35 Best things to see & do in San Francisco

One of the world’s most famous bridges – a red-hued, 1.75-mile suspension bridge that spans the Golden Gate Strait, where the Pacific Ocean meets San Francisco Bay. San Francisco’s most iconic landmark.

A mile-and-a-half offshore in the San Francisco Bay, the most notorious escape-proof prison still sends a shiver down the spine. Book in for a tour for fascinating insights into the inmates’ lives and legends.

From posh enclaves to boho ‘hoods, San Fran’s diverse neighbourhoods are the city’s character-filled, cultural heartlands, and the city’s greatest attraction.

One of the largest museums for modern and contemporary art on the planet, with seven floors packed with more than 33,000 works ranging from abstract paintings to Depression-era photographs.

With spectacular scenery, a breathtaking Bridge, barking sea lions, and rich maritime history, the largest estuary in the U.S. already stands-out as a fine place for a sail.

Bike it over the majestic Golden Gate Bridge, and stop for lunch in this picturesque hamlet and artistic community. One of the world’s great scenic cycle rides.

Artistic San Francisco’s art scene features world-class museums, alongside a flourishing street-art scene – and everything in between.

A beautiful thousand-acre urban park, great for walking and cycling, that’s home to some of San Francisco’s best museums and attractions.

An incredible sampling of ancient and towering redwood trees within easy proximity to downtown San Francisco. Known for its stunning groves, hiking paths, and mystical forest views.

Thanks to both the ocean and an abundance of farms on its doorstep, San Francisco is big on farm-to-table, sustainable cuisine, and has some of the best Asian food outside Asia.

Take a ride on one of San Francisco’s three remaining heritage cable cars, trundling over some of its many hills.

One of the world’s greatest natural science museums. An aquarium, planetarium, natural history museum, and four-storey rainforest – all housed in an architectural masterpiece.

A highly regarded art collection showcasing American art from the 17th-21st centuries, as well as international contemporary art, costumes and textiles.

Marketers call Lombard the world’s crookedest street. True or not, the block-long lane hits eight hairpin turns – built to slow people as they drive the steep-steep street – as it snakes down Russian Hill. Instead of driving it (and sitting in traffic), you’ll have more fun walking it.

A historic transit centre turned food artisan marketplace that’s one of the city’s most iconic landmarks.

A hub for tourists, Fisherman’s Wharf is best known for its seafood, mainstream attractions, buskers, and sea lions who bed down on the docks of Pier 39.

One of the world’s best Chinese New Year celebrations, held in the oldest Chinatown in North America. The highlight is the Chinese New Year parade, complete with a 28-foot-long golden dragon.

Escape the city mayhem in the immaculate, contemplative Japanese Tea Garden, which was first developed in 1894 to showcase a traditional Japanese village for the California International Exposition (World’s Fair). An additional tea house and pavilions were built and the garden became a permanent fixture of the Golden Gate Park.

This fascinating museum is dedicated to the life and achievements of the Great Imagineer ‘Walt Disney‘. Interactive galleries feature early drawings and animation, movies, music, and a 12-foot diameter model of Disneyland. The lobby holds 248 awards Walt won during his career, including an honorary Oscar for Snow White and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The elaborate Victorian greenhouse at the Conservatory of Flowers is the oldest building in the park, constructed in 1878 and rising 60ft (18m). Plants and flowers from around the world are housed in a variety of climate-controlled galleries, including Highland Tropics and Lowland Tropics. Closed on Mondays.

A Beaux Arts replica of Paris’ Legion of Honor Palace of all things, this art museum houses a collection of European and ancient art that spans over 6,000 years of artistic creation. The sister museum to the De Young.

Opened in 1969, this hands-on museum and ‘experimental laboratory’ of sorts focuses on science, art, and human perception. Great for kids.

Home to one of the most comprehensive collections of Asian art on the planet, this Civic Center locale exhibits everything from future fantasy animations to Chinese jade carvings from more than 6,000 years ago.

Three days a week, the Ferry Building hosts this, one of San Francisco’s best markets. Every morning to mid-afternoon on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, more than 100 local purveyors set up shop offering top-quality, locally-grown produce.

Telegraph Hill, ascending 275 ft (84m), is crowned by Coit Tower, a mural-covered Art Deco column. An ascent on foot (via sidewalk and stairs) rewards with eye candy in many forms: gorgeous homes, gardens, and spectacular bay views from the observation deck at the tower’s top.

With no permanent collection, San Francisco’s CJM offers ever-changing exhibits highlighting the Jewish culture and its complexities. It’s housed in a historic Pacific Gas & Electric substation that’s been modernly redesigned with elements of Jewish symbolism.

A four-weekend festival in autumn when over 400 of the city’s best and emerging artists throw open the doors to their studios and workspaces.

This 20th-century museum at Fisherman’s Wharf is stocked with over 300 mechanical (i.e. pre-electronic) carnival and arcade games, like arm wrestling machines and mechanical fortune tellers a la Tom Hanks in Big. Good old fashioned, nostalgic fund for kids and big kids. Open daily.

Hailed as the U.S. home of Irish coffee. Legend has it that in 1952, the cafe’s then-owner Jack Koeppler challenged a well-known travel writer to recreate a drink he’d had at Ireland’s Shannon Airport, and this local landmark has been serving them up (in an endless line along the bar) ever since.

There’s nothing better than sipping sugary mai tais in a dimly lit tiki setting, where an indoor thunderstorm occurs hourly on cue. With red leather banquettes, a floating stage with its own house band, and a dance floor created from a former schooner, the Fairmont’s historic Tonga Room has been drawing crowds since 1945. Weekend nights here are like the greatest wedding reception you’ve ever been to, times 10.

Swing by the Cheese School of San Francisco for a 2-hour themed class (book ahead) in cheese pairing, gourmet souvenirs, or some simple fromage and wine tasting. It’s home to San Francisco’s only cheesemaking creamery.

The commercial centre of San Francisco, this stretch of streets surrounding Union Square (a park-slash-plaza so named because of its history as the site of several pro-Union Civil War rallies) is full of luxury hotels, restaurants, and shops. A lovely neighbourhood that’s still worth a wander.

Celebrating black cultures around the world through a global lens, MoAD remains one of the few museums in the U.S. dedicated exclusively to the artworks of the African Diaspora. Artist discussions, literary events, and film screenings take place here regularly.

The largest Chinatown outside Asia, and the oldest in the USA, this roughly 24-block district is the beating heart of the city’s Asian immigrant communities. Home to some of the best eats the city has to offer at dim sum shops, fortune cookie ‘factories’, Chinese grocers and noodle joints.

The Castro doesn’t have much by way of ‘attractions’, but that’s not the point. The historic and current heart of the city’s gay community, the district is one of SF’s most vibrant. Come here to commune with the colourful locals in the neighbourhood’s funky cafés, bars, shops, and restaurants.