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Classic San Francisco
- Ride a cable car
Our transit guide compares cable cars, Muni and BART, and when each makes sense.
- Watch the wheels at the Cable Car Museum
A free museum where you watch the giant wheels that pull the city’s cable cars.
- Walk the crooked block of Lombard Street
Take the stairs beside the famous zigzag and watch the cars wind down.
- Climb up to Coit Tower
Take the Filbert or Greenwich steps to the Art Deco tower and its 1930s murals.
- Wander the Palace of Fine Arts
A huge domed rotunda and colonnades beside a lagoon.
- Walk Crissy Field
A former airfield turned bayfront shoreline, with a flat promenade and kites overhead.
- Picnic at Presidio Tunnel Tops
Parklands built over freeway tunnels, with lawns and sweeping bridge views.
- Play the antique machines at Musée Mécanique
Free admission to a noisy collection of coin-operated fortune tellers, pianos and arcade games.
- Graze the Ferry Building Marketplace
The landmark waterfront food hall, with dozens of local vendors.
- Ride the free gondola up to Salesforce Park
A 5.4-acre rooftop park with walking trails and gardens.
- Walk a labyrinth at Grace Cathedral
Two labyrinths and stained glass at the top of Nob Hill.
- Catch the best views in the city
Eighteen viewpoints, from Twin Peaks to the hilltops locals use instead.
- Go to a game or tour Oracle Park
The Giants’ waterfront ballpark, with behind-the-scenes tours year-round.
Eat & Drink
- Eat a Mission burrito
La Taqueria vs El Farolito, and where else to go.
- Go for dim sum
From cheap counters to cart service.
- Clam chowder in a bread bowl
Where to order it.
- Dungeness crab or cioppino
The city’s own seafood classics, and where to eat them.
- Take home a loaf of sourdough
Where to buy the city’s signature bread.
- Watch sourdough shaped at Boudin
Demonstration bakery windows at Fisherman’s Wharf.
- A morning bun at Tartine
The famous corner bakery, known for flaky morning buns and fruit tarts.
- Watch fortune cookies folded by hand
A tiny shop on Ross Alley in Chinatown.
- A square slice at Golden Boy
Focaccia-style slices since 1978, then a picnic in Washington Square.
- A hot fudge sundae at Ghirardelli
Fudge made fresh daily, in Ghirardelli Square.
- An apple fritter at Bob’s Donuts
A family-run Polk Street tradition since the 1960s.
- Ice cream at Bi-Rite, then Dolores Park
A Mission favorite, one block from the park.
- Do a coffee crawl
The roasters and cafés worth the walk.
Art & Museums
- SFMOMA
Visitors 18 and under get in free; book a ticket in advance.
- The de Young and its tower
The twisting Hamon Observation Tower has sweeping views.
- The Legion of Honor
European art and sculpture above the Golden Gate.
- The Asian Art Museum
One of the largest collections of Asian art outside Asia.
- The Exploratorium
More than 600 interactive exhibits.
- California Academy of Sciences
An aquarium, planetarium and four-story rainforest under a living roof.
- The Walt Disney Family Museum
Walt Disney’s life, in an 1897 Army barracks in the Presidio.
- Walk Balmy Alley’s murals
A free open-air art walk in the Mission.
- Go gallery-hopping on First Thursday
Where to go, and which galleries have closed.
- Time a visit for a free museum day
Every regular free day, checked on each venue’s own site.
Outdoors
- Spend a whole day in Golden Gate Park
How to fill a full day in the park.
- Stroll the Japanese Tea Garden
The oldest public Japanese garden in North America.
- Watch the sunset at Ocean Beach
3.5 miles of sand. Strong currents make swimming dangerous.
- Lie on the lawn at Dolores Park
Sloping lawns and big skyline views.
- Visit the San Francisco Zoo
More than 1,500 animals across 100 oceanside acres.
- Picnic in Washington Square
The grassy heart of North Beach, across from Saints Peter and Paul.
Neighborhoods
- Walk both Chinatowns
Grant Avenue is the postcard one; Stockton Street is the working one. Walk both.
- Chinatown to North Beach on foot
From the Dragon Gate to Washington Square.
- Hear the city’s legends
Ghost stories, myths, and what is actually true.
Festivals & Seasons
- Hardly Strictly Bluegrass
The free festival in Golden Gate Park.
- Fleet Week
The Blue Angels, ship tours and the parade of ships.
- The Chinese New Year Parade
Dates, route and where to watch.
- Día de los Muertos in the Mission
The Festival of Altars and the procession.
- Holiday lights
Where to see the city’s holiday lights.