Top 5 Highlights from San Francisco

Well-known for the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars and colorful victorian houses, San Francisco was an absolute must-see on my long list of travel destinations.

There is so much to do and see in San Francisco that it’s impossible to ever get bored. In fact, even though we were constantly on-the-go on our 5-day trip to the bay area, there is still so much more for us to go back and see (which we definitely will do in the future).

Here are my top 5 favorite things we did on our trip to San Fran.

#1. Alcatraz.

No trip to the area is complete without a visit to Alcatraz Island. After taking a ferry over through Alcatraz Cruises (the official concessioner to the National Park Service) you can stay for a few hours or all day depending on how in-depth you’d like to explore. You can explore on your own, do an audio tour, or a guided tour with a tour guide. I recommend doing all three. The audio tour goes through the prison room by room providing information and stories. The guided tours have specialized topics such as the gardens of Alcatraz, or escape attempts, etc.

Alcatraz is open all year round but hours change depending on the season. It’s important to book your tickets in advance because tours can sell out especially around the holidays or in the summer. Tickets are available 90 days in advance. We booked our tickets as soon as we could and it was a good thing because tours were sold out not only on the day we visited but for the next month! There is also an option to go to both Alcatraz and Angel Island.

#2. The Buena Vista

Located at the end of Fisherman’s Wharf, The Buena Vista (meaning “good view” in Spanish) is responsible for the first ever (in the United States), and now world famous Irish Coffee.

It may seem crazy to have a restaurant on a list of my favorite parts of San Francisco, but that just goes to show how delicious their Irish Coffee really is.

We also ordered some nachos, which were fantastic, but the coffee was the true shining star of our pitstop here.

The Buena Vista also offers breakfast, lunch and dinner if you’re looking for more than just a drink!

#3. Biking the Golden Gate Bridge

Something that you’ll notice very quickly is that A LOT of people are cruising down the streets on rented bicycles. That’s because biking the trail over the Golden Gate Bridge and into Sausalito is a huge touristy thing to do. However, DO IT.

We rented bikes for half of the day from Blazing Saddles, which has a few locations in the area. It was $32 for the day or $8 an hour and came with the bike, a helmet, a bike lock and a map. The trail goes through Aquatic Park, Fort Mason, Crissy Field, Presidio National Park, Fort Point and over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito. You can keep going if you want to Old Mill Park and Tiburon. You can also rent the bikes and go wherever you want, but this is the route they suggest and I agree. It’s about 8 miles to Sausalito and it’s a gorgeous, scenic route.

Just as a warning, they’ll tell you that this is a mostly flat route, and that is a complete lie. Like much of San Francisco, there are a ton of hills.

We chose to just do the trail over the bridge and then turn around. I’m not a huge fan of heights, and fair warning looking down from the bridge can be terrifying if you’re like me, but completely worth it!

There are also a ton of places to stop and take some pictures along the way!

#4. Mosaic Stairs/Grand View Park

This stop was a little off the beaten path but something I read about online as a must-do. Located in a neighborhood in the inner sunset district, are the 16th Avenue Tiled Steps. These steps are decorated with tiles that are each unique in their own way.

After enjoying the view, make sure to climb the steps to the top. Then there will be another set of steep stairs and keep climbing those! At the top of that is Grand View Park which overlooks the city and the ocean! If you’re lucky like us, they’ll be a really nice tourist nearby who is not only willing to take your picture with the stunning view, but is creative and takes a panoramic which will become one of your all-time favorite pictures (see below)!

We went in the middle of the day, so there were some crowds. I’ve heard this has a great view of the sunset and will be a little less crowded around that time, or earlier in the morning.

#5. Painted Ladies…. Or also known as the “Full House” Houses!

If you’re a 90’s kid like me then you’re familiar with the show Full House. Did you know that the houses in the opening credits (see below) are real houses in San Francisco? These are called the Painted Ladies. You can also visit the house that the Tanner’s lived in which is located on Broderick Street.

The Painted Ladies are a row of Victorian houses located across from Alamo Square Park that are breathtaking by themselves but also offer viewers a backdrop of San Francisco’s skyline.

My childhood dream has been to hang out at this park with a little picnic and some cartwheel action while blasting the theme song. Unfortunately for us, the park was under construction while we visited. But, all the more reason to go back!

And so much more!

This is just a small list of things we did in San Francisco, and doesn’t even make a dent into all of the options out there. Other huge highlights of our trip included Haight Ashbury, Buena Vista Park, NightLIfe at California Academy of Sciences, visiting the sea lion's at Fisherman’s Wharf, seeing Lombardi Street, getting the best sundae at Ghirardelli Square, visiting the Ferry Building Marketplace, and all sorts of delicious food.

But there were still other things we need to go back for such as visiting Muir Woods, San Francisco Zoo, AT&T Park, going to a Giant’s game, and taking the trip over to Oakland for a Warrior’s game!