San Francisco in a day

I've been hosting a lot of first-time guests lately and let's all agree upfront:  there’s no way you can see all of San Francisco in a single day.  What follows is how I host people who only have one day to explore San Francisco for the first time.  A lot of the classic sights are covered in my two-hour driving tour, and I tinker with this basic agenda to pack the rest of the day depending on the guest’s stamina. Your mileage may vary.

View San Francisco driving tour in a larger map

I like to kick things off with my 2 hour driving tour to give you the lay of the land, see some of the mind-blowing views, and quirks of the city. This Google map of my two-hour driving tour lives here. Note that I’ve put pins where there are specific sights/views worth stopping for – and in between, I’ve mapped the route to take you through notable neighborhoods. On the Google map sidebar, I’ve made notes about what to look for either as a full stop or just drive-by. You're welcome.

Whether I picked you up at SFO or a downtown hotel, I like to start the tour at the top of Twin Peaks to welcome you with a magnificent overview of the City and the Bay (actually, I like to take visitors to Twin Peaks twice during every visit: once during daylight to orient yourself, and then finish off with a last look at where you’ve been at night).

After the two hour tour, it's time for lunch. I like to pick one neighborhood to have lunch in and a second nearby neighborhood to explore/window shop in for an hour.  I'll write a more detailed post about these options later - for now, the headline options are:

• North Beach (eat)/Chinatown (stroll) - Italian and Chinese influenced nabes
• Chestnut Street (eat)/Union Street (stroll) - hoity and toity shops, eats and drinks
• Valencia/Mission Street (either) - Hispanic and hipster culture. 
• Japantown (eat)/Fillmore Street (stroll) - I recommend you start at Fillmore and Jackson and stroll downhill to Post - turn right and walk a block to Japantown.  There are edible temptations on every block, and delicious sushi in Japantown.
• Hayes Valley (both) - a concentrated 2-3 blocks of hipster eats and shops 
• Golden Gate Park (explore)/Irving Street (eat) - for nature/museum lovers

NOTE: there are a ton of other famously awesome neighborhoods in SF (SOMA, Castro), but you've only got one day and I'm trying to help you see the most in the least amount of time.

Stamina can start to become an issue by mid-afternoon, especially if you’re in from the East Coast. Depending on how much energy you've got, I have several options – two of which involve ice cream.

1. Ride the cable car to Ghiradelli Square and get ice cream at Ghiradelli’s. This is also a great way to end your evening, so you might consider saving this for after dinner. 
2. You’ll find my take on San Francisco’s top ice cream options here, but for one-day visitors, I recommend Smitten in Hayes Valley because a) it’s really good ice cream, b) fun to watch them make it, and c) it’s fun to people-watch in the usually sunny park across the street or window shop for a block in either direction of Hayes St. 
3. There are no shortage of parks to rest your bones in, but if my guests are super-pooped out, I like to drive over to Marina Green and stare out at the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and sailboats. Usually it’s sunny, or if it’s a quintessentially foggy day, chances are good you’ll see “the fog comes on little cat feet” just as Carl Sandburg did.

You do need to ride the cable car at least once during your visit. If you’re my parents, you’d ride it once at the start of your day, and again at night after dinner down to Ghiradelli’s to get some ice cream. More advice here about the cable cars, but do ride it at least once during your visit. Block at least an hour for the experience.

Eventually I’ll write up a lengthy list of my favorite dinner recommendations, but let’s assume you want to stay in town, and didn’t plan ahead so you need a reliably good place where it’s not impossible to get a last-minute table. With a view.

• Sunset at Ocean Beach – at Sutro’s at the Cliff House. Good food, classy, not too noisy. If it’s not foggy, the sunsets are gorgeous. 
• View of Golden Gate Bridge from McCormicks & Kuleto at Ghiradelli Square (you can catch the cable car to/from for added tourist points). 
• View of Bay Bridge Lights from in/near the Ferry Building – personal favorites are Hog Island Oysters (the name says it, plus good chowder), One Market (classy steaks) or the Slanted Door (modern Vietnamese hot spot with a busy bar).

So, what’s on your must-see/do in San Francisco list?

Riding the Cable Cars

Riding the cable cars is quite possibly my favorite touristy thing to do in San Francisco.  When my dad comes to town, he will happily ride all three lines multiple times. If you only have time for one round trip, here's my advice:

A block off Union Square at Market & Powell, there is the terminus for two cable car lines:  the Powell/Hyde line takes you to Ghiradelli Square, and the Powell/Hyde line ends near Fisherman's Wharf.  My advice is to catch the Powell/Hyde cable car and ride up and over Nob Hill, past the top of Lombard Street, to Ghiradelli Square.  Get off and get at least your free square of chocolate at Ghiradelli’s gift shop.  If it’s cold, duck into the Buena Vista Café for the original Irish Coffee.  Then walk to Fisherman’s Wharf to see the sea lions, then catch the Powell/Mason cable car through North Beach and Chinatown back to Market & Powell. 

Be aware that the lines on either end of both lines are long – have one person get in line while you buy tickets and/or the rest of the group explores.  Avoid weekend days if you can, or go at night.

If you liked the cable cars, you should also:

• Consider buying a multi-day pass, but only if you're really going to use it. 
• Visit the Cable Car Museum which explains how it works.  Kids love it.  
• Ride the vintage trolley cars on Muni's F-Line up & down Market Street.  If you do that on Saturday morning, you can also shop the farmers market at the Ferry Building at the end of the F Line.  

So, how many times do you want to ride the cable car?

Ice Cream I'd Drive Across Town For

Mitchell’s is a local institution with tons of classic and exotic flavors.  Ben always brings home a gallon of the orange sherbet, and Mom likes mango (their #1 seller).

Smitten uses liquid nitrogen to make each serving to order. Just a limited number of flavors each day, but they're all fresh and delicious.

I'm partial to Humphry Slocombe's Secret Breakfast, the only flavor they sell everyday.  Famous for unexpectedly good flavor mashups. 

I finally tried Bi-Rite, and I'm happy to add it to the list.  It's always got a line out the door.  The original location is off Dolores Park in the Mission, but there's a new location at Divisadero and Fell (next to NOPA) and that may have the smaller line/crowds.  The ice cream counter is on the right side of the store as you enter, but the line forms outside. It's part of a small market of other gorgeously tasty foods - including an awesome selection of cheeses, meats, produce, etc  Bring your wallet.