A plan for San Francisco

History

Prior to European settlement in the area, the peninsula that now contains San Francisco was home to the Yelamu tribe, who were part of the larger Ohlone language group which stretched south from the Bay Area to the Big Sur of California. Due to San Francisco's characteristic foggy weather, the earliest European explorers in the 1600s completely bypassed what would later be called the Golden Gate and the San Francisco Bay.

In 1769, the bay was discovered by overland explorers who realized there was a strait blocking their path up the coast. The first European settlement in the area was founded by the Spanish in 1776 as a mission community surrounding the Mission San Francisco de Asís, in what is today called the Mission Dolores in the Mission District. In addition to the mission, a military fort was built near the Golden Gate: El Presidio.

Upon gaining independence from Spain in 1821, the area became part of Mexico. Under Mexican rule, the mission system gradually came to an end and private ownership of land became a possibility. In 1835, an Englishman named William Richardson founded the town of Yerba Buena, the first significant settlement on the peninsula outside of the Mission Dolores area. As the new settlement gradually grew, Yerba Buena developed a street plan and became attractive to settlers. Following the Mexican-American War the United States claimed California, and in July 1846 the U.S. Navy arrived to raise the American flag above Yerba Buena. Over the next couple of years, California officially became part of the United States and the name of the town was changed from Yerba Buena to San Francisco.

San Francisco has much to see — these are just the most significant sights. For more detail see the individual district sections, often linked from this entry.

Passes are available which offer discounts to some attractions:

San Francisco CityPASS. Gets admission to some museums, the Zoo and a Blue and Gold Fleet bay cruise. (updated Aug 2026)

Itineraries

There are many highlight walks you can take to really capture the feel of the city and see a whole lot of attractions at the same time. Some of the best ones are:

The Marina and the Presidio. Starting at Fort Mason on the eastern end of the Marina District, a stroll along the marina and the adjacent green will offer you excellent views of the Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. At the other end of the Marina District, you can cross Marina Boulevard into the neighborhood to see the spectacular Palace of the Fine Arts and continue further inland into the heart of the Presidio, or you can proceed along the shoreline through Crissy Field to the Golden Gate Bridge.

Cow Hollow. Union Street between Gough and Fillmore is one of the city's finest shopping streets outside of the city center.

Pacific Heights. Fillmore Street between Pine and Broadway is lined with a good mix of shopping, views, steep slopes, and some of the city's largest and most expensive homes. Continue west along Broadway to Lyon Street and you'll be at the top of the Lyon Street Steps, a long staircase with superb views over the Bay and the Palace of the Fine Arts that's popular with local joggers.

Russian Hill. Cozy and welcoming Russian Hill offers plenty of tucked-away stairways and hidden treasures for those who wander away from the cable cars rumbling along Hyde Street or the well-trafficked crooked section of Lombard Street. Stroll down the steps of Vallejo or Francisco Street, wander through the shady alleys past charming gardens and Victorian houses, and test your stamina on some of the city's steepest streets.

Nob Hill. California Street between Mason and Leavenworth sits atop lavish Nob Hill, where cable cars ply the center of the street past the grand hotels and luxury apartment buildings surrounding the Gothic-style Grace Cathedral.

Harbor tours

One of the best ways to see San Francisco is from the waters of San Francisco Bay. There are many companies offering harbor tours of varying durations and prices but they all provide marvelous views of the bay, the bridges, the island of Alcatraz and the city.

Only specific island tours are allowed to land at Alcatraz, but the typical harbor tour will circle the island at a slow crawl, giving you plenty of opportunity to photograph the now-inactive prison from the water.

Also consider taking a ferry from San Francisco across the bay to Tiburon, Sausalito, or Alameda. Same views for a fraction of the price.

Most tours leave from docks at Fisherman's Wharf near Pier 39. Tickets can be purchased at kiosks along the waterfront walk. Buy tickets a day or two in advance during the summer high season.

Boats usually leave roughly hourly starting around 10AM and ending around 5PM. Multi-lingual guides are available on some tours. Prices range from $20–40, more for sunset, dinner, or whale watching tours.

Even on a sunny day the bay can be chilly, so be sure to bring a sweater as well as sun screen.

Some boats have snack bars on board, but bring your own water and treats to avoid paying high costs or going without. There are now limited refreshments and a souvenirs shop on Alcatraz.

Neighborhood tours

San Francisco City Guides is a nonprofit offering dozens of unique free tours around town (they do accept donations at the end).

Individual listings can be found in San Francisco's district articles

San Francisco is a "foodie" city with a vast array of restaurants. In fact, San Francisco has more restaurants per capita than any major city in North America, with 1 restaurant for every 250 residents (in comparison, New York City has 1 restaurant for every 940 residents). The price range is huge, of course, and you can spend anywhere from a small fortune to a couple bucks for every type of cuisine. In addition to the range of ethnic restaurants you'd expect to find, Bay Area food culture focuses on "artisanal" food (see the Ferry Building) and fresh fruits and vegetables (see Alice Waters), drawing from the nearby farms in California.

San Francisco is known for specialties such as the Mission burrito and cioppino. The Mission burrito was invented in the Mission District, and numerous taquerias in the Mission serve this style. Each taqueria is famous for a different kind of meat, so do some research before deciding which one to try. Burritos are much larger than tacos and contain rice, making them even more filling. The sushi burrito is essentially a burrito-sized sushi roll that mixes Japanese and Mexican ingredients, invented in San Francisco by Asian-American entrepreneur Peter Yen who founded the Sushirrito fast casual restaurant chain.

