SF
Guide
Curated by a local tour guide.
What I recommend on tour, collected in one place.
Neighborhoods
All neighborhoods →Haight-Ashbury grew as a streetcar suburb in the 1880s and 1890s. Its Victorian flats and cheap postwar rents…
Hayes Valley is named for Thomas Hayes, who developed the area in the 1850s. Its current walkable form…
Russian Hill is a residential neighborhood on the hill north of Nob Hill, between Polk Street and the…
The Financial District is built on the filled-in Yerba Buena Cove, with Gold Rush ships still buried beneath…
Where to Eat
All restaurants →Marufuku Ramen
Hakata-style tonkotsu ramen in Japantown. So delicious.
Swan Oyster Depot
Anthony Bourdain called this his favorite seafood spot in America on No Reservations.
Sotto Mare
Great Italian seafood in North Beach. Known for their Cioppino.
Arsicault Bakery
Go early on a weekday and get the plain croissant first, then the almond.
Things to Do
All activities →Garden of Fragrance
A sensory garden inside the San Francisco Botanical Garden, designed in 1965 for blind visitors. Plants are chosen for scent and texture, and the signs are in Braille. Many of the walls were built with stones from a 12th century monastery that William Randolph Hearst shipped to San Francisco. Included with garden admission (free for SF residents).
Musée Mécanique
More than 300 antique arcade machines in a private collection at Pier 45. Includes Laffing Sal (the laughing machine that stood at Playland at the Beach from 1928 to 1972). Ed Zelinsky started the collection as a child; his son Dan now runs it. Free. Machines cost $0.25–$1.00 per play. Bring quarters.
Tunnel Tops
A 14-acre park built on top of the Presidio Parkway tunnels, with views of the Golden Gate Bridge, the bay, and the Marin Headlands.
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 15 SF neighborhoods in a luxury van. Buses can't reach these streets, but 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 →INNA at August Hall
Flamingosis
Underoath – Define the Great Line 20th Anniversary Tour
WORSHIP NORTH AMERICAN 2026 (18+)
INNA
Headache
An Evening with David Sedaris
Sean Hayes
Paul Cauthen
Late Night Clubbing #092
Worship at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
Flamingosis at Audio SF
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