How To Spend 3 Amazing Days In San Francisco, California

San Francisco is a tourist friendly city loaded with iconic landmarks, famous museums, sandy beaches and a diverse food scene. But with so many things to do, how do you go about planning your itinerary? What should you include and what should you cut if you only have a few days?

In this guide we walk you through the perfect 3 days in San Francisco itinerary for your first visit, based on our own experiences.

Our Experience

We first visited San Francisco for 3 days at the beginning of November 2019, right after leaving Yosemite National Park and before driving California’s Pacific Coast Highway to San Diego. San Francisco was one of the places we were most excited to see on our west coast road trip, so we booked all the touristy things in advance and explored from dawn to dusk each day by car and by foot. Having the car was great for reaching further out spots like Twin Peaks, so it’s worth considering when you visit.

Then in September 2022 we decided to spend another 3 days in San Francisco before flying out to live in Southeast Asia for 6 months. This time we knew the city well, so we targeted lesser known spots and spent more time eating great food rather than just attraction hopping. We didn’t have the car this time, but it didn’t stop us getting around town easily with bikes, scooters and our our own leg power! Read more about us.

3 Days In San Francisco Itinerary Map

Click or touch the map below to activate. Zoom in and out, move around the map and you’ll see the attractions and routes for each day. You can also click on the view larger map icon in the top right to expand the map, which is much easier to see.

Map key:

• Day 1 – Red icons
• Day 2 – Purple icons
• Day 3 – Orange icons
• Daily routes – Blue lines

Note: Days 1 and 2 are walking routes, whereas day 3 is a driving route. You could use electric scooters if you don’t want to walk so much, and you can rent bikes if you don’t have access to a car for the final day.

Okay, let’s get into the itinerary!

Day 1: Union Square, Embarcadero + Chinatown

Union Square

Union Square is filled with hotels, restaurants and boutique stores so it’s a popular place to stay on a first visit to San Francisco. Start with breakfast at Honey Honey Cafe or Pinecrest Diner, both have thousands of reviews online. We tried Pinecrest and it was a proper old-school diner with great food, but there was a line so go early. If you book a hotel in a different part of town, you might want to grab breakfast at The Grove Yerba Buena which is very close to the SF MoMa. We also ate here and it was a nice setting.

SF MoMA

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art displays more than 50,000 pieces of contemporary works across 7 floors, and it’s well worth a visit. It opens at 10:00am Friday-Tuesday and 12:00pm on Thursday, but it’s closed on Wednesdays. The SF SoMa is located in the trendy SoMa neighborhood (south of Market Street) opposite Yerba Buena Gardens, which you should also check out if you arrive before the museum opens. It took us less than than 2 hours to see everything.

Ferry Building

After the museum, follow Minna Street northeast and take a gondola up to an urban rooftop garden called the Salesforce Park. Next, get back onto Market Street and continue until you reach the Ferry Building Marketplace at San Francisco Ferry Terminal. Inside the historic and photogenic building you’ll find farmers markets, food stalls and coffee shops. Grab a snack and a coffee (we got empanadas), then begin walking up the Embarcadero.

Exploratorium

San Francisco’s Exploratorium is a unique science museum with hundreds of interactive exhibits that are perfect for the kids (and young at heart adults!). We were genuinely surprised at how much we enjoyed the hands-on interactive learning experiences. It’s open every day except Monday and although it was a little on the pricey side, we thought it was definitely worth visiting. We spent a decade working in science so this museum was right in our wheelhouse!

Coit Tower

Head up to Pier 19, cross The Embarcadero and cut through the parks leading to Filbert Steps. Climb the steep wooden staircase, stopping to enjoy views and flowers in bloom, until you reach Coit Tower. Open 10:00am-4:00pm daily, you can take an elevator to the top of Coit Tower to enjoy 360-degree views over San Francisco. There are also murals reflecting California’s Great Depression on the lower levels that you shouldn’t miss. The elevator was out of order when we visited, so we had to climb the steps. We’ll be honest, the views weren’t as spectacular as we’d hoped, but for ten bucks it was worth doing.

