The Richmond
About The Richmond
Fog rolls through the avenues like clockwork, and locals in the Richmond have learned to love it. This stretch from Arguello to Ocean Beach feels like a different city entirely. Quieter, cooler, and packed with some of the best food in San Francisco.
What to See & Do
Golden Gate Park forms the southern border, and the western reaches stay wilder and quieter than the tourist-packed eastern attractions. Find the bison paddock, the Dutch windmills, or the chain of lakes where herons fish in the morning fog. Ocean Beach terminates the avenues in a sweep of cold sand where surfers paddle out in thick wetsuits year-round.
Land’s End trails wind along the coastal cliffs at the neighborhood’s edge. The Sutro Baths ruins hint at Victorian grandeur, and on clear days the Golden Gate Bridge appears through the cypress trees.
Green Apple Books on Clement has been selling new and used titles since 1967. The fiction room upstairs and the annex around the corner could occupy an entire afternoon. This is the bookstore that locals drive across the city to visit.
Where to Eat & Drink
Clement Street is the reason to come. Walk a few blocks and you pass Burmese tea leaf salad at Burma Superstar, hand-pulled noodles at Shanghai Dumpling King, borscht at Cinderella Bakery, and pho that rivals anything in the Tenderloin. The immigrant communities that settled here built a food scene that destination restaurants downtown cannot touch.
The Character
The Richmond is where San Franciscans actually live. The avenues stretch in a quiet grid, row houses in muted pastels, neighborhood markets on every few corners. It doesn’t announce itself the way the Mission or North Beach does, and that’s the point. The diversity of the food scene reflects the diversity of the residents: Chinese, Russian, Burmese, Irish, Vietnamese, all within walking distance.
Getting There
The 38 Geary runs straight through from downtown, or take the 1 California to reach Clement Street. Bring layers. The fog burns off by afternoon. Sometimes.
Things to Do
All activities →
Japanese Tea Garden
Free for SF residents with ID. Go early on weekday mornings when you'll have the moon bridge to yourself. The tea house serves Japanese snacks and matcha with garden views.
San Francisco Botanical Garden
Free for SF residents with proof of address. The cloud forest and redwood grove are the highlights. Allow 2 hours minimum. Best on foggy days when the gardens feel otherworldly.
San Francisco Columbarium
Free and open daily. The personalized niches are the real attraction, with Giants gear, whiskey bottles, and handwritten letters left for the dead. On Anza Street near Arguello in the Inner Richmond. Allow 30 minutes.
Shipwrecks of Lands End
Check tide charts before going. Shipwreck remains are only visible at low tide. The 3.4-mile coastal trail from Sutro Baths to the Golden Gate Bridge overlook is worth hiking regardless. Wear layers.
Internet Archive Headquarters
Free tours available but check the website for schedules. The building is a former church with servers where the pews were. On Funston Avenue near Clement in the Inner Richmond. Quick visit, about 30 minutes.
Conservatory of Flowers
Free first Tuesdays. The tropical galleries are warm and humid, making this perfect on foggy mornings. At the eastern end of Golden Gate Park near the Panhandle. Allow about an hour.
