The Castro

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: Are you looking for the best things to do in San Francisco, California? We just created a list of 30  must do activities for you to do while visiting San Francisco! In this San Francisco travel guide we show you around the Golden Gate park, Castro District, Fishermans Wharf, Napa Valley and even take a ride on BART. We also show you many San Francisco attractions like the Palace of Fine Arts, the many museums, several San Francisco  beaches, Chinatown, Downtown San Francisco, Alcatraz and much more! We also made a San Francisco Travel vlog that includes more of virtual city tour. We did several USA travel videos including a San Francisco travel video and showed you around Los Angeles and San Diego that can serve as your California travel guide.

If you enjoy this San Francisco vlog and have any questions please feel free to ask. We love showing you around the San Francisco attractions and where to go in California. 

More California Travel Videos:
Best Things To Do in Los Angeles: https://youtu.be/53fAUrs8GdU
Best Things To Do in San Diego: https://youtu.be/Q3Rhs9Z5k_U

Best Things To Do in San Francisco
(timestamps)
0:00 San Francisco Intro
0:34 Lombard Street
1:06 Pier 39
1:53 Golden Gate Bridge
2:22 Cable Car
2:54 Alcatraz
3:24 Alamo Square
3:46 Painted Ladies
4:03 Fishermans Wharf
4:34 Golden Gate Park
5:08 Palace of Fine Arts
5:43 Chinatown
6:22 Castro District
6:43 Haight & Ashbury
7:40 Port of San Francisco
8:11 California Academy of Sciences
8:27 Union Square
8:56 Coit Tower
9:15 Bay Cruises
9:56 Botanical Garden
10:34 Yoda Fountain
10:45 Napa Valley
11:08 Ghirardelli Chocolate Experience
11:50 Chrissy Field Beach
12:33 Hyde Street Pier
13:19 Bart (Bay Area Rapid Transit)
13:46 Market Street
14:45 Local Food
15:52 Transamerica Pyramid
16:33 Shopping
17:28 Cable Car Museum
17:51 Conservatory of Flowers

Island Hopper TV takes you around the world to the premiere travel destinations. Our virtual travel guides from across America to Asia, Europe and Australia have assisted many world travelers in educating themselves on their next destination to travel or even vacation.

Best Things To Do in San Francisco 2025 4K

Things YOU need to know before YOU go to San Francisco in California.  San Francisco is the 4th most populated city in California and has a population of 800,000 people. San Francisco is known for year round fog, the golden gate bridge, cable cars, Victorian Houses, sweeping bay views, and of course Alcatraz.  One of America's most unique & distinctive cities.

✅ Get up to 40% off hotels in San Francisco by signing up here: https://plannin.com/en/search?googleResult=ChIJIQBpAG2ahYAR_6128GcTUEo&refId=YellowProductions

2 - Weather

I refer to San Francisco as the foggy city.
Mark Twain’s famous quote: “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.”
The weather varies by hour, and by neighborhood.  It could be 70 degrees and Sunny in one spot, and 50 degrees with pea-soup fog in the other.
September and October are the warmest and sunniest months.
Wear layers you can easily remove.

3 - Food:
Clam Chowder & Sourdough Bread
Seafood at Fisherman’s Wharf
Little Italy
Chinatown
Koi Palace by San Francisco Airport
Ferry Building for lot’s of local food.
Cowgirl creamery has good cheese.
Ghirardelli for chocolate and ice cream

4 - Hotels:
SF can be quite expensive 
Weekends are often cheaper
I like Union Square.  Most central, you can take the BART here.  Cable car, street cars.
2nd choice: Embarcadero
I dont like fishermans wharf.. too touristy.
Definitely stay within the city.. dont be crossing the bay.

5 - Getting In:
3 Major Airports: SFO, OAK, SJC

SFO is 15 miles South of the city.
A strip of TARMAC surrounded by water.
The main airport, the major airlines all fly here.
Prone to weather delays (FOG)
Taxi or uber will cost about $60 and take between 25-60mins.
BART: $10 to Union Square and 35 mins.  BART makes 4 stops in Downtown SF.

Oakland is 25 miles from SF, across the bay.  Less foggy, so less delays.  Good if you are visiting Napa.  Lots of Southwest flights.

San Jose
60 miles south of SF.  Good if you are visiting Santa Cruz, Monterey, or Carmel.  You can do a one way rental car and return to SFO.

6 - Getting Around:
  Cable Car: San Francisco classic from 1873.  It’s amazing they still run these. 

Best place to ride… on the outside!  Want to stop… just yell out you want to stop!

7 - POPOS:
What’s a Popo?  Privately owned public open spaces.
They come in the form of urban gardens, plazas, but the best ones are on rooftops.

Neither obvious nor clearly marked, POPOS are all over downtown San Francisco—and everyone is welcome

8 - Chinatown:
SF has the largest Chinatown outside of Asia. It's also the oldest in North America. It is around one mile long by one and a half miles wide. Covers 24 square blocks. More than 100,000 people live in Chinatown. It's the most densely populated neighborhood in the city and in fact the most densely population neighborhood in the US west of Manhattan.

It really is a city within the city.  Chinatown has it's own customs, languages, places of worship, social clubs, and identity. 

Lots of great Dim sum joints, bakeries, tea shops, and this is where the American fortune cookie was invented.

More visitors come to Chinatown than the Golden Gate Bridge.

Portsmouth Square bustles with activity such as T'ai Chi and old men playing Chinese chess.

9 - Fisherman’s Wharf:
Probably the most touristy part of San Francisco, particularly because it’s next to the Golden Gate Bridge.
Alcatraz Tours leave from here.  Book in advance.  More about that in a bit.
Visit Boudin, Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory, and In-N-Out Burger.
They invested the Irish Coffee in the 1950’s at Buena Vista Cafe here.
And of course the Sea Lions
My favorite place is the arcade

10 - Alcatraz:
Probably the most famous prison in the US.
home to some of America’s most notorious criminals, Operated here from 1934 to 1963. 

11 - Day Trips
Napa
Santa Cruz
Monterey / Carmel

3 nights in SF, 2 nights in Napa, 2 nights in Monterey/Santa Cruz, and maybe add a night or 2 in Silicon Valley if you are a tech nerd.

You might enjoy watching more of my travel videos from the San Francisco Bay Area in this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOVadUHX1B-Ld9Pj94hS8laRJW50pS9ZJ

Santa Cruz Travel Guide: https://youtu.be/4_x0wdPXIsw
Napa Travel Guide: https://youtu.be/6hWcdFTHcIA

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San Francisco Travel Tips: 11 Things to Know Before You Go

Known for its vibrant LGBTQ+ community, colorful atmosphere, and iconic landmarks like the Twin Peaks Tavern and Castro Theatre.Known as one of the first and most prominent LGBTQ+ neighborhoods in the world, the Castro District is vibrant with its colorful history, nightlife, and community events.

A significant cultural center for the LGBTQ+ community with a rich history. The neighborhood is known for its vibrant atmosphere and festivities.