Forty-four hills, fog rolling in from the ocean, and the world's most famous bridge
San Francisco
LanguageEnglish
CurrencyUSD
TimezoneGMT-8
Temperature5-30 °C
Dial Code+1
Population335M
Area9,833,520 km²
SocketsType A / Type B
Tap waterDrinkable
Discover San Francisco
San Francisco sits at the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and the bay, and it's small — one hundred twenty square kilometres, eight hundred thousand people — so it's entirely walkable, along with cable cars and streetcars, no car needed. Walkable, though, means uphill: the city is built across forty-four hills, some with a gradient over thirty percent. Every neighbourhood has its own character: Chinatown is the oldest Chinese quarter in North America, North Beach is Italian, the Mission is Latin American and covered in murals, Haight-Ashbury still carries its hippie history, and the Castro is a symbol of the gay rights movement. Over all of it hangs a fog the city is fond enough of to have given it a name — Karl. It rolls in from the ocean every summer afternoon, and July is actually colder than September — anyone arriving in shorts ends up buying a hoodie at Fisherman's Wharf. The city is tied with New York as the most expensive in the US and is the home base for the tech companies of Silicon Valley, an hour to the south.
What to see
The places worth your time in San Francisco, and what to expect at each
Golden Gate Bridge
Presidio
A 1937 suspension bridge across the Golden Gate strait, over two and a half kilometres long, with towers two hundred twenty-seven metres tall. Its orange colour is called International Orange, chosen specifically to stand out in the fog.
Tip: You can walk across the bridge or cycle the eastern sidewalk — biking from downtown to Sausalito and taking the ferry back is the most popular outing in the city. The best view of the whole bridge is from the Battery Spencer viewpoint on the far side, not from the city. When there's fog, it often lifts by around eleven in the morning.
Admission:
free
Time needed:
2 h
Alcatraz
The bay
An island in the bay with a former federal prison where Al Capone and America's most dangerous inmates served time between 1934 and 1963. The cellhouse audio tour, narrated by former guards and prisoners, is one of the best museum experiences in the country.
Tip: Tickets are sold only by Alcatraz City Cruises from Pier 33, and in summer they sell out two to three weeks ahead — book the moment you know your dates. The evening Night Tour has smaller crowds and a view of the illuminated city. Bring a jacket for the island; it's windy even in summer.
Admission:
admission
Time needed:
3 h
Cable cars
Nob Hill and Russian Hill
The world's last manually operated cable car system, running since 1873 along three lines over the hills of downtown. The cars are pulled by a steel cable running continuously beneath the street, which the gripman grabs with a lever. They're a National Historic Landmark.
Tip: The queue at the Powell and Market terminus can run an hour long; board two stops further along instead, where you can hop on while it's moving. The Powell–Hyde line is the most scenic, with a view of Alcatraz on the descent to the bay. Single tickets are pricey — a day pass for Muni, which includes the cable cars, is cheaper. Ride standing on the outside running board, hold on tight, and enjoy it.
Admission:
fare
Time needed:
1 h
Lombard Street
Russian Hill
A stretch of street on Russian Hill with eight sharp switchbacks between flowerbeds over a length of one hundred eighty metres, built in the 1920s because the straight grade was too steep for cars. It's the most photographed street in the city.
Tip: The best photo is from below on Leavenworth Street, with the switchbacks rising above you and Coit Tower in the background; you can walk up the stairs on either side. The Powell–Hyde cable car stops right at the top. By car, you crawl down in a queue, and