15+ Very Best Things to Do in San Francisco

Looking for fun things to do in San Francisco? Check out this list of the very best things to do in San Francisco.

San Francisco is one of the friendliest and most charming cities in the United States. The fourth-largest city in California is the kind of city that most people fall in love with at first sight.

When visiting San Francisco, you’ll be greeted by a diverse city that is both cultural, historical, and modern at the same time. It’s easy to spend several days in San Francisco, but now don’t forget to continue on a road trip in beautiful California.

If you’re planning a trip to San Francisco, you’ll have to linger on this page for a little longer. I’ve made a list of the very best sights and things to do in San Francisco. You’ve definitely heard of some of the things to do before as San Francisco is home to several world-famous attractions.

 

The best things to do in San Francisco:

1. Golden Gate Bridge

On the list of the best things to do in San Francisco, we must certainly not forget the Golden Gate Bridge. The iconic red bridge is the largest landmark in San Francisco and is said to be the most photographed bridge in the world.

Views of the Golden Gate Bridge can be enjoyed from large parts of the city. The most popular vantage points are at Baker Beach and Battery Spencer. From here there are some stunning views of the huge bridge. However, if you’re visiting San Francisco in the summer, be aware that the Golden Gate Bridge is often covered in fog.

The best way to experience the Golden Gate Bridge is by walking or cycling across the bridge. Along the way, you’ll be greeted by the most beautiful views while getting a better sense of how huge the bridge really is. If you feel like it, you can take the ferry back to San Francisco again.

However, if you don’t feel like cycling or taking a walk across the bridge, you can also easily drive across the Golden Gate Bridge. On the other side of the bay, you’ll find Sausalito, a cozy little suburb filled with charming houseboats.

 

2. Chinatown

Chinatown in San Francisco isn’t only the largest Chinatown outside of Asia, but also the oldest Chinatown in the United States. As you walk through the city gate Dragon’s Gate, you’re suddenly greeted by a spellbinding Chinese culture.

In this district, most of the population is Chinese, and the area is characterized by Chinese signs, red lanterns, tea houses, and Chinese temples. The small shops are crammed with Asian souvenirs and the restaurants serve all sorts of Chinese specialties, such as dim sum and chop suey.

The oldest street in Chinatown is Grant Avenue, which is also by far the most popular street for tourists. This is also where the aforementioned city gate is to be found. I highly recommend making your way past the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory. This factory produces thousands of fortune cakes every single day.

 

3. Alcatraz

Another popular attraction in San Francisco that you must not miss is the infamous prison island of Alcatraz. It is isolated from the mainland and until 1963 it was home to some of the most dangerous criminals in the United States, including Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly, and Robert Stroud.

Today, Alcatraz is designated as a national park and serves as a museum where you can learn about life behind bars. You can either choose to take part in a guided tour or walk around yourself on a guided audio tour. I was on a self-guided audio tour and found it really exciting to learn about the history of the prison.

Alcatraz is one of the most popular things to do in San Francisco and tickets sell out fast. Therefore, it’s a good idea to book your tickets for Alcatraz a few weeks before departure. You should expect the trip to last about half a day as you must sail back and forth to Alcatraz. Oh, and by the way, the ferries to Alcatraz depart from Pier 33 several times a day.

Read also: Guide to Visiting Alcatraz

 

4. Union Square

Union Square is one of the best places to stay in San Francisco. Here you’ll find a large number of shops, restaurants, cafes, hotels, bars, art galleries, theaters, and events. It is without a doubt an entertaining place with lots of things to indulge in.

If you’re looking for shopping in San Francisco, Union Square is an ideal place to satisfy your shopping cravings. The area’s popular shops and department stores include Macy’s, Bloomingdales, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Forever21, and the Disney Store.

You can also visit the Westfield San Francisco Center, the largest shopping mall in San Francisco.

 

5. Twin Peaks

One of the very best things to do in San Francisco is a trip to Twin Peaks. These two hilltops are located slightly south of downtown and are the only hills in San Francisco that are not built with houses. At an altitude of 281 meters, they offer one of the most beautiful views of all of San Francisco and the bay.

In addition to the breathtaking views from Twin Peaks, there’s also a park from which you can go on some amazing hikes. You should be aware that it is often very cold on the hills, even if the temperature is high.

Remember to plan your trip to Twin Peaks according to the weather conditions. If the infamous San Francisco fog is resting over the city, it’s probably not that cool to go up there.

 

6. Haight-Ashbury

Haight-Ashbury is the place where the whole hippie culture and Summer of Love started in 1967. Thousands of flower children made a pilgrimage to Haight-Ashbury to live a free spiritual life with everything that was about love, sexuality, peace, weed, drugs, psychedelic music, and alternative ideas.

Today, Haight-Ashbury isn’t quite as it used to be in the 1960s, although several residents still live by a particular lifestyle. The district is characterized by special small shops and restaurants that immediately recall the hippie era. Most shops are located along Haight Street, where you’ll probably meet some quirky personalities along the way.

 

7. Cable Cars

One of the most iconic things to do in San Francisco is a ride in one of the city’s old cable cars. They’ve been driving around the city since 1873 and were once the only public transportation system in San Francisco. Originally there were 23 routes, but today there are only 3 routes left that are primarily used by tourists.

The cable cars in San Francisco are in fact the only remaining cable car system in the world that is still operated manually. It is often crowded with people, so it may be a good idea to board them at one of the terminals.