Cioppino started as a fisherman's stew in North Beach and is a local variation on stews from the region of Liguria, from which many 19th-century San Franciscan fishermen hailed. It's a large tomato- and white wine-based soupy stew of fish and seafood with bread.

Individual listings can be found in San Francisco's district articles

Bars and clubs

The best way to find a good bar or club is to ask the advice of a local; but barring that a quick search on yelp/google will help you find something suited to your personal taste.

The great diversity of nightlife in San Francisco, sometimes within one neighborhood, reflects the diversity of cultures there. Here's a sampling:

If you want door-to-door bar hopping at friendly bars that serve PBR tall boys, definitely go to "Polk Gulch" in the Tenderloin and work your way north through bars such as Mayes and Hemlock.

Head to the Marina for mid-20s to mid-30s professionals (and those visiting from Los Angeles) as well as a college atmosphere clubbing scene around super packed club/bars such as Circa.

Are you into clubs? If you want to commit to a single venue for the night and club the night away, pay the necessary cover at high end clubs in South of Market (SoMa) such as The Grand and Manor West, where you can find left-over dot-commers and hipsters hanging out on the street.

The Castro primarily serves San Francisco's gay men, while Bernal Heights has some notable lesbian bars such as Wild Side West with a beautiful outdoor patio in back.

The Mission offers a more down to earth vibe that still lets you get your dance on; a bonus with this is that you can end the night with a great burrito from one of the local Mission taquerias.

With a large Irish population, San Francisco has a number of very good Irish pubs (e.g., Danny Coyle's in the Haight, Four Deuces in the Sunset, and many others). North Beach is home to several dance clubs and strip clubs.

If you like soccer (football) and all things English, you should stop into the Kezar Pub, at the edge of the Haight-Ashbury District.

Beer

San Francisco Bay Area had over 100 breweries and microbreweries as of 2021. A few of San Francisco's breweries include:

Beach Chalet & Park Chalet are at the Pacific end of Golden Gate Park, where you can enjoy a view of the ocean or sit in the lawn area.

Magnolia Brewing Company is in the heart of the Haight.

Southern Pacific Brewing Company is a large bar in the Mission District.

Navigating

Cross streets. San Francisco streets are numbered (100 per block) from the beginning of the street, and even and odd numbers are always on opposite sides. In the absence of GPS navigation, it is best when getting an address to also ask for a cross street or neighborhood name. Most of the time, if a street touches Market Street (San Francisco's main street), that's the zero block. Addresses change by 100 each block, so a building at 1275 Foo street is often 12 to 13 blocks away from where Foo St. hits Market St.

Numbered streets and avenues. San Francisco has both numbered streets, in the Mission, the Castro, and SoMa, and numbered avenues in the largely residential Sunset and Richmond districts. Mixing numbered streets and avenues when asking directions may leave you miles from your destination. This can be confusing, as San Franciscans will not say "Street" or "Avenue" unless it is required to avoid ambiguity. Thus, they won't say "I live on Fifth Avenue," but will say "I live near Fifth and Geary." Street signs generally don't have "Street" or "Avenue" either; they just say "GEARY" or "MASONIC", although numbered streets and avenues do.

Multiple street grids. One of the most confusing aspects of driving in San Francisco is the presence of multiple street grids, particularly in the downtown area where two grids intersect at an angle along Market Street. Even more confusing are streets in the middle of the standard blocks, like New Montgomery Street.

No left turns. Several key San Francisco arterial streets, including 19th Avenue and Market Street, do not have space for dedicated left turn lanes and therefore bear No left turn signs at most intersections. As a result, you will be frustrated when you drive for miles on these streets with no opportunity to turn left. The trick, of course, is to go around the block with multiple right turns after passing one's desired street, which requires you to stay in the right lane, not the left lane.

On foot

Walking can be an enticing option to get from one neighborhood to another, as the city is compact and most of the tourist sites are in its northeastern portion. San Francisco is a city of friendly neighborhoods, but it is also a big city so be aware of your surroundings and keep in mind the dangers that commonly accompany a city of San Francisco's size.

A look at Stanley Robert's People Behaving Badly series will give you an inside look of usually petty crime in the city. However, it is very unlikely you'll encounter any violent or petty crime as long as you use your common sense and are vigilant.

The areas that one should be most cautious are in the neighborhoods of Bayview-Hunters Point, Visitacion Valley, Sunnydale and Ingleside in Southeast San Francisco, as well as the Tenderloin, parts of Western Addition (including the Fillmore District), and parts of the Mission. San Francisco has relatively little violent crime, with most of these murders occur in the southeast neighborhoods of the city. Gang violence touches even busy and thriving areas such as the Mission Street retail corridor, although most instances of violent crime are directed to specific targets and are not random acts. The SoMa district used to be somewhat dangerous; however, gentrification has transformed parts of the district into a much safer neighborhood with plenty of art galleries and clubs.

Do not leave anything visible in your vehicle, not even small inexpensive items like cellphone mounts, especially when parking on public streets. Car break-ins have historically been very common in San Francisco. You may see posters for the city's public safety campaign featuring the slogan, "Park Smart! If you love it, don’t leave it." Any visible items are an invitation for thieves to smash your windows and ransack your car. During your visit, you may see small piles of broken glass on sidewalks throughout the city, which are the result of such crimes. Do not leave electronics such as laptop computers and tablets in your car, not even in the trunk, as thieves carry special detection devices that can sweep for them. If you cannot carry all valuables with you, try to keep them in the trunk and park your vehicle in secure parking garages, which are slightly safer than street parking but are not completely free from crime either. If you are renting a car from the airport, make sure you drive straight to your hotel and only go elsewhere once your luggage is securely stored in your room.