City Lights Book Store

Head west on Filbert Street until you reach Washington Square. There’s lots of Italian restaurants in this area if you’d like to eat an earlier dinner. We went for pizza at Tony’s Pizza Napoletana because we adore Neapolitan style pizza. The Margherita was expensive, but it was one of the best we’ve had outside Italy. Just a few minutes south on Grant and Columbus you’ll reach City Lights Booksellers, a historic maze-like book store with 3 levels and thousands of rave reviews. It’s open 10:00am-10:00pm daily.

Cable Car Museum

Next up would be the San Francisco Cable Car Museum. It’s open until 4:00pm Tuesday-Thursday and 5:00pm Friday-Sunday (closed on Mondays), so it will be too late to visit if you follow our full itinerary up to this point. However, if you skip the art museum, Exploratorium or Coit Tower, you would arrive to the cable car museum before it closes. It’s free to enter and showcases antique cable cars, along with the cable pulling equipment. This place also has thousands of amazing reviews, so it’s worth checking it out.

Chinatown

No matter which attractions you visited or skipped up to this point, your final place to visit this evening is Chinatown. North America’s first Chinatown was established in San Francisco and it covers a large area to the north of Union Square, with Grant Avenue at its heart. For us, it’s best to see Chinatown in evening once it’s dark so you can appreciate the colorful lights and lanterns on display. If you haven’t eaten yet, now’s your chance to enjoy superb Chinese food. We highly recommend visiting the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory to see fortune cookies being made.

Day 2: Fisherman’s Wharf + Alcatraz

Lombard Street

Blow the cobwebs off with a brisk and steep walk through the upscale Nob Hill and Russian Hill areas until you reach a highly rated breakfast place called The New Spot On Polk. After eating, make your way to the nearby slaloming road known as Lombard Street. We’ve been to Lombard Street three times at different times of day and it was always packed. From the top you’ll have great views all the way to Coit Tower, and from the bottom you have a fun photo spot of cars snaking slowly down the twisting road.

Ghirardelli Square

Take Leavenworth and North Point until you reach Ghirardelli Square. Today it’s a shopping and dining hub, but it was once the original site of Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory in the 1800’s. Walk around the brick buildings and don’t miss the chocolate experience. If it’s a hot day you can grab an ice cream, or if it’s a cold day you can warm up with a hot chocolate. This is the place to take souvenirs or gifts back to your family and friends.

Musee Mecanique

Okay, you’re now in Fisherman’s Wharf which is the bustling touristy and slightly tacky part of San Francisco. After Ghirardelli Square you could go to the nearby Maritime National Historic Park, but we recommend heading east on Beach Street for a quick Irish coffee at The Buena Vista. Next, continue down Jefferson Street to Musee Mecanique, which is a unique old-school arcade games spot with free entry. It’s open 10:00am-8:00pm daily and features pinball machines, arcade games and other nostalgic games that cost 25 cents to play.

Boudin Bakery

After leaving you could also visit the nearby USS Pampanito Museum, a restored Naval submarine. But next, it’s time for lunch and there’s only one place you should go, Boudin Bakery. San Francisco is famous for sourdough bread, so you have to try it when you visit. Boudin is known as the oldest continually operating business in town and the original sourdough vendor. We went both times we visited SF, first time we got tomato soup bread bowls and second time we just got loads of tasty sourdough treats!

Pier 39

Continuing east you can visit the Museum of 3D Illusions or hop on a Blue and Gold Fleet bay cruise (we did this for sunset and it was great) until reaching Pier 39. Walk out onto the wooden Pier 39 to find shops, restaurants, cafes, bars, creperies and the most famous spot in Fisherman’s Wharf known as the Sea Lion Viewing Area. This place is always busy because you can watch dozens of sea lions sunbathing, sleeping and playing.

Aquarium of the Bay

Right as you leave Pier 39 the last thing you’ll pass is Aquarium of the Bay. We used our SF attraction passes for the aquarium and we enjoyed the underwater tunnels, but it’s small and overpriced if you don’t use a pass. With that said, it’s a great stop for the kids if you’ll be visiting with your family.

Alcatraz

Just a few minutes walk to the east you’ll arrive at Pier 33, which is where you’ll take the ferry to Alcatraz Island. You can choose between a day tour and a night tour of the prison. We’ve done both (here’s our comparison of the Alcatraz day and night tours) and they were both fantastic. It’s one of the better tours we’ve done during our travels around the US and we highly recommend you visit. Book tickets in advance to guarantee a spot, either for the late afternoon or early evening. Head out for dinner near your hotel, around Chinatown or in Union Square once you’re back.

Day 3: Golden Gate Park + Golden Gate Bridge

There’s two ways you can do this third day. If you have your own car or hire car, follow each step below. If you don’t have a car, we recommend you hire bikes at Bay City Bike Rentals in Fisherman’s Wharf (we got ours there) and cycle to the Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park, Painted Ladies, Japantown and back to drop the bikes off.

Golden Gate Bridge

After breakfast, make your way over to the Golden Gate Bridge and its many great viewpoints including Battery Lancaster and Battery Godfrey on the south side, and H Dana Bowers Memorial and Battery Spencer on the north side. You can walk, cycle or drive across the bridge, we’ve done all and they’re all great fun. It takes ages to cycle across and the drop down seems so much further when you’re actually on the bridge!

Beaches

The south side of Golden Gate Bridge is located in a park called the Presidio of San Francisco. On the west side of the park you’ll find Marshall’s Beach and Baker Beach, both of which offer excellent Golden Gate Bridge views. Only now you can use sand, rocks and the bay to create lovely photos. Before leaving Presidio you could visit the Walt Disney Family Museum. Or, a little further around the coastline to the south you could walk along the enormous Ocean Beach which stretches for miles and borders Golden Gate Park.

Golden Gate Park

Golden Gate Park is a 1,000+ acre green space on the west side of San Fransisco. Now, you should focus your attention on the east side of the park which is home to the California Academy of Sciences, the de Young Museum, the Japanese Tea Garden and the SF Botanical Garden. We used our SF attractions passes to gain entry to all four and we highly recommend each of them. The kids will love the Academy of Sciences, but our favorite was the Japanese Tea Garden (we’re huge fans of Japan!).

Twin Peaks

Technically you could drive down to San Francisco Zoo next, but instead we recommend heading south on 17th Avenue and climbing the 16th Avenue Tiled Steps up to Grandview Park for city views. If you have a car, drive up to Twin Peaks next for far reaching 180-degree views over the San Francisco Bay Area. It’s a great view, but it gets busy and there’s not a great deal of parking. Twin Peaks is better later in the afternoon because the sun will be behind your view, rather than in front of it.

Mission District

Next, head east for Mission Street in the Mission District. This area is one of the most culturally diverse and exciting neighborhoods in San Francisco with an abundance of restaurants, bars, cocktail lounges, clubs, wall art murals and parks. It’s got a younger, hipster vibe but anyone can visit and enjoy a spot of dinner. Clarion Alley has the wall art, Dolores Park has the views and Foreign Cinema has the movies playing on outdoor screens during dinner.

Painted Ladies

If you want one final stop before the end of your third day, head north and slightly west to Alamo Square and the Painted Ladies. You might recognize the Painted Ladies from various TV shows and movies set in San Francisco over the years. They’re a row of colorfully painted Victorian houses with a stunning view of the city immediately behind. We visited during daylight but the view is equally as cool to see at night because downtown SF is lit up in the background.

2 Days In San Francisco Itinerary

If you only have 2 days or a weekend in San Francisco, how do you condense those 3 action packed days into 2? Well, you start by cutting, compromising and prioritizing. What are you most comfortable leaving out? Museums? Beaches? Maybe even Alcatraz?

Here’s how we would plan a more relaxing 2 day trip:

Day 1

• Lombard Street – Start with breakfast and a walk down Lombard Street.
• Fisherman’s Wharf – Walk from west to east, stopping at all points of interest.
• Alcatraz – Take an early afternoon tour of Alcatraz Island.
• Chinatown – Walk into Chinatown for dinner and drinks.

Day 2

• Golden Gate Bridge – Drive or cycle to the bridge and its many viewpoints.
• Golden Gate Park – Visit the museums and gardens.
• Mission District – Spend the late afternoon eating and drinking.
• Union Square – Shopping, with more eating and drinking.

One Day In San Francisco Itinerary

Now, how about if you only have one day to see San Francisco’s highlights? The good news is you have plenty of options, but the bad news is you’re going to miss out on a lot of great spots. It’s easy to fall into the trap of trying to fit in too many things, so we recommend you pick a theme and stick to it.

Here are a few of our ideas on how you could spend one day in San Francisco:

1. Golden Gate Day

Spend the whole day on the west side of San Francisco at Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. This would work great if you don’t have a car because you can hire bikes and easily cycle across. With more time you could walk down the cliffs to Marshall’s Beach or Baker Beach.

2. Neighborhoods Day

Instead of doing any attractions, museums or even Alcatraz, you could spend the whole day walking or scootering around Mission District, Japantown and Chinatown. These are the places to eat, drink, chill, repeat.

3. Museum Day

Another way you could spend a day in SF is to only visit museums. That might involve SF MoMa, the Cable Car Museum, Exploratorium, Musee Mecanique, the Walt Disney Family Museum, the de Young Museum or the California Academy of Sciences. Technically, Alcatraz is now part of the national park service, but we’d still call it a museum.

4. Top Attractions Day

Abandon all the lesser known spots and focus your attention only on the top attractions like Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge, Pier 39, Lombard Street, the Painted Ladies and maybe Golden Gate Park if you have time.

San Francisco Attractions Pass

If you like to tick off lots of attractions when you visit new places, you should seriously consider buying an attractions pass for San Francisco. If you’ve never used one before, they’re basically a great way to save money by bundling attractions together. And when a company runs a special offer you can save even more.

We’ve used passed from each of the companies offering passes in cities like New York, Paris, London and Rome because our travel style is to see and do as much as we can, and we like saving money. We highly recommend you take a look at each company below to see how much you can save on the attractions you want to visit.

Here are the three passes you can buy for San Francisco:

• SF Sightseeing Pass
• SF CityPASS
• Go City SF

READ: Our San Francisco attraction passes comparison

Where To Stay

San Francisco receives more than 20 million tourists each year, so there’s plenty of hotel rooms available for your visit. Here’s what we recommend when planning your San Francisco itinerary:

• Fisherman’s Wharf – Great for families and groups who want to be in the touristy center of things. Easy access to Alcatraz and Golden Gate Bridge.
• Union Square – Good place to stay for shopping and nightlife. Surrounded in all directions by fun places to explore, although Tenderloin to the southwest side is pretty rough and gritty.
• SoMa / Financial District – More upscale and business oriented, but still close to the thick of the action.
• Nob Hill – Very upscale and quiet place to stay but still within walking distance to the major tourist spots. Good with a bigger budget.
• Mission District – Great if you want to be in a lively residential area with lots of fun places to eat and drink.

We stayed in Union Square on both our trips to SF (and even in the same hotel because it had great offers on both times!), but we’d stay somewhere different like Nob Hill, SoMa or even Mission District next time for variation. Union Square has a good location for accessing attractions, but it’s a bit rough and gritty around the southwest side called Tenderloin.

Here are some of the top rated hotels in SF:

• Handlery Union Square
• Chancellor Hotel (where we stayed)
• Hotel Nikko
• Fairmont Ghirardelli Square

READ: 20 fantastic hotels in San Francisco

The Morgan Conclusion

What we like: After two trips to San Francisco, we can confidently say it’s up there as one of our favorite cities in the US. We like that it’s a unique and diverse city with countless superb places to eat out. The attractions are easy to visit and the city as a whole doesn’t feel too overwhelming to get around.

What we don’t like: The Tenderloin area to the southwest of Union Square was very rough last time we visited SF. We had unhoused people being aggressive and intimidating, which we hadn’t experienced anywhere else before. Plus, the Pier 39 area is overpriced and tacky for our taste.

Is San Francisco worth visiting? Yes, San Francisco is definitely worth visiting if you enjoy visiting landmarks, food, nightlife and museums. You can see San Francisco’s major tourist highlights in 3 days, which makes it perfect as a long weekend or short midweek travel destination for families, couples, groups or solo visitors.

More From California

• San Francisco to San Diego road trip
• The things you can’t miss in San Francisco
• Our review of the Alcatraz tours
• Top Golden Gate Bridge viewpoints
• The perfect 3 days San Diego itinerary
• Top things to do in San Diego
• Things you can’t miss in LA
• Warner Bros Hollywood Studio tour review

Want more California content? Head to our California Travel Guides to explore national parks, popular road trips and things to do in major cities of the Golden state.

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We hope our San Francisco itinerary helps with planning your trip to California!

Please let us know if you have any questions in the comments below.

Happy Travels,

Mark and Kristen

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