It is also at the terminals that you can experience how the cable cars are almost turned on a plate. One of the terminals is the Powell and Market Cable Car Turnaround. You can buy tickets onboard the cable cars.

To learn more about the old cable cars, visit the San Francisco Cable Car Museum. It is a really nice museum with free admission. Here you’ll find several historical and informative exhibitions about cable cars.

 

8. Palace of Fine Arts

The Palace of Fine Arts is an incredibly beautiful building that should be on any list of the best things to do in San Francisco. This monumental building was first built in 1915 and has since been restored along with the surrounding grounds.

In front of the beautiful building, there’s a large lake where you can greet ducks, swans, geese, and even raccoons. Palace of Fine Arts is an incredibly idyllic place that most of all resemble something from a romantic movie.

 

9. Lombard Street

San Francisco is known for its many hills and slopes that at times seem just a tiny bit (or okay, a lot) too steep to climb. The most winding street in the world is said to be Lombard Street, but the title belongs to Vermont Street. This street is also located in San Francisco but is far from as beautiful and idyllic as Lombard Street.

On an approximately 400-meter stretch with a slope of 16%, Lombard Street manages to make eight dramatic turns. Along the roadside, there are lots of beautiful flowers and charming houses. There’s also a great view from the top of the steep and winding street.

 

10. Castro

Known as the gay neighborhood of San Francisco, Castro is a haven where no one needs to think about the prejudices of others. There are some slightly crooked people among those who take their freedom to the next level. This means that you can easily run into a half-naked (or completely naked) man or woman on the street in Castro.

The borough has played a major role in the LGTB movement since the late 1960s when the summer of Love in Haight-Ashbury created a free society. In Castro, the rainbow-colored flag is waving everywhere and there are many fun shops and eateries. It’s probably not a place you can spend several hours, but it’s still a fun place to visit in San Francisco.

 

11. Fisherman’s Wharf

Fisherman’s Wharf is one of the most touristy areas in San Francisco but is still worth a visit. The cozy harbor area is buzzing with life with lots of tourists, vendors, jokers, and entertainment. Here you’ll find countless souvenir shops, restaurants, and rides.

Enjoy the atmosphere and views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz or grab a delicious meal at one of the fish restaurants. Take a walk past Pier 39, one of the most popular things to do in San Francisco. Here you can usually see a large sea lion colony that has resided on the quay since an earthquake in 1989.

You may also want to visit the Musée Mécanique, home to hundreds of old arcade machines. There’s free admission, but it costs a bit to try the slot machines. Another option is a quick visit to Magowan’s Infinite Mirror Maze, a fun and colorful mirror maze.

At Fisherman’s Wharf, you’ll also find the popular Madame Tussauds Wax Museum and Ripley’s Believe It or Not. This is also where the submarine USS Pampanito from World War II docks.

 

12. Golden Gate Park

Golden Gate Park is so large that it is actually larger than Central Park in New York. However, there are still many other city parks in the United States that are far larger than both.

This large park is a wonderful oasis in the middle of the big city with several lakes, playgrounds, picnic areas, and monuments. You can even find two old Dutch windmills and American bison.

For a fee, you can also visit the Japanese Tea Garden, the oldest Japanese tea garden in the United States. You may also want to visit the San Francisco Botanical Garden with nearly 9,000 different plant species. Other popular things to do in the Golden Gate Park include the de Young Museum and the California Academy of Sciences.

 

13. Painted Ladies

When visiting San Francisco, you’ll probably quickly notice the many Victorian houses around the city. The most famous are Painted Ladies, a series of colorful Victorian houses standing side by side. They miraculously survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

Painted Ladies has appeared in several movies and TV series, of which the TV series “Full House” is by far the most popular. For the best views of the Victorian houses, walk up the hill in Alamo Square Park across the road. From up here, you’re greeted by breathtaking views of the Painted Ladies with the San Francisco skyline in the background.

 

14. Ferry Building

The beautiful Ferry Building is one of the best attractions in San Francisco. This building is home to the largest farmers’ market in San Francisco. Don’t forget to admire the fascinating architecture before moving inside the dining hall.

Inside the Ferry Building, you’ll find a large selection of stalls, restaurants, and cafes serving all kinds of dishes in all kinds of price ranges. You can dine at restaurants with food made by some of San Francisco’s best chefs or just grab a quick meal on the go. The Ferry Building is definitely an obvious place to have lunch in San Francisco.

 

15. Coit Tower

At the top of Telegraph Hill sits the Coit Tower, a 64-meter-tall observation tower in San Francisco. It was built in the early 1930s as a kind of declaration of love for the city.

Take the elevator to the top of the tower, from where you’ll find some great views of San Francisco and the surrounding bay. At the bottom of the tower, you can also see a large collection of murals from the infamous Depression years in the United States. A visit to Coit Tower is definitely one of the best things to do in San Francisco.

That’s all on this list of the best sights and things to do in San Francisco. What are your favorite things to do in San Francisco? If you’re planning a trip to San Francisco, what are you looking forward to then? Feel free to leave a comment.

Planning a trip to San Francisco? You might also like these articles:

• Guide to Visiting Alcatraz in San Francisco
• 36 Very Best Places to Visit in California
• Itinerary: 20 Best Things to Do on Pacific Coast Highway
• 12 Beautiful National Parks in the United States

Like this article? Pin it for later!