San Francisco

Best things to do in San Francisco

1. 

   1

   1. Golden Gate Bridge

   • 1 to 3 hours, more if you walk it
   • No booking needed
   • Couples
   • Active
   • Families

   The suspension bridge across the one-mile-wide Golden Gate strait, linking San Francisco with Marin County. It carries pedestrians and cyclists as well as road traffic, and is one of the most recognised symbols of the city and of California.

   Check the bridge authority's pages for current walking and cycling access and parking before you go.

   54,904 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Golden Gate Bridge
   • Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District, the bridge

2. 

   2

   2. Alcatraz Island

   • At least a few hours
   • Check entry rules before you go
   • Couples
   • Families
   • Adults

   A small island about 1.25 miles off San Francisco, once a lighthouse site, military fort and, from 1934, a federal prison that closed in 1963. It is now a major visitor attraction, reached only by a private ferry company under contract to the National Park Service.

   The park service page we checked does not explain ticketing, so confirm how to book with the National Park Service before you plan. It advises layers, grip-soled shoes and notes there is no food on the island beyond dry snacks.

   30,893 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Alcatraz Island
   • National Park Service, Alcatraz plan your visit

3. 

   3

   3. Sausalito

   • Half a day
   • No booking needed
   • Couples
   • Families

   A small city in Marin County, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. Wikipedia places it about 4 miles north of the bridge.

   10,226 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Sausalito, California

4. 

   4

   4. The Presidio

   • 2 to 4 hours
   • No booking needed
   • Active
   • Families
   • Couples

   A park and former U.S. Army post on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

   10,162 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Presidio of San Francisco

5. 

   5

   5. Lombard Street

   • 30 minutes to an hour
   • No booking needed
   • Families
   • Couples

   A steep one-block stretch of Lombard Street in Russian Hill with eight hairpin turns, billed as the crookedest street in the world. Wikipedia reports about two million visitors a year as of 2015, and up to 17,000 a day on busy summer weekends.

   Expect crowds on summer weekends.

   9,264 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Lombard Street (San Francisco)

6. 

   6

   6. Muir Woods National Monument

   • 2 to 3 hours
   • Book in advance
   • Families
   • Couples
   • Active

   A national monument on Mount Tamalpais, 12 miles north of San Francisco, protecting 554 acres of which 240 acres are old-growth coast redwood forest, one of the few such stands left around the Bay Area.

   The National Park Service says to plan for a required parking or shuttle reservation. Check its current rules before you go.

   8,761 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Muir Woods National Monument
   • National Park Service, Muir Woods

7. 

   7

   7. Haight-Ashbury

   • 1 to 2 hours
   • No booking needed
   • Couples
   • No car needed
   • Adults

   A San Francisco district named for the intersection of Haight and Ashbury streets, known as one of the main centres of 1960s counterculture.

   7,796 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Haight-Ashbury

8. 

   8

   8. Palace of Fine Arts

   • About an hour
   • No booking needed
   • Couples
   • Families
   • No car needed

   A monumental structure in the Marina District, built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition. It is the only structure from the exposition still on its site, and was completely rebuilt from 1964 to 1974.

   7,411 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Palace of Fine Arts

9. 

   9

   9. San Francisco cable cars

   • 1 to 2 hours
   • Tickets needed
   • Families
   • Couples
   • No car needed

   The world's last manually operated cable car system. Of 23 lines opened between 1873 and 1890, three remain: two run from near Union Square to Fisherman's Wharf and one along California Street.

   The city transport agency says prepayment by MuniMobile or Clipper card is required to board at Powell and Market, Bay and Taylor, and Hyde and Beach from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; cash needs exact change. Visitor passports exist.

   6,897 readers a month

   Sources

   • SFMTA, Cable cars
   • Wikipedia, San Francisco cable car system

10. 

    10

    10. Golden Gate Park

    • Half a day
    • No booking needed
    • Families
    • Active
    • Couples

    San Francisco's largest urban park at 1,017 acres, between the Richmond and Sunset districts. Wikipedia estimates 24 million visitors a year and notes part of it is old-growth forest.

    6,618 readers a month

    Sources

    • Wikipedia, Golden Gate Park

Just missed the list: Chinatown (11th by readers; the oldest Chinatown in North America); Painted Ladies (12th by readers; the row of Victorian houses)