SF
Guide
Curated by a local tour guide.
What I recommend on tour, collected in one place.
Neighborhoods
All neighborhoods →The Mission is San Francisco's Latino cultural heart and sunniest neighborhood, known for taquerias, mural-lined alleys, and Mission…
San Francisco's Chinatown is the oldest in North America and one of the largest outside Asia.
The Sunset is the residential grid south of Golden Gate Park, running from Stanyan Street out to the…
Haight-Ashbury grew as a streetcar suburb in the 1880s and 1890s. Its Victorian flats and cheap postwar rents…
Where to Eat
All restaurants →Liguria Bakery
They close when the day's batch sells out, often by late morning. Go early.
Sam’s Burgers
Anthony Bourdain ate here on The Layover and called it "top three in the world." plus It's great for late night food after the bar.
Hon’s Wun-Tun House
Hong Kong-style wonton noodle soup with hand-wrapped wontons and clean broth. So Tasty!
Foreign Cinema
Films from the 1960s and 1970s projected on the courtyard wall.
Things to Do
All activities →San Francisco Botanical Garden
A 55 acre garden in Golden Gate Park, home to more than 9,000 plant species, with collections from climates comparable to San Francisco: Mediterranean, cloud forest, and tropical highland. Founded through a 1927 bequest from Helene Strybing, laid out by a WPA crew in 1937, and opened in May 1940. Free for San Francisco residents with ID; open daily 7:30am to 9:00pm. Free for everyone the second Tuesday of each month.
Transamerica Redwood Park
A half-acre redwood grove at the base of the Transamerica Pyramid. It's free too.
Shakespeare Garden
A walled garden in Golden Gate Park planted only with species mentioned in Shakespeare's works; plaques pair each bed with the relevant passages. The bronze bust at the back is cast from a 17th century original in Stratford-upon-Avon, a gift from that town's mayor. Free, open sunrise to sunset, near the California Academy of Sciences.
Best of San Francisco
All lists →Tours I Recommend
All tours →Nob Hill on Film
A free self-guided film locations walk on Nob Hill: five stops including Madeleine's apartment in Vertigo, the Fairmont from TV's Hotel, the…
North Beach and Telegraph Hill on Film
A free self-guided film locations walk through North Beach and Telegraph Hill: nine stops from the Transamerica Pyramid to Coit Tower, including…
The Castro: Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Mile
A walk through the heart of LGBTQ San Francisco, from Harvey Milk Plaza and the Pink Triangle memorial to Milk's camera shop…
The Mission: Murals, Missions, and Taquerías
From the 1791 Mission Dolores through Dolores Park and the Women's Building to the mural alleys and the Calle 24 Latino corridor.…
Fisherman’s Wharf to the Marina: The Working Waterfront
A waterfront walk from the historic ships at Hyde Street Pier west past Ghirardelli, Fort Mason, and the Wave Organ to the…
Nob Hill: Bonanza Kings and the 1906 Fire Line
The hilltop of railroad and silver barons, from the working cable car powerhouse to Grace Cathedral. Six stops, under a mile, with…
Pacific Heights: Billionaires’ Row and Victorian Survivors
A walk along the city's wealthiest ridge, from a tourable 1886 Victorian and the Spreckels Mansion to the Mrs. Doubtfire house and…
The Fillmore: Harlem of the West and Japantown
The Black music history that the Haight's rock story overshadows, from Alamo Square up Fillmore Street to Japantown. Six stops, about a…
Golden Gate Park: A Cross-Park Walk
A three-and-a-half-mile east-to-west walk across Golden Gate Park, from the 1879 Conservatory of Flowers through the museums and gardens to the bison,…
SoMa and Yerba Buena: Industrial City to Museum Mile
How warehouses and rail yards became the city's cultural core, from SFMOMA and the Yerba Buena museums to the dot-com oval of…
The Embarcadero: Earthquake to Ferry Building
How a 1989 earthquake remade the waterfront. A flat walk from Cupid's Span and the Bay Bridge to the Ferry Building and…
North Beach Walking Tour
A free self-guided North Beach walking tour from a local SF guide. 10 stops through Beat Generation history and Italian North Beach:…
Walking the Haight: A Deep History Tour
A free self-guided Haight-Ashbury walking tour from a local SF guide. 17 stops from Buena Vista Park to Hippie Hill: the Grateful…
Chinatown Walking Tour
A free self-guided Chinatown walking tour from a local SF guide. 14 stops over 1.7 miles, from the Dragon Gate through the…
San Francisco by Luxury Van Tour
A 4-hour small-group ride through 16 SF neighborhoods in a luxury van. Buses can't reach these streets — vans can. Local snacks,…
Wine Country Small-Group Day Trip
Napa and Sonoma in one day without driving, which matters more than people expect once tastings are involved. Small group, long day,…
Yosemite and Giant Sequoias Day Trip
Fourteen hours and a lot of it is driving, so go in knowing that. You still get Yosemite Valley and the sequoias…
Vantigo VW Bus City Tour
A restored VW bus, a small group, and a driver who talks like a local instead of reading a script. The most…
Upcoming Events
All events →Jerry Wayne Longmire at Cobb’s Comedy Club
Emei at Bimbo’s 365 Club
Beth Orton
Failure w/ quannnic
Emei
Chasing Abbey
tobi lou – Same Old Jeans Tour
Show Me the Body
Eva Evans
JPEGMAFIA w/ redveil
Chat Pile w/ Soul Glo
Author & Punisher/ Guiltless/ TBA
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