24 Things to Do in San Francisco

what's up guys this is Josh from California dream island coms ambition for things to do in San Francisco let's do it [Music] first up no list of San Francisco stops is complete without talking about the Golden Gate Bridge it's one of the most iconic parts of San Francisco and it's just as impressive to see in person you can walk on it photograph it from one of the many viewpoints or take it in from my favorite spot battery Spencer bonus points for going here at sunrise as it is incredible to watch the light coming up from behind the bridge stop too is a visit to Alcatraz Alcatraz is a huge tourist attraction in San Francisco and one of the most well known jails in the entire world this island housed many notorious criminals but now it's a national park that is open to the public you can take the boat ride over to the island multiple times per day and then you can explore as slow or as fast as you want on the self-guided audio tour I don't recommend taking the trip to Alcatraz unless you have at least a half-day to explore as there's just so much to do here even though it's pretty touristy it's still a lot of fun to visit and there's a lot of interesting history and great views to see on the island stop three is the Ferry Building next to where the Alcatraz tours leave the Ferry Building has lots of different shops and eateries inside the historic structure some of my favorite spots to check out at the marketplace are Hog Island oysters cowgirl Creamery and gots roadside but even if you just wander the halls and grab Blue Bottle coffee you will have a good time stop for is also near the first two and it's Rin Khan Park Rincon Park is the home of cupid span one of San Francisco's most well known art pieces while there's not a lot to do at the park I always enjoy going there for sunrises you can get some amazing views of the Sun coming up behind the Bay Bridge plus just taking some photos and from the massive bow and arrow is worth the stop by itself stop five brings us to Coit Tower Coit Tower is over 200 feet tall and it was built in 1933 the interior features murals painted on the mini walls and you can take an elevator all the way up to the top of the tower when you get to the open-air top floor you can look through the mini windows they have and get some great views of the city the Golden Gate Bridge and even Alcatraz it's a fun way to see San Francisco from a different vantage point stop six is a ride on the famous San Francisco cable cars if you're going to San Francisco then the cable cars are probably already on your list they are an iconic part of San Francisco and a lot of fun to ride you may have to wait awhile in line but it's worth it and I recommend trying to get an outside spot where you can hold onto the side and watch as the cars pass around you this is a great way to get from Union Station to Fisherman's Wharf don't forget to visit the cable car museum as well it's free and it will tell you a lot more about these iconic cars stop seven is San Francisco's Chinatown this Chinatown is the largest outside of Asia and the oldest in North America it was established in 1848 and it's a great spot to walk around and explore I recommend spending some time in the shops visiting a few of the restaurants and going to the fortune cookie factory the latter of which lets you write your own fortune and have it added into a warm cookie before it's bent into the traditional shape also be sure to see dragon's gate on the way out of Chinatown stop number eight brings us to Lombard Street claiming to be the crookedest Street in the world Lombard Street is a tourist attraction that features eight hairpin turns that cars can drive down while there's not much to do there other than to walk up and down the street is still fun to see and even more fun if you can drive down it be patient though as it's usually a pretty slow drive with all the tourists jumping in the street stop 9 is Fisherman's Wharf Fisherman's Wharf is one of the most touristy areas in San Francisco but it's still a lot of fun to visit I recommend stopping by Budin and getting some of their clam chowder in a bread bowl and then going to museum Echenique museum Echenique is a blast is you can change your dollars into quarters and play all sorts of old games and small mechanical shows it's a great time for the whole family and you can spend five to ten bucks and have thirty to forty minutes of fun stop ten is the San Francisco maritime National Historic Park this park is run by the National Park Service and it features a half-dozen boats from the last few centuries that have been restored and are available for you to experience you can walk on and go inside many of the different boats and explore them to your heart's content I love seeing old boats like this so I spent a good hour or two here just seeing what each had to offer stop number 11 is gr deli square San Francisco is home to gr deli and it's one of the most popular tourist spots near the water it's a great place to check out with the old buildings in the famous sign plus it has awesome ice cream that's rich and decadent just walking into the shop Nets you a free chocolate even if you don't buy anything and be sure to check out the area in the back where they show you how their chocolate is made stop 12 brings us to the Palace of Fine Arts built for the Panama Pacific Exposition in 1915 the Palace of Fine Arts is something you have to experience for yourself it's a beautiful structure and a lot of fun to walk around with the central rotunda being the most awe-inspiring I like to photograph this spot right as the light is fading as the reflection is amazing for pictures while not for everyone stop 13 brings us to the wave organ a unique piece of San Francisco history that I always enjoy checking out it's near Crissy fields and you have to walk out on a long peninsula to get there at high tide you can hear the waves crashing into the underwater tubes and echoing the noise through the organ above here take a listen [Music] stop number 14 is a visit to the Presidio with over 200 years of history the Presidio is one of those places you can easily spend weeks exploring this old military base was transferred to the National Park Service in the 1990s and it features many old structures hiking trails and beautiful views during the summer the park has picnics on the weekends which bring hundreds of people to the main square one of the best things to do here is visit the four pieces of artwork from Andy Goldsworthy spire earth wall tree fall and wood line you can do a three-mile hike to see all of them but tree fall is only open on the weekends don't forget to visit the Walt Disney Family museum when you are there as well which features a scaled replica of their original Disneyland these are just a few things you can do in the Presidio stop fifteen brings us to another iconic view in San Francisco and that is the Painted Ladies these pastel colored houses were featured in the opening of the famous 90s show full house and since then they've become a must visit for many people in San Francisco I'm not a huge fan of the show like others are but the park that's next to the Painted Ladies is nice to relax at [Music] stop 16 is Twin Peaks no doubt you've seen the large antennas sitting up on the hill in the middle of San Francisco this area is known as Twin Peaks and it's a great spot to drive up and get a good view of downtown San Francisco there are a few small hikes to the hills above the parking area and each provides slightly different views of the city below it's a fun short stop especially if you have a rental car [Music] stop number 17 is Golden Gate Park larger than New York Central Park Golden Gate Park needs weeks to fully be experienced while I haven't got to spend as much time there as I would like a few of my favorite spots are the old Dutch windmill bison paddock where they have actual bison roaming and the Japanese gardens there are many great museums in here as well like the DeYoung museum of fine art and our next recommendation the California Academy of Sciences California Academy of Sciences is stop number 18 on this list and it deserves its own spot as it's a blast to explore for the entire family the main reason I like it is that it has a rainforest dome right inside of the museum this controlled ecosystem is built to maintain the plants and animals found in a rainforest and you can walk through it and experience butterflies and other things all around you it's a really unique spot in the middle of San Francisco also during the winter this is a fun museum to visit as they have lots of Christmas attractions including snow falling in the museum stop number 19 is Lands End lands n is one of my favorite short hikes in all of California the trail goes along the coast and it features amazing views of the Golden Gate Bridge pretty much the entire time there are many lookouts along the path but be sure to take the hike down to lands in labyrinth is it's one of the best views of the bridge and then after that go down to Mile Rock Beach and a hangout on the sand I like to hike here before sunset and then go over to Sutro Baths to watch the Sun go down but even if you hike in the middle of the day it's still an amazing Trail in San Francisco stop 20 is the Sutro Baths the Sutro Baths are a historic spot right on the water that's one of my favorites for exploring especially at sunset the area is fun to walk around as it features the remains of a privately run saltwater swimming pool complex not much is left from the complex other than the outline of the pool but the views here are spectacular and it's an amazing area to explore and to watch the Sun go down from stop 21 is Marshalls Beach it's probably my favorite spot for sunset in San Francisco the beach is located below the coastal Bluffs and the Golden Gate Bridge overlook and it's about a 1/2 mile trail to get down to the water once you get there you can walk along the rugged coastline and take photos of the Golden Gate Bridge in the background it's surely one of the best views in San Francisco do remember that you have to walk a half mile uphill on stairs to get back to your car stop number 22 is a visit to Fort Point on the other side of the bridge from Marshalls Beach for point is a historic military base that you can visit for free when it's open it sits right at the bottom of the Golden Gate Bridge and it provides amazing views plus a sense of scale for how big the bridge truly is there's a few floors you can visit plus a bunch of old cannons and I love going to the top floor to get the views of the bridge Alcatraz and the water for the last two recommendations we're leaving the city a little bit it's best to do both of these only if you have a rental car as they're not very easy to get to on foot first recommendation number 23 is the point Bonita lighthouse located on the cliffs across from Lands End this lighthouse is one of the most picturesque in California it's accessed by a half-mile walk and it features a suspension bridge that takes you over the water to the lighthouse the views from the lighthouse of the coastline and the bridge behind you are amazing and it's something that all Bay Area visitors should see at least once it's only open one to two days a week though so be sure you check in advance my last recommendation is a trip up to muir woods when visiting california people often ask where to see redwoods while it's best to see them at Redwood National Park or Sequoia National Park if you're staying near San Francisco then Muir Woods is about as good as it gets Muir Woods is about thirty five minutes from downtown San Francisco and it features some amazing trees and a beautiful spot to walk around and explore that's it my list of 24 places to visit in San Francisco if you want to see more of my videos click right here to subscribe if you want to see my other channel that shows videos outside of California you can click right here and then if you want to read more about all these spots and others in California click the link below we'll see you guys on the next video [Music]

Channel: California Through My Lens

Views: 2,027,427

Rating: 4.9069529 out of 5

Keywords: san francisco, places to visit in san francisco, what to do in san francisco, san francisco travel, san francisco vacation, fishermans wharf, things to do in san francisco, golden gate bridge, san francisco travel guide, san francisco attractions, san francisco california, things to do san francisco, best things to do in san francisco, what to do in san francisco california, places to visit in california san francisco, cool places to visit in san francisco

Id: p_M-NJWO7tQ

Length: 13min 15sec (795 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 20 2018