SF
Guide
Curated by a local tour guide.
What I recommend on tour, collected in one place.
Neighborhoods
All neighborhoods →The Financial District is built on the filled-in Yerba Buena Cove, with Gold Rush ships still buried beneath…
Haight-Ashbury grew as a streetcar suburb in the 1880s and 1890s. Its Victorian flats and cheap postwar rents…
Japantown is a small neighborhood in the Western Addition, centered on the Japan Center malls and the Peace…
Pacific Heights developed as a wealthy residential district from the 1870s. Much of its early Victorian and Edwardian…
Where to Eat
All restaurants →Flour + Water
Seven-course pasta tasting menu around $90.
R&G Lounge
Anthony Bourdain featured this Chinatown Cantonese restaurant on No Reservations.
La Taqueria
Voted Best Burrito in USA. James Beard America's Classics Award winner.
Arsicault Bakery
Go early on a weekday and get the plain croissant first, then the almond.
Things to Do
All activities →Conservatory of Flowers
A Victorian wood and glass conservatory that opened in April 1879, the oldest still operating in North America. James Lick ordered the prefabricated parts from Lord & Burnham of New York in 1876. Five galleries of tropical and aquatic plants under 16,800 panes of glass. In Golden Gate Park. $12 adults, free the first Tuesday of each month.
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.
Palace of Fine Arts
Free and open daily. Expect wedding photographers and picnickers on the lawn. Check the theater calendar for current shows.
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 →Golden Gate Park Band’s Symphony in the Park 2026 Finale: German Day
Julieta Venegas: Norteña Tour 2026
Eslabon Armado – Amor Nocturno at The Fillmore
Art Garfunkel
Lucki w/ Sk8star
Late Night Clubbing #079
Guardin with Kennedyxoxo and Fijimar at Brick & Mortar Music Hall
Ismo at Cobb’s Comedy Club
Amy Grant
Modern Love: The David Bowie Experience
Joon
Joon at Cafe Du Nord
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