There’s a lot to see and do all over the City, but it is possible to explore several of San Francisco’s most iconic spots by foot. But knowing the best route to take for a self-guided San Francisco city tour can cause some head-scratching!
This suggested walking tour will take you along the waterfront and through Fisherman’s Wharf where amazing Bay views await. Then you’ll turn inland toward the elephant in the room, Coit Tower, looming tall from its pedestal on Telegraph Hill. Then you’ll eat your way through North Beach, the Italian neighborhood, and finally, explore vibrant Chinatown.
The Ultimate Self-Guided San Francisco City Tour
The route is about three miles long and takes a little over an hour to walk. However, when you add time for eating, taking photos, and ducking in and out of shops, this could be an all-day affair. If you want to give your legs a break, you can hire a pedicab or pick up an e-scooter on the Embarcadero. Hopping on a cable car to get you up a hill or two is always an option.
Start at Pier 39
Start your San Francisco city tour at Pier 39 on the waterfront. From fine dining to on-the-go fish and chips, Pier 39 has several delicious seafood options to choose from. There’s unique shopping with a broad appeal like magic, fantasy, and puzzles specialty shops.
Fun family entertainment toward the end of the pier includes amusements like a mirror maze, escape room, and beloved carousel. While the sea lions put on maybe the best show—of gamesmanship—vying for the perfect spot on the dock for sunbathing. Aquarium of the Bay at the entrance to Pier 39 creates an underwater experience with a 300-foot clear tunnel where hundreds of fish, bay rays, and sharks swim above.
Fisherman’s Wharf
As you walk west on The Embarcadero, watch ferry and fishing boats coming in and out of the wharf while discovering bay views of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. Stop inside souvenir shops and taste what Fisherman’s Wharf is all about—fresh-off-the-boat seafood, including Dungeness crab and chowder bowls.
Get a photo with your favorite celebrity at Madame Tussauds San Francisco, a world-renowned museum full of life-like wax figures. Or quench your curiosity of the weird and strange at Ripley’s Believe it or Not! Stop in the Boudin bakery just across the street to see how San Francisco sourdough is made in their demonstration kitchen.
Find classic seafood restaurants like The Grotto and Scoma’s lining the waterfront. At Pier 45, pop a few coins in the vintage arcade games at Musée Mécanique, a museum full of humorous mechanical wonders. Explore the pier further and hop aboard the docked SS Jeremiah O’Brien, a historically accurate Liberty ship, and the USS Pampanito WWII submarine.
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
Continue your San Francisco city tour by walking to Hyde Street Pier to get an up-close look at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park’s collection of docked historic sailing ships. The white wooden 1890 Eureka ferry boat, a sidewheel paddle steamboat, is impressive for its size and decks accommodating passengers and automobiles.
It’s easy to imagine pirates scaling the rigging of the three-masted 1886 sailing cargo ship Balclutha. The brave swim the cold bay waters at Aquatic Park, but walking the semi-circular Aquatic Park Pier is the much warmer option to get out on the bay.
Ghirardelli Square
Cross Beach Street from Aquatic Park, and you’re at Ghirardelli Square. Find vintage chocolate-making machines on display to glimpse how Ghirardelli perfected their sweet desserts. Ordering an ice cream sundae with hot chocolate fudge is a must, and so is sampling a chocolate square or two.
Powell & Hyde Cable Car Turnabout
Continue a block east on Beach Street to arrive at the Powell & Hyde Cable Car Turnabout. The iconic San Francisco hill-climbing cable cars drop off their last passengers and pick up new ones for the journey across town. Hear the buzz of the cables under the rails, the clack of the car wheels, and the bells clang.
Looking for a pick-me-up? Stop in The Buena Vista bar and restaurant for an Irish Coffee to go. In fact, they are famous for bringing the drink to the states. Cheers!
Insider’s Tip: Have a bit more time? Check out our ideas for exploring San Francisco off the beaten path!
Coit Tower
The next block going east on your San Francisco city tour is where Columbus Avenue begins, headed into the North Beach neighborhood. Take the diagonal thoroughfare, going southeast. It’ll be five city blocks before reaching Lombard Street, where you can turn east toward Coit Tower. The following streets, Greenwich and Filbert, will also get you up Telegraph Hill to the tower.
Coit Tower is a white column spotted looming tall along the waterfront and surrounding neighborhoods. The tower opened in 1933 and has depression-era murals painted inside and an observation deck at the top. The 360-degree view from the top includes the city below, across the bay, the Bay Bridge, and Golden Gate.
North Beach Neighborhood
Return to Columbus Avenue from Union Street to continue on your San Francisco city tour and take a well-deserved rest in Washington Square park framed by Saint Peter and Paul Church’s dual bell towers. The park is a meeting place, dog run, and children’s play area with shade trees perfect for a relaxing picnic.
Make eating your way through North Beach a reality. Start by picking up an oven-baked sandwich on neighborhood-baked Liguria green onion focaccia from Mario’s Bohemian Cigar Store Café on the corner of Union Street and Columbus. Stroll south on Columbus and stop in Z. Cioccolato for freshly made decadent small-batch gourmet fudge. And there are plenty of Italian bakeries selling creamy just-filled cannoli pastry.
City Lights Booksellers & Publishers
City Lights, founded in 1953, is an independent book store championing intellectual thought and anti-authoritarian politics. It is famous as a meeting place for literary beatniks in the 1950s and 60s. Explore this San Francisco institution for its wide selection of books from traditional publishers and hard-to-find titles.
Ready to visit another cherished yet uniquely San Francisco neighborhood? Take Jack Kerouac Alley heading west from City Lights. This is one of many entrances into San Francisco’s famed Chinatown.
Chinatown
The three-tiered Dragon Gate and main entrance into Chinatown is at the southern end of the neighborhood at the intersection of Bush Street and Grant Avenue. Dragons on the gate’s top tier protect a red ball and guard the streets below.
Tighter streets often congested with pedestrians characterize the neighborhood. Alleyways off the main streets offer quieter routes and a chance to view the three and four-story buildings, sometimes painted in bright colors. Colorful lanterns flap overhead between Asian-inspired building facades with rooftop ornamentation.
The street level bustles with activity. Duck inside souvenir shops or watch skilled butchers deftly divide poultry. Find the Golden Gate Fortune Cookies Co. in Ross Alley and taste a freshly baked cookie wafer, a fortune cookie reject. Across the street is the Delicious Dim Sum restaurant (752 Jackson Street), where you can fill up on tasty beef or shrimp dumplings, egg rolls, and steamed pork buns.
Devour Tour’s Ultimate San Francisco Food Tour makes a stop at the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory a stress-free experience for guests. Our guides check in with factory staff and ensure you’ll have a few minutes to watch the cookie folding process, have a chance to buy a bag of cookies to take home with you, and of course, enjoy a delicious cookie hot off the press. Join us on a tour!
Eva Barrows is a San Francisco Peninsula freelance writer and book editor. She writes for regional magazines PUNCH (The Spirit of the Peninsula) and Edible Silicon Valley and contributes to the Kampgrounds of America (KOA) blog. She visits San Francisco and its restaurants on weekends when she needs an adventure. Read more of her travel and food writing at www.evabarrows.com.