Where to stay in San Francisco
Are you looking for accommodation in San Francisco and don't know where to begin? We've the solution for you: take a look at our post on where to stay in San Francisco, where you'll find the 5 best areas with advantages/disadvantages of each one, recommended hotels and super detailed map. And just as important: the areas to avoid in the city.
If you don't feel like reading too much, you'll find all the accommodations in San Francisco here, but taking into account their good value for money here you have our favourite 5:
What are the best things to do in San Francisco in 3 days
Although the ideal is to visit San Francisco in 4 days, we're going to propose an optimized itinerary so you can visit the most important places in 3 full days. Do you have even less time? In this 2-day San Francisco Itinerary you'll find the best to do in 48h.
The days would be organized as follows, but later we'll tell you the details of each day with the public transportation options in San Francisco and a map:
- Day 1: Yerba Buena Gardens, Union Square, Chinatown, Financial District, Cable Car to Nob Hill, North Beach and Coit Tower. Don't forget to book your free walking tour of San Francisco to get to know some of these areas with a guide.
- Day 2: Alcatraz, Fisherman's Wharf, Ghirardelli Square, Lombard Street and Ina Coolbrith Park.
- Day 3: Golden Gate Bridge, Alamo Square, Haight-Ashbury and Castro.
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3-Day San Francisco Itinerary: Day 1
Start your tour by visiting the downtown area. First of all, our recommendation is to stop at the Yerba Buena Gardens, a quiet and beautiful public park with interesting views of the city buildings.
🚇To get there you can take the Metro T Line and get off at Yerba Buena/Moscone or get off at Market St/Stockton St (the historic streetcar and several buses pass here).
Although it isn't a must-see in San Francisco, if you don't visit it at this time then it'll be far behind you. Here you cann't miss the Martin Luther King Memorial with its set of waterfalls and the historic carousel.
From here walk to Union Square, the shopping area par excellence and one of the best areas to stay in San Francisco. Go first to the junction of Powell St and Market St, one of the points where you can see the manual turn around of the historic Cable Car: the operators turn the funicular 180 degrees at the end of some lines, changing its direction so that it can continue its journey.
💡Recommended: How to get around San Francisco |A complete transportation guide|
Stroll the streets lined with stores and restaurants in Union Square, such as Powell St and Stockton St. And if you feel like shopping, Macy's is a must-see!
You'll end up in one of the most charming neighborhoods in San Francisco: Chinatown. There're chinese areas in many cities in the United States, but San Francisco's is undoubtedly one of the most colorful and lively. It's home to the second largest Chinese community in the country, making it a very special area.
Make your masterful entrance through the Dragon Gate and wander through the different streets of the neighborhood as you delight in its lanterns, its stores selling typical products and its tons of restaurants. 🍜 You may already have worked up an appetite: this area is ideal for tasting yummy dumplings or noodles! End your tour at Portsmouth Square, a square where you can watch locals practicing tai chi or playing cards.
From this square head to the Financial District, business center par excellence and where the skyscrapers are concentrated. Surely the most iconic is the Transamerica Pyramid, the second tallest building in San Francisco, with its characteristic pointed shape. Always stands out in the city skyline!
Stroll through the neighborhood and head towards California St, located in the southern part of the Financial District. The California Line of the historic Cable Car passes through here and we recommend you to take it at one of its many stops to go to the next area: Nob Hill. Why do it in this way?
- Nob Hill is one of the highest hills in San Francisco and you probably don't feel like climbing the endless slopes to get there.
- Surely getting on the Cable Car is one of the things to do in San Francisco that you won't want to miss. Of the 3 lines, the California Line is the least touristy and is frequented mostly by locals, which means that there aren't the endless queues that you can find in the other 2. We tell you from experience: we did 1.5 hours of queue at the beginning of the Powell-Hyde line.
- On the way you'll go through Chinatown again, having a different perspective of this area.
Nob Hill is one of the most exclusive areas of San Francisco, known for its luxury hotels and modern cafes and restaurants. Here you'll find the Grace Cathedral, a place where we recommend you to get off the Cable Car. This cathedral, that reminds to the Notre-Dame de Paris, has a beautiful interior. Admission used to be free, but now costs $14.
Stop by the luxurious Fairmont San Francisco hotel and the Cable Car Museum to learn about the history of the iconic funicular (free admission). Continue through Nob Hill towards the North Beach neighborhood (now on the way down!) to see Little Italy. The Italian part of San Francisco is home to the best pizza, coffee and gelato in the city! What to do in Little Italy?
- Eating: should be your main goal 😉. There're popular places like Tony's Pizza Napoletana (it's pricey and there's usually a line, but at least it's open from noon to night) and Liguria Bakery (they only make focaccia and close when they run out). If none of these convince you, you'll find delicious fresh pasta at The Italian Homemade Company.
- Stroll through Washington Square and go inside St Peter and Paul Church.
- Enter the City Lights, a beautiful bookstore.
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To end the day and burn off the calories from the pizza or pasta, we suggest you go to Telegraph Hill neighborhood. When you see the word "Hill" in San Francisco, you know what you're getting: exhausting slopes. We promise it's for a good cause: reach the Coit Tower and contemplate from its 64 meters high the fabulous views of San Francisco. If you do it at sunset, so much the better! Don't want to get too tired? Bus 39 will take you there.
Coit Tower is located in Pioneer Park, situated on one of San Francisco's famous hills. The historic Art Deco tower has an interior filled with fresco murals that are worth seeing. At the top, 360-degree views of the city await, including the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. The price is $11.
3-Day San Francisco Itinerary: Day 2
It's time to visit Alcatraz, one of the must-do things in San Francisco in 3 days. To go to the most famous prison in the world you'll have to go to Pier 33, in the Embarcadero area. 🚍 To get there you can take the streetcar (line F) or one of the many buses that stop here.
The visit to Alcatraz, taking into account the ferry ride and the time of the self-guided visity, will take you about 3 hours. Remember to make your reservation in advance, especially in high season with plenty of time, and do it through the official website, that's how it'll be cheaper! Know more in our Ultimate Guide to Visit Alcatraz.
-Duration: 8h
-What's included? transport by bus, 4h guided tour in San Francisco and round-trip ferry to Alcatraz + audioguide
On the way back head on foot to Fisherman's Wharf, the oldest part of the harbor and the most touristy area of San Francisco. Sometimes it can be more like a theme park, but there're some not-to-be-missed spots like the USS Pampanito submarine, the SS Jeremiah O'Brien and the sea lion colony at Pier 39. If you feel like it, you can book this guided tour of Fisherman's Wharf.
Also interesting at Fisherman's Wharf is the Musée Mécanique, a free admission place where you can go back to your childhood through its old arcade machines, all of which are still in use if you throw in a few coins!
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🧐More popular attractions: San Francisco Bay Cruise, bike rental, Big Bus 1-day Tour, 1-day Muni Pass with Cable Car. There are 27!
🍲If you can try only one dish in this area, choose the Clam Chowder served inside a bread, which is also typical of other cities like Seattle. You'll find several places to taste this yummy dish, although Chowder's is one of the most popular. Another famous restaurant is Bubba Gump, the Forrest Gump chain, with its battered shrimp and fish and chips. Otherwise, you have many other places to eat!
🛥️ After lunch and if you feel like it, a good option is to take this San Francisco Golden Gate Bay Cruise. It departs from Fisherman's Wharf and takes you around the bay following the Marina District and Presidio areas, passing under the Golden Gate Bridge. On the way back it passes close to Sausalito, Angel Island and Alcatraz Island, ending back at the harbor.
⚠️Remember that you've this activity included in the San Francisco Go City Pass in case you buy it. With our code YOURTRIPTOUSA5 you'll receive a 5% discount!
Next stop: Ghirardelli Square. This square houses several historic buildings and (most important), the San Francisco's most famous chocolate in the form of milkshakes, chocolates, cookies and hot cups. Did you know that the manufacture of this chocolate dates back to 1852? 🍫
When you finish your tasting, you have the option of taking the Powell-Hyde line of the Cable Car (it passes next to Ghirardelli Square) or walking to one of the most emblematic streets in the city: Lombard Street. Although this street is really long, it has a stretch well known for its steep incline and zig-zag shape, which is located between Hyde St and Leavenworth St.
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If you go by Cable Car get off at the junction of Hyde St and Chestnut St and walk to the top of the zig zag section. You can walk down it, so you'll have the perspective from both above and below.
Once you have finished taking as many photos as possible, if you still have some energy left you can finish the day at Ina Coolbrith Park. This small park is a hidden gem and, although you'll have to climb a few hills again, the views it offers are exceptional with the Financial District in front of you and the Bay Bridge in the distance. If you happen to catch the sunset, it's going to be brutal!
3-Day San Francisco Itinerary: Day 3
There isn't any better way to say goodbye to the city than seeing the Golden Gate Bridge up close! Get up early to head to San Francisco's most iconic landmark and, since you don't have much time, we recommend that you take a bus to the Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Center (the visitor center with a viewing platform) or Golden Gate Beach (a beach with beautiful views next to Crissy Field Park).
If you have time and desire you can cross the bridge on foot, as there's a pedestrian-only lane. On the other side of the bridge there are several spectacular viewpoints, such as Battery Spencer.
💡If you decide to cross the Golden Gate Bridge with a rental car, remember that there's no toll to leave San Francisco towards Sausalito, but there's to re-enter. The price is $9.25 and if you go with a rental car, check with your company how to pay this toll (through their FasTrak account or by paying yourself through the web).
Once you finish your photo shoot we suggest you to go to Alamo Square taking 2 buses: the first one in the area of the Palace of Fine Arts and transferring at the junction between Lombard St and Fillmore St. Once you get there head to Steiner St, where you'll find the most famous Victorian houses in San Francisco: The Painted Ladies. Although there're more houses of this style in this area, these are undoubtedly the ones that get all the attention for having appeared in movies and series.
Next to the houses stands Alamo Square Park, a park from which you'll have a unique perspective of the Painted Ladies with the city buildings behind.
The next stop is one of the most alternative and psychedelic neighborhoods of San Francisco, known as the hippie area: Haight-Ashbury. You can reach it on foot perfectly from Alamo Square walking along the main artery of this area: the Haight St. During your walk you'll pass by countless weed stores, businesses selling the most extravagant clothes and very original facades.
Haight-Ashbury is adjacent to the brightest area in San Francisco, El Castro, where you'll end your itinerary. 🏳️🌈Here is where the LGBTQ+ community is concentrated, where the multicolored crosswalks and flags adorn the streets and where you'll find lots restaurants and ostentatious shop windows.
💡Recommended: Best things to do in El Castro, San Francisco
In case you have time, nearby is Mission Dolores (the oldest building in San Francisco) and Clarion Alley, known for its street art.
We hope you enjoy all these things to do in San Francisco in 3 days.
