SF Tour Guide

San Francisco

Updated September 1, 2014

Tour San Francisco

This Blog is to help people who are visiting San Francisco and want to know what the best stuff is to do, see and eat! Unlike those horrible tour books, I won't be suggesting any place because someone paid me to mention it. This is all coming from someone who has lived here since 1989 and I will only recommend my personal favorites and try to steer you clear of tourist traps.
I’m going to start off by saying AVOID Fisherman’s Wharf! It’s a tourist trap filled with tacky stores and bad food. The only good thing about it is the Sea lions, which you can see at Pier 39. If you are going to Alcatraz you’ll need to go to Fisherman’s Wharf but don’t waste your time down there looking around. There are so many other better things to see and do in the San Francisco area.

PHONE # FOR BUSES AND SUBWAY – Just dial 311 or (415) 673-MUNI

Best stuff to see in and around San Francisco:

Golden Gate Bridge- You gotta see it! It’s an art deco masterpiece. Drive over it and go up to the Marin Headlands, which are right across the bridge. The Marin Headlands are a great place to see majestic views and hike around a bit. Bring a picnic lunch. You can also take a MUNI city bus, #76, across it on Sunday only and go over to the Marin Headlands where you will see spectacular views and you can hike around (highly recommended)! Muni bus #28 also goes to it but not over it. Call 311 to find out when and where to catch the #76 bus or the #28 bus.
Other great things to see on the other side of the bridge are the spectacular Mount Tamalpais , the beautiful Muir woods and a quant little town called Mill Valley. If you go to Mill Valley make sure you go to the little town square where they have great shopping and restaurants (go to the corner of Miller Ave and Throckmorton Ave. and you'll be in the center of the town square). My favorite hike on Mt Tamalpais is the Steep Ravine Hike which you can start at Pantoll Ranger Station (there is a parking lot but it fills up fast) and then hike down to Stinson beach. Once you get down to Stinson beach you can get back to Pantoll Ranger Station by taking the Stage bus. http://www.marintransit.org/stage.html You can also get to Mt. Tamalpais, Stinson Beach and Muir Woods via Golden Gate Transit buses. http://goldengatetransit.org  You can also take a bus back up but make sure to check the schedule. You can also drive to Mt. Tamalpais, Muir Woods and Stinson beach via US-101 and Panoramic Highway. 
If driving, drive up the coast on Highway one (highly recommended!) where you’ll see amazing views and come across all kinds of wonderful towns such as Point Reyes Station and Bodega Bay where they filmed Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds”. Some of the building such as the schoolhouse still exist.
Other great towns in the North Bay include Fairfax, Larkspur, Bolinas and of course the incredibly quaint and beautiful Mendocino (Best place to eat and stay - The Stanford Inn by the Sea).

Driving down South on 101 you will also find many great towns and sites including Half Moon Bay, Big Basin State Park, Santa Cruz, Carmel and many more.

Museums – MOMA, Asian, The DeYoung, Legion of Honor & the Jewish museum. There are other good museums as well but these are the five museums to not miss. The DeYoung is located in Golden Gate Park so you can also enjoy the Park on the same day. While you are in the Park don’t miss out on the Conservatory of Flowers (awesome!) and the Japanese Tea gardens. Best day to go is Sunday because they close JFK drive (which goes thru the park) to traffic but any day is fantastic.
Legion of Honor - located in Lincoln Park near 34th Avenue and Clement Street.
(some scenes from Vertigo were filmed at the Legion of Honor)
The MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) is located at @ 151 3rd Street and is a must see as well (closed on Wed).
The Jewish museum is located at 736 Mission Street (between Third and Fourth streets)
Asian Art Museum – (200 Larkin) excellent museum. Close to City Hall. 

The Ferry Building – Located at the foot of Market Street right by the water. This recently renovated building is filled with wonderful shops and restaurants, many featuring organic food and artisan products. Don’t miss out on the Slanted Door restaurant. It’s one of the best in the city. Make sure you go to the Ferry building during the day so that the shops will be open and you can see the views. Saturday is best because they have a huge farmers market that day.
To find it just go to Market and Steuart Street and look for the tall tower with the clock. That’s the Ferry building. You can’t miss it.

Golden Gate Park – Start out at Stanyan and Kezar Dr/Oak Street and walk along John F. Kennedy drive. Don’t miss out on the Conservatory of flowers, the Japanese Tea gardens and the DeYoung Museum! Best day to go is Sun when JFK drive is closed to traffic. The park is very close to the Haight Ashbury neighborhood so it’s a good idea to combine the two.

Cable Cars – Get on at Powell and Market Street (there may be a long line but it’s worth it) and take it to Hyde and Lombard where you can get off and view the Crookedest Street in SF (actually there is a section of Vermont St that is more crooked but it’s not nearly as pretty) That particular section of Lombard is the Crooked part.

Those famous painted ladies – (Hayes street and Steiner) You can get a view of them from Alamo Square. You can also walk down to Hayes Valley from here which is a really great neighborhood to stroll thru.

Alcatraz - If you decide to go to alcatraz make sure you get your tickets at least two weeks ahead of time via this wesite - http://www.alcatrazcruises.com/website/buy-tickets.aspx


Great Neighborhoods to walk around in –

Hayes Valley (Hayes St. between Franklin and Laguna) – Awesome unique shops and restaurants! Go during the day except for Monday when most shops are closed.

Haight Ashbury (Haight Street between Central and Stanyan) – This is where the summer of love happened in the sixties and you can still find a few remnants of it. Lots of cool shops. Teens and twenty somethings will love it. Don’t miss out on the best music store in the world – Amoeba records located on Haight near Stanyan. Good grub can be found at Magnolia Pub as well as the Citrus Club.

Pacific Heights/Cow Hollow/Marina (Fillmore St. between Bush St. and Marina Blvd) Start out walking North at Fillmore and Bush and stroll down Fillmore headed towards the bay. You’ll find lots of high-end shops and restaurants here. Very Posh! Be sure to stop at Fillmore and Broadway for the AMAZING view!! When you get to Union Street take a walk down Union where you’ll find more boutiques and eateries. A good place to eat is at Betlenut located at 2030 Union St. Walk back to Fillmore and down until you get to Chestnut St. where you will find more of the same. Another great restaurant down here is the Plant Café located on Steiner near Chestnut. Then take a walk down West down Chestnut to Divisadero. Turn right (going North) on Divisedero to Beach Street. Make a left on Beach until you get to the Palace of Fine Arts. From there, if you walk down Baker Street, a walk along Marina Blvd is quite nice. When you get to Fort Mason you will find a great restaurant called Greens inside Fort Mason.



Valencia Street Corridor AKA The Hipster part of the Mission - Valencia Street between Market and 24th Street. - Lots of uber hip restaurants and stores. 
Good restaurants include Cha Ya and Beretta. 
A great restaurant close by is Gracias Madre. Start out at 18th Street near Castro Street and work your way up 18th headed to Valencia Street. 
There are lots of cool shops etc on 18th Street. You'll also go by Dolores Park 
which has been overrun by stoned hipsters as of late but really cool 
views from the top. Stop in at Bi-Rite Ice cream on 18th Street 
(just down the street from their store) and get a ice cream cone.

Downtown/Union Square (Geary @ Stockton and the surrounding area) - Lots of big  stores. If you love shopping then this is the neighborhood for you. 

This is also close to the Ferry building, china town, North Beach and the Museum of Modern Art as well as access to Cable cars.

Chinatown – (best street is Grant ave between Bush and Broadway) near downtown and North Beach!

North Beach next to Chinatown. (Grant Ave between Columbus and Filbert as well Columbus Ave between Pacific and Filbert) This is San Francisco’s little Italy! Don’t miss City Lights Bookstore on Columbus Ave.- Home of the Beat Poets! (avoid the stinking rose restaurant! It's really bad!)
This also is very close to Coit Tower (that’s that large fireplug looking tower on the hill). There are truly spectacular views from here. You can get there if you walk up Filbert Street. Follow the signs. It’s a little steep. When you are ready to leave, walk down the Filberts steps on the other side of the tower. You’ll love what you see!

Restaurants recommendations: There are many great restaurants in SF but beware: For every great one there are 50 awful ones. Here are some great ones:

Slanted Door (415) 861-8032 (Located in the Ferry Building at the foot of Market at the Embarcedero)

Moki’s Pacific Grill and Sushi (415) 970-9336 - 615 Cortland Ave.

Delfina - (415) 552-4055 - 3621 18th St

Tartine Bakery - (415) 487-2600 - 600 Guerrero Street

Foreign Cinema - (415) 648-7600 - 2534 Mission Street

Paxti's Pizza - (415) 558-9991 - 511 Hayes Street

Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream (415) 550-6171 - 2790 Harrison Street (very unusual flavors!)

Blue Bottle Cafe - 66 Mint Street (Might be the Best coffee in SF!)

Blowfish – (415) 285-3848 -2170 Bryant Street

Magnolia Pub and Brewery (415) 864-7468 - 1398 Haight

Café Plant - (415) 931-2777 - (2 locations) Pier 3 and 3352 Steiner

Cha-ya - (415) 252-7825 - 762 Valencia Street - Vegan. Great Sushi!

Beetlenut - (415) 929-8855 - 2030 Union Street

Weird Fish - (415) 863-4744 - 2193 Mission St

Dosa - (415) 642-3672 - (2 locations) 995 Valencia Street & 1700 Fillmore @Post – Best Indian Food in the city!


Farina - (415) 565-0360 - 3560 18th Street

Deli Board - (415) 552-7687 - 1058 Folsom St. Sandwich shop popular with locals.

Pena Pachamama -  (415)-646-0018 - 1630 Powell St. South American Food!

Shizan - (415) 678-5767 - 370 14th St. Amazing sushi. Everyone I know raves about this place!

Sightglass Coffee - 270 7th St - Many consider this to be the best coffee in SF although others say Blue Bottle is the best. Very cool interior. Uber hip. This is where all the local tech folks drink their coffee. They only serve coffee and some pastries.

Gracias Madre - (415) 683-1346 - 2211 Mission Street (near 18th) Excellent vegan organic Mexican food!

Cliff House - (415) 386-3330 1090 Point Lobos Avenue (Great views of the ocean in this iconic SF restaurant!!)

Veganburg - (415) 548-8000 - 1466 Haight St. Vegan fast food joint. 

Avoid Ghirardelli Chocolate!!! It's mediocre chocolate at best. If you want good chocolate go to Recchiuti Confections located in the fantastic Ferry Building located at the foot of Market Street on the Embarcadero. Or try Christopher Elbow Artisanal Chocolate located at 401 Hayes Street in the really great Hayes Valley neighborhood. 


Neighborhoods to avoid:

The Tenderloin (dangerous).

6th Street between Market and Folsom (those few blocks are dangerous). 

Hunters Point (dangerous).

Mid Market between 11th and 5th (slightly dangerous although it's supposedly getting better)

Fisherman's Wharf (Tourist trap!!!!)