13 Great Things To Do In San Francisco (& many are free!)

Herb Caen is famously quoted as saying,

" ..one day if i go to heaven, I will look around and say, 'It ain't bad but it ain't San Francisco' ".

The sentiment behind this quote lives on today. San Francisco is an incredible city that offers so much to see, to do and to, most of all, enjoy!

As a visitor to San Francisco you will not be disappointed but you might feel overwhelmed at what to see and do first!

In order to help you prepare for your trip to San Francisco, this post enlightens you to the great things to do in the city (in my opinion!).

13 Great Things To See & Do In San Francisco

- Walk or Cycle over Golden Gate Bridge

You cannot go to San Francisco without venturing out to Golden Gate Bridge and enjoying this iconic landmark for yourself.

When Golden Gate bridge was constructed in 1937, with a span of 4,200 feet (1.7 miles), it was the longest of any bridges in the world until 1964 when New York opened it's Verrazano Narrows Bridge.

The bridge today is a spectacular sight from many parts of San Francisco and provides a vital connection between the island of San Francisco itself and Marin County.

Attracting 10 million visitors annually, Golden Gate Bridge deserves to be seen. Enjoy the sight of it up close, the views back to the city and wow at the incredible structure and architecture that holds this bridge so solidly in place.

Starting at Golden Gate Bridge Gate, take some photos of the bridge from the viewing points and then take a stroll across the 1.7 miles spanning the water.

Or... as an alternative, hire a bike at the Gate and cycle across.

At the gate to the bridge there is a shop and cafe but be aware that on the Marin side the viewing point and car park only offers WC facilities and no refreshments.

A further point of note - the bridge can be windy and cold so take layers!

It is free to anyone to walk across the bridge, or if cycling you just incur bike hire costs!

- Ferry Building Marketplace

The Ferry Building in San Francisco is another well known landmark of the city.

The iconic clock tower and building originally opened in 1898 and was the focal point at that time for people arriving to the city by ferry and later train.

When Golden Gate and the Bay Bridges were opened in the 1930s and with the rise of the car, the use of the Ferry Building as a point for commuters gradually became redundant.

In March 2003, the Ferry Building was fully restored and once again opened to the public.

Today, the Ferry Building continues to be a ferry terminal but is better known as a world class public food market which showcases locally farmed products. Popular with locals and tourists, the Ferry Building today is beautiful outside and in.

Within you will find a range of varied and exquisite food offerings, with well-renowned producers including cheese, chocolate and baked good manufacturers as well as wine bars, ice cream parlours and upmarket grocers.

https://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/

- Alamo Square

Further out of the city and main tourist trail lies Alamo Square. Alamo Square is an affluent residential area and the location of the painted row of Victorian houses which, with the city skyline behind, adorn many a postcard of San Francisco.

The 'painted ladies' as this row of Victorian homes are also known lie on the eastern side of this grassy square and offer a stark contrast to the financial district skyscrapers that rise behind them.

These beautiful houses are not only famed for their own unique decor and splendour but also as they survived the earthquake and fire that destroyed much of the city in 1906.

Take the journey out to Alamo Square and enjoy the painted ladies from the raised grass park opposite them, as well as the other homes in the square and surrounding streets which also offer distinct facades and feel part of the real San Francisco.

- MH de Young Museum Tower

Within Golden Gate Park you will find the MH de Young Museum, a fine art museum that opened in its new copper clad building in 2005.

If you enjoy fine art then the de Young Museum is worth a visit in itself, holding world class collections (permanent and temporary) of art from around the world.

The museum, however, also offers a 44m tall pyramid tower, at the top of which is a 360 degree observation platform. The observation platform here is free to visit and has fantastic views across Golden Gate Park, the city of San Francisco and on clear days further out to the bay and bridge.

Definitely worth a visit...

As a side note, the museum also offers an excellent cafe (although it is very popular!).

- Upper Haight Street

San Francisco, in the sixties, was a centre for free loving, hippy communities and the Haight-Ashbury district was a focal point for this free love movement.

In 1967, Scott McKenzie sang,

"... if you're going to San Francisco, be sure to where some flowers in your hair..."

It was that summer of 1967 that many took heed of this and 500,000 flower children arrived in San Francisco for the Summer of Love!

Bringing vibrant colours, flowers and tambourines, these crowds also fuelled their search for peace and love with drugs, particularly LSD.

Today, the hippy movement is in decline but the Haight region of the city remains nostalgic for this time and on Upper Haight Street in particular, you will still find some psychedelic and free loving evidence of what was.

Upper Haight Street is great fun to visit - it offers bright and vibrant shops and a community who continue to reflect the strong hippy movement of the sixties!

- Lombard Street

'The world's crookedest street', Lombard Street on the eastern side of San Francisco is truly unique!

With 8 hair pin curves set amongst flower beds, this one way street upon a steep hill was designed by residents to make the street quieter and less dangerous by ensuring cars were forced to slow down.

Perhaps this plan backfired in part as the street has now been the scene of multiple films and commercials and today attracts crowds of tourists and cars lining up simply to experience the drive down it.

It is a steep walk to reach the top of Lombard Street but the views are worth it and it is fun to experience the road for yourself!

- San Francisco Cable Cars & Cable Car Museum

The cable car was engineered in San Francisco in 1873 by Scotsman, Andrew Hallidie. These world famous cable-cars have survived earthquakes and fires to be a main tourist attraction and great mode of transport in the city today.

The cable car system in San Francisco is now the last manually operated cable car system in the world and in 1964 was declared a national historic landmark.

Riding the San Francisco cable car is one of the most unique experiences the city offers and although it is not cheap to pay upfront ($7) it is perhaps worth it to say when in San Francisco...

Also worth visiting, however, is the Cable Car Museum which is fascinating and best of all free! The museum is located in a cable car barn and powerhouse and visitors can see the engines, wheels and cables at work as they drive the cable cars around the city.

On display at the museum there are also three antique cable cars and other exhibits providing a history of this unique mode of transport.

http://www.cablecarmuseum.org/museum.html

-The Mosaic Steps

A lesser known sight in San Francisco are two sets of colourful and creative mosaic steps within the same residential neighbourhood.

The better known of these steps were created in 2003 by local artists and display a sea-to-stars theme rising up the 163 steps on Moraga Street.

The Hidden Garden Steps were installed ten years later and rise up the 148 steps on 16th Avenue between Kirkham and Lawton. This staircase depicts flowers, wildlife, butterflies and mushrooms.

The design of the steps is such that the rising designs can only be seen when viewing the steps from below. However, climb up the steps to enjoy the artwork in closer detail and be rewarded by the views from the top.

To see more about The Mosiac Steps please check out an earlier post of San Francisco's best Instagram spots!

- Coit Tower

Coit Tower sits atop Telegraph Hill and overlooks the main waterfront of the city.

Built in 1933 at the bequest of Lillie Hitchcock Coit as a spot for people to view the city she loved.

Lillie Coit had a deep fascination with fires and firemen and the 64m (210ft) tower has been likened to a fireman's nuzzle... whether this was the intended design is unclear!

Visiting the top of Coit Tower you will gain great views across the city and although not free it is just $9 a trip so not budget busting!

The ground floor to the tower also offers a range of murals, painted during the Depression when they were commissioned as a Public Works Art Project to provide employment. These offer an interesting insight to life at that time, with some strong political messages.

https://sfrecpark.org/destination/telegraph-hill-pioneer-park/coit-tower/

- The Palace of Fine Arts

A legacy of the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition which was held to show the world how San Francisco had recovered after the 1906 earthquake is the Palace of Fine Arts. The Palace was designed by Bernard Maybeck and considered the most beautiful of the structures at the exhibition.

The intention of the design here was to evoke the grandeur and dream-like qualities of Roman ruins and with it's rotunda, columns and surrounding water it certainly impresses.

Although originally intended to be a temporary exhibit, the Palace continued to stand and in the 1960s it was permanently reinforced through the generous donation of a local resident.

Unlike anything else you will find in San Francisco, it is worth visiting this peaceful and some say melancholy sight.

https://palaceoffinearts.com/info/

- Chestnut Street & Union Street

A little away from the well trodden tourist paths of San Francisco and towards the Marina district lie the streets of Chestnut and Union.

These streets are frequented by locals looking to eat, drink and shop away from large crowds.

Offering boutique shops, coffee houses, bars and restaurants within pleasant neighbourhoods, escape the frantic world of the main part of the city for a morning or afternoon for some R & R!

Why not live like a local for a time and while there take a stroll around the residential streets running off Chestnut and Union for more beautiful and unique San Francisco architecture.

- Alcatraz

When in San Francisco, Alcatraz is an experience not to be missed.

Perhaps not a cheap trip but definitely unique and worth the expense!

See my separate post for a guide to visiting Alcatraz.

- Golden Gate Park

Golden Gate Park to the west side of San Francisco offers visitors so much to see and do..... so much in fact I have written a separate post all about how to fill your day in Golden Gate Park so please read all about it here.

So, this is my round-up of the top 13 things to do in San Francisco... there are of course so many more - I did not touch on the Mission or Castro districts (both also worth a visit) or Chinatown and North Beach...

These are all also on the main tourist trails and there is plenty of information available about them!

Whatever you do choose to do in San Francisco, just enjoy this completely amazing city.

**To make my travels possible and affordable I do so through international house-sitting, using both Trusted Housesitters and Kiwi Housesitters**