SF
Guide
Curated by a local tour guide.
What I recommend on tour, collected in one place.
Neighborhoods
All neighborhoods →San Francisco's Chinatown is the oldest in North America and one of the largest outside Asia.
Nob Hill is a residential and hotel district at the summit of the hill.
SoMa stands for South of Market.
Pacific Heights developed as a wealthy residential district from the 1870s. Much of its early Victorian and Edwardian…
Where to Eat
All restaurants →Tartine Bakery
Get the morning bun. It sells out first.
Jane the Bakery
Great small bakery that grows their own grain.
Foreign Cinema
Films from the 1960s and 1970s projected on the courtyard wall.
b. patisserie
If you are staying downtown, use the Union Square kiosk on Powell for the kouign-amann rather than crossing town, but go to California Street if you want the full range.
Things to Do
All activities →Palace of Fine Arts
Free and open daily. Expect wedding photographers and picnickers on the lawn. Check the theater calendar for current shows.
Exploratorium
A hands on science museum founded in 1969 by physicist Frank Oppenheimer, moved to Pier 15 on the Embarcadero in April 2013. Around 600 exhibits on the floor, curated from more than 1,000 the museum has built itself. After Dark Thursdays are 18+ with cocktails. The Tactile Dome requires a separate reservation.
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.
Best of San Francisco
All lists →Tours I Recommend
All tours →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…
Sunset Sail on San Francisco Bay
Sail under the Golden Gate Bridge aboard a 55-foot catamaran. A 90-minute sunset run past Alcatraz, the Bay Bridge, and the city…
Muir Woods Half-Day Tour
A 4-hour guided trip from San Francisco to Muir Woods National Monument, with stops in Sausalito on the return. Hotel pickup included.
Upcoming Events
All events →Eagles of Death Metal: Death By Sexy 20th Anniversary Tour
Chazz Hawkins
Ingested/ Embrium/ Iron Front/ Ominous Ruin/ Barberous
Screeching Weasel
The Garden (6 and Over)
Screeching Weasel, Queers, Jack Trippers at August Hall
Black Lips, Escape-ism at Bottom of the Hill
Malik Elassal
LP – All Is Not Lost Tour
Zoh Amba
Event Image Link – Zoh Amba | Event Date – 02 September
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