San FranciscoTravel Guide
San Francisco packs a red suspension bridge, vertiginous hills, cable cars and a world-class food scene into a compact peninsula between the Pacific and the bay. Fog is part of the character; so are the Mission's murals, Golden Gate Park's museums and the coastal trails at the city's wild western edge.
Is San Francisco right for you?
September–October, April–May
It depends where you stand. There is a cheap version and an expensive one — the guides below say which is which.
We have a weekend here planned hour by hour.
September–October, April–May
Mixed
Typical cost profile for visitors
- Los Angeles560 km
half a day's travel · both good in April, May, September
- Las Vegas670 km
a full travel day · both good in April, May, October
Los AngelesFinding San Francisco
Reading San Francisco
A San Francisco Weekend, Hour by Hour
Two and a half days, clocked to the hour: cable cars, the Ferry Building, the Golden Gate at sunset and a Mission Sunday done properly.
The Best of San Francisco, Ranked
Nine experiences that genuinely repay your time in the fog-washed city by the bay, from walking the Golden Gate Bridge to carnitas in the Mission.
What to Eat in San Francisco: The Essential Dishes and Where to Try Them
Sourdough with real tang, Dungeness crab, cioppino and the mighty Mission burrito — the dishes San Francisco invented or perfected, and where to eat them.
Sourdough sunrise to midnight burrito: a full day of eating in San Francisco
A chronological day of eating in San Francisco, from Gold Rush sourdough to a 2am Mission burrito, with the timings, costs and seasonal traps that decide whether it works.
San Francisco, place by place
Everything below is named in one of our own stories about San Francisco. The line under each is the sentence that recommended it, and the link goes to the piece it came from.
What to see
The things that justify the trip
Rodrigo Soares
Alcatraz Island
The former federal penitentiary is far better than its tourist-trap reputation suggests.
Mauro Lima
The Ferry Building
The 1898 landmark on the Embarcadero, with its clock tower and Port of San Francisco sign, is now the city's great food hall: oysters at Hog Island Oyster Co., bread from Acme, coffee from local roasters.
Richard Lee
The Mission District
The city's Latino heart and its best-value eating.
Golden Gate Bridge
San FranciscoThe 2.7 km crossing from the Welcome Center to the Marin side puts you inside the structure — cables humming, fog horns below, the Pacific on your left.
Golden Gate Park
San FranciscoBigger than Central Park, this 4.8 km green ribbon holds the de Young Museum (ride the tower lift for a free panoramic view), the California Academy of Sciences with its living roof, the Japanese Tea Garden and herds…
Chinatown
San FranciscoThe oldest Chinatown in North America is best entered through the Dragon Gate on Grant Avenue, then explored via Stockton Street's food markets — the working, everyday version.
The Palace of Fine Arts
San FranciscoA Roman-style rotunda and lagoon built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition, absurdly romantic and free to wander.
What we'd do in San Francisco
See and do
- Golden Gate Bridge
Walk it.
Read: The Best of San Francisco, Ranked - Lands End and the Sutro Baths
At the city's wild northwestern corner, a cypress-lined coastal trail winds above shipwreck waters with staggered views of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Read: San Francisco Beyond the Crowds - The free hall of fame
Walking across the Golden Gate Bridge costs nothing and remains one of the great urban walks anywhere.
Read: San Francisco for less: a smart spender's playbook - The Mission's painted alleys
Balmy Alley and Clarion Alley hold the densest concentrations of the Mission District's famous mural tradition — political, personal, constantly repainted since the 1970s and 80s.
Read: Mural alleys and market halls: San Francisco's local side - Alcatraz Island
The former federal penitentiary is far better than its tourist-trap reputation suggests.
Read: The Best of San Francisco, Ranked
Eat and drink
- Sourdough
The bread that fed the Gold Rush remains the city's edible emblem, its sharpness credited to the local strain of wild yeast.
Read: What to Eat in San Francisco: The Essential Dishes and Where to Try Them - Clam chowder in a bread bowl
Purists roll their eyes; do it anyway, once.
Read: What to Eat in San Francisco: The Essential Dishes and Where to Try Them - Dungeness crab and cioppino
The sweet local crab is the city's luxury, boiled and cracked at wharf stalls or dressed up in restaurants.
Read: What to Eat in San Francisco: The Essential Dishes and Where to Try Them - The Mission burrito
Born in the Mission District in the 1960s, this is the burrito at maximum scale: rice, beans, meat and salsa wrapped foil-tight into something the size of a forearm.
Read: What to Eat in San Francisco: The Essential Dishes and Where to Try Them
Practical essentials for United States
United States dollar (USD)
English, designated the official federal language by executive order in 2025; Spanish is widely spoken in Miami, Los Angeles and the Southwest.
Type A/B, 120V 60Hz
New York runs entirely on OMNY, which takes a tapped contactless bank card or phone now that the MetroCard was withdrawn at the end of 2025; other cities have their own cards (Chicago's Ventra, Boston's CharlieCard, Washington's SmarTrip, San Francisco's Clipper), while Los Angeles and Las Vegas effectively require a car or ride-hailing.
Tipping is expected rather than optional: 18-20% in restaurants, and bartenders, taxi drivers and hotel staff are tipped too.
Tap water is safe to drink.
Right-hand side; there is no federal International Driving Permit requirement and many visitors drive on their home licence, but rules vary by state and rental firms may ask for an IDP, which must be obtained before you travel.
911
Country-level guidance, checked against official sources. Currency, fares and entry rules change — confirm anything time-critical before you travel.
Canada
Mexico
