, a 210-foot tall cylinder-shaped concrete tower. After paying $10 each for entry, we thought it was just going to be about the summit view, but surprisingly there were some lovely frescoes painted in 1934 depicting depression-era workers. The lift was out of order when we visited, so we had to climb 234 steps to the top. But the thigh burn was worth it for awesome 360-degree views over SF. Our only regret was not being up there for sunset, but it closed at 5:00 PM and sunset in September was after 7:00 PM.

To finish our half day in North Beach, we walked back along Filbert St from Coit Tower to Washington Square to grab lunch at Tony’s Pizza Napoletana. We both love proper, legit Neapolitan pizza. So whenever we travel anywhere, we always search for a new place to try one. We’d read Tony Gemignani had won pizza awards, so we gave it a shot and ordered a Margherita each. The pizzas were expensive but excellent, and we’d definitely go again next time we’re in SF.

Mark’s top foodie tour: Next time we’re in SF, we’re going to book this top rated food tour through Chinatown and North Beach. At 4 hours, it’s long for a food tour, but it looks fantastic.

Seeing The Famous Painted Ladies

We have to admit we were dubious about making the effort to see San Francisco’s famous Painted Ladies back in 2019. But we’re glad we did in the end. After circling Alamo Park a few times waiting for a space to open up, we sat on the grass taking photos of the 7 brightly painted Victorian houses known as “postcard row” or “seven sisters” for a good 30 minutes, and they were incredibly photogenic.

All we knew was the houses were featured in various TV shows and movies. But we didn’t know there were thousands like them built during the California Gold Rush as a sign of wealth in the city. Most were destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and fire, but Alamo Square and a few other neighborhoods were far enough west to be saved before the fire reached them.

From Alamo Park on the grass, it’s an east facing view looking at the Painted Ladies. So because we went early in the morning, the houses were totally covered in deep and dark shadows. It was good because we were able to grab coffees from The Mill on Divisadero Street, but next time we’d probably go an hour or so before sunset when the houses would be glowing with soft light.

Kristen’s Painted Ladies tip: We didn’t know at the time, but NoPa to the near west and Hayes Valley to the near east are super trendy neighborhoods that we would definitely spend time exploring if we went back to see the Painted Ladies. NoPa has independent stores, restaurants and coffee shops (like The Mill that we went to) – and Hayes Valley is chic and modern with high-end boutiques and outdoor art installations.

Soaking Up The Views From Twin Peaks

Back in 2019 we drove the California stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway from San Francisco to San Diego. So the morning we left San Francisco after three days exploring, we decided to take a quick pit stop at Twin Peaks on the way down to Half Moon Bay (our first stop on the road trip). We love elevated viewpoints overlooking cities, so Twin Peaks was right up our street.

The drive up was fun and we managed to get one of the parking spots right at the viewing area, which was a stroke of luck. We would much rather have made it up there for sunrise but we didn’t get out quick enough in the morning. Instead we arrived by about 9:00 AM on a sunny but hazy day with no clouds at all.

The view was north-northeast facing, with the best section running from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Bay Bridge. It was cool to see the city skyscrapers and bridges, but honestly it was a bit further back than we realized and the bridges were only just visible in the hazy distance. We had terrible camera gear back then (and skills to match!), so we’d go back again at sunrise or sunset with our upgraded cameras and knowledge to snap much better photos.

Mark’s day trips tip: With 4+ days for SF, we’d seriously consider a joining a day trip tour like like this top rated Yosemite day trip, which is mammoth 14-hour day but it’s perfect if you want to see Yosemite without driving a rental car. We also like the look of this Napa and Sonoma wine tour and this longer Sonoma wine tour, just for the convenience of drinking wine without renting or driving a car.

What To Skip

Lombard Street: We know this is a controversial one because Lombard Street is unique and photogenic. But really, it’s just a curving road that people actually live on, and with so many tourists on foot and in cars doing full-on photo shoots, it kind of didn’t sit right with us. We quietly and quickly walked down Lombard Street a little after sunrise and it was a stunning scene, but we saw it later at sunset and there were dozens of tourists clogging it up. That can’t be fun for the people who live there.

SF MoMA: This one is just personal opinion. We know SF MoMA is a global powerhouse in modern art along with the likes of Tate Modern, Centre Pompidou, and MoMA in New York City. And as travel photographers, we did really like the photography aspect of our visit in the Pritzker Center. But we’re just not fans of modern art. Our advice? If you’re interested in art, don’t miss it. Otherwise, skip it for a future visit.

Fisherman’s Wharf: Even though we included Fisherman’s Wharf in our guide, we feel obliged to say that we don’t think everyone will like it. The tacky touristy vibe is fine for a few hours, but it wears thin quickly. With kids, it’s an easy place to keep them entertained. But without kids, we probably wouldn’t allocate more than a few hours on our itinerary for Fisherman’s Wharf.

Hop-on hop-off bus: We’re big believers that the best way to see a new place is to walk, walk and walk some more. That’s how we find hidden gems, stumble across hole-in-the-wall eateries, and find new photo perspectives. And in San Francisco specifically, we feel it’s a place you just have to walk to get the full experience of hills, trams, and life. For us, the hop-on hop-off bus is just an expensive way to miss out.

SF Zoo: We have absolutely nothing against SF Zoo, and we didn’t even visit on either trip. The reason it’s on our list to skip is purely geographical. The zoo is a long way southwest of any other attraction in the city, so it would be a lot of effort just to get there and back, and it would ultimately use up a massive amount of time. Plus, you can visit a zoo in lots of places, but nowhere else has a Golden Gate Bridge or Alcatraz.

Next Steps

We hope our guide on the top things to do in San Francisco helps with planning your trip.

If you’d like more personalized help, we offer expert travel planning video calls where we answer any questions you have, help you avoid tourist traps, and map out your perfect California trip. See our packages and reviews.

Still researching for your trip?

• Here’s our 3-day San Francisco itinerary.
• This is what to do in San Diego.
• Follow our 3-day Yosemite itinerary.
• Here are more top US vacation spots.

Finally, if you’ll be visiting more places on the same trip, read our first-timers California travel guide for more helpful tips and advice.

Happy travels,

Mark and Kristen

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