SF
Guide

Curated by a local tour guide.
What I recommend on tour, collected in one place.

Neighborhoods

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Haight-Ashbury

Haight-Ashbury grew as a streetcar suburb in the 1880s and 1890s. Its Victorian flats and cheap postwar rents…
Russian Hill

Russian Hill is a residential neighborhood on the hill north of Nob Hill, between Polk Street and the…
Financial District

The Financial District is built on the filled-in Yerba Buena Cove, with Gold Rush ships still buried beneath…
The Castro

The Castro was farmland called Eureka Valley before becoming San Francisco's gay neighborhood in the late 1960s and…

Where to Eat

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Butter & Crumble

Great bakery in North Beach but very long lines.

North Beach Bakery

Scoma’s

Seafood goes from dock to kitchen with no middleman.

Fisherman's Wharf Seafood

Hon’s Wun-Tun House

Hong Kong-style wonton noodle soup with hand-wrapped wontons and clean broth. So Tasty!

Chinatown Chinese

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.

North Beach Hamburgers

Things to Do

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Coit Tower

Lobby and murals are free; you only pay for the elevator. Come early for the lightest crowds.

North BeachIconic Landmarks

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.

Fisherman’s WharfMuseums

Mission Dolores Cemetery

The cemetery at Mission Dolores, the oldest in San Francisco. Hitchcock filmed Madeleine visiting Carlotta Valdes's grave here in Vertigo (1958); the prop headstone is gone, but the spot is unchanged.

The Mission DistrictHistoric Sites