Things to do in San Francisco

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San Francisco, California is an amazing city. Yes, there’s the great architecture, history and food, but one of the main reasons San Francisco is such a great city for tourists is because of all the many things to do in San Francisco, much of them free. Below is just a sampling of the activities of San Francisco:

Tourist Things to do in San Francisco

This list would include those places that tourists must see before returning to their hometowns.

Lombard Street

Walk the “crookediest” street in San Francisco. That would be Lombard Street, between Hyde and Leavenworth. You can walk or drive the street as it twists and turns down the hill.

Golden Gate Park

You absolutely must visit Golden Gate Park. You could spend one day there visiting many of the attractions therein, including:

**The five-acre Japanese Tea Garden

**De Young Museum

The De Young Museum was originally opened in January 1921, and was completely rebuilt and re-opened in 2005.

**Academy of Sciences

The California Academy of Sciences is one of the largest natural history museums in the world. It also includes the Steinhart Aquarium and the Morrison Planetarium.

**Strybing Arboretum

A trail through the redwood forest section of the arboretum; contains more than 6,000 plant species.

**AIDS Memorial Grove

The only national AIDS memorial in the U.S.

**Stow Lake

Where you can rent Rowboats, pedal boats, and electrically powered boats for a little fun out on the lake.

**Bison

Yes, bison. A paddock holds a small herd of bison, captive in the Park since 1892. You can find them along John F. Kennedy Drive across from the Anglers Lodge.

Fisherman’s Wharf

Fisherman’s Wharf is San Francisco’s most popular destinations. It’s popular with tourists, but the natives tend to stay away. Why? For one, it’s filled with tourists. Another reason is that the restaurants in Fisherman’s Wharf are usually a bit overpriced and not the best in the city. We recommend you go to Fisherman’s Wharf for the tourist experience, but head to other area restaurants when it’s time to eat.

Things to do and see in Fisherman’s Wharf include Ripley's Believe it or Not museum, the Wax Museum, and Ghirardeli Square.

Pier 39 is probably the most popular pier at Fisherman’s Wharf, and it is here you’ll find the Aquarium of the Bay. The aquarium is a great way for you and your family to spend the day. Not only is this a fun excursion that your children will probably remember long after you've gone back to the real world of your day-to-day lives, but it is also an educational experience that is cleverly disguised as fun. Your children will learn about all kinds of marine life. Other things to do in Pier 39 include the Magic Carpet Ride, the San Francisco Carousel, Frequent Flyers and Riptide Arcade

If you are interested in the sea faring culture and history of the Fisherman's Wharf, take the Port Walk, which is a walking tour that you can take at your own pace while learning about the history of Fisherman's Wharf through the various signs located along the tour. You can also tour the USS Pampanito, which was a WWII submarine, or the SS Jeremiah O'Brien, which is the last unaltered Liberty ship that is operational. Both of these can be found on Pier 45.

Take a Ferry Ride or Bay Cruise

Ferries leave from Fisherman’s Wharf for roundtrips to Sausalito, Tiburon, Larkspur, Alameda and Angel Island. The ferries leave from the Ferry building near Embarcadero Center. You an also take the Bay Cruise which leaves from Pier 39. The Bay Cruise passes many San Francisco landmarks, including the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island.

Visit Angel Island

We definitely recommend a visit to Angel Island, located in the middle of San Francisco Bay and accessed by the ferries leaving from the Ferry Building. If you go you will be treated to spectacular views of the San Francisco skyline, the Marin Headlands and Mount Tamalpais. You will also be able to hike the island and get up-close views of abandoned buildings used to process thousands of immigrants during 1910 – 1940. Angel Island was the point of entry for approximately 175,000 Chinese immigrants who came to the United States. Most of them were detained on Angel Island for as little as two weeks or as much as six months, with some forced to remain on the island for as much as two years. You can still see some of the poems carved into the wooden walls of the detention center by detainees. The island was also used during World War II to house Japanese and German POWs.

Visit Alcatraz

For some a visit to San Francisco isn’t complete without a visit to Alcatraz, the notorious island prison in San Francisco Bay. Visitors to Alcatraz can tour the prison remnants and explore the many natural features of the island such as gardens, tide pools, bird colonies, and, of course, the incredible bay. You can visit the island via a tour leaving from Pier 41. It’s recommended you get your tickets in advance as they are often sold out. Call 415-705-5555 to reserve your advance tickets.

Free Things to do in San Francisco:

Do you realize you can actually holiday or vacation in San Francisco and spend most of your time engaged in free activities? It’s true. Some of the free things to do in San Francisco include:

Free Walking Tours

First, let's begin with the free tours offered by San Francisco City Guides, a non-profit organization of more than 200 trained volunteers who lead free walking tours in San Francisco (donations, of course, are gladly accepted). If you visit their website, sfcityguides.org, you'll notice an interesting array of free walking tours offered every day of the week, tours like "1906 Earthquake and Fire," "Art Deco Marina," "Chinatown," "City Hall," "Downtown Deco," "Financial District" and "Gold Coast Architecture." A few of the more interesting walks include:

"Bawdy & Naughty"

This downtown two-block walk explores the arrival of "professional" women in San Francisco during the Gold Rush. And, no, we're not talking about women doctors or lawyers.

"Castro: Tales of the Village"

The Castro area in San Francisco is a predominately gay area of town. But, it wasn't always that way. This tour explores the early years of the Castro.

"Coit Tower Murals"

This tour takes visitors to Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill to view the Murals created by some of California's leading artists of the 30s depicting life in the Great Depression. The murals are definitely worth seeing, either as a tour group or on your own. San Francisco City Guides say their tour shows you some murals not shown to the general public, so I recommend you consider the tour for this San Francisco landmark.

"Ghost Walks"

Here are a couple fun walking tours. The "Ghost Walk at City Hall" and the "Ghost Walk at the Palace" are held in October only, and explore, what else, ghostly occurrences.

Golden Gate Bridge

This is a favorite among tourists for many reasons. One of those reasons is the fact that it is one landmark that belongs only to San Francisco. It is uniquely a part of this city and represents, for many, your entire trip. You can go on one of the free tours, or just walk across yourself. Be prepared for the wind, however, and do take a jacket as it can get chilly.

Cable Car Museum

One big thing to do in San Francisco is ride the cable cars. While they’re not free, the museum is, and displays a collection of historic cable cars, as well as a gift shop. The museum is located in the Washington-Mason powerhouse and car barn on Nob Hill.

San Francisco Fire Department Museum

Offers historical references and artifacts. Located at 655 Presidio Avenue, between Bush and Pine Streets.

San Francisco Botanical Gardens

The climate of San Francisco provides a unique atmosphere that allows the growth and maintenance of plants from around the world. As a result the San Francisco Botanical Gardens offers a look at plants that are rare almost anywhere else on earth. The Gardens are 55 acres and host more than 7500 plants from around the world. Located in Golden Gate Park at 9th Avenue at Lincoln Way.

Synonyms: CA, Calif and California are used synonymously.
SF and San Francisco are used synonymously.

an, aSn, SSan, Sn, Sna, Saan, Sa, Sann, rancisco, rFancisco, FFrancisco, Fancisco, Farncisco, Frrancisco, Frncisco, Frnacisco, Fraancisco, Fracisco, Fracnisco, Franncisco, Franisco, Franicsco, Franccisco, Francsco, Francsico, Franciisco, Francico, Francicso, Francissco, Franciso, Francisoc, Franciscco, Francisc, Franciscoo are typos for San Francisco.