San Francisco Travel Guide
Weather, best time to visit, and the best food, culture, nature and activities.
Typical prices
- Budget meal$17.00
- Mid-range meal$42.00
- Cappuccino$5.00
- Domestic beer$8.00
- Taxi (per km)$2.80
- Public transport ticket$2.50
- Museum entry$25.00
- Mid-range hotel (night)$260.00
Food & Drink
- Tartine BakeryBakery / Cafe · $$
Mission District bakery famous for its morning bun and country bread, often with a line out the door.
- Swan Oyster DepotSeafood · $$$
Narrow Polk Street seafood counter open since 1912, known for fresh oysters and crab served at a marble bar.
- House of Prime RibAmerican Steakhouse · $$$
Van Ness-area steakhouse serving prime rib carved tableside from a silver cart since 1949.
- La TaqueriaMexican · $
Mission District taqueria widely regarded as making the best mission-style burrito in the city.
- Z & Y RestaurantSichuan Chinese · $$
Chinatown Sichuan restaurant known for fiery mapo tofu and dan dan noodles.
- Zuni CafeCalifornian / Mediterranean · $$$
Market Street restaurant famous for its brick-oven roast chicken for two, served with a bread salad.
- Comstock Saloon
North Beach bar in a restored 1907 building serving Prohibition-era cocktails like the Pisco Punch.
- The Saloon
San Francisco's oldest continuously operating bar, dating to 1861, known for nightly blues bands in North Beach.
- Beach Blanket Babylon's former home, Club Fugazi
North Beach cabaret theater that hosted the world's longest-running musical revue for over four decades.
Culture & History
- San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA)
SoMA museum with an expanded Snøhetta-designed wing, holding major Diebenkorn, Rothko, and Warhol works.
- de Young Museum
Golden Gate Park museum of American art with a distinctive copper-clad tower offering park and ocean views.
- California Academy of Sciences
Golden Gate Park museum combining an aquarium, planetarium, and natural history museum under a living roof.
- Exploratorium
Hands-on science museum on Pier 15, known for its interactive exhibits on perception and physical phenomena.
- Castro Theatre
1922 movie palace in the Castro district with a Wurlitzer organ, hosting classic film screenings and the SF Silent Film Festival.
- San Francisco Pride
One of the oldest and largest Pride celebrations in the world, with a parade down Market Street.
- Outside Lands Music Festival
Major three-day music festival held in Golden Gate Park.
Nature & Outdoors
- Baker Beach
Beach with views of the Golden Gate Bridge, backed by cypress trees and Presidio cliffs.
- Ocean Beach
Long sandy Pacific-facing beach popular with surfers, though cold water and strong currents limit swimming.
- Twin Peaks
Twin hills near the geographic center of the city offering a 360-degree panorama of San Francisco and the Bay, often above the fog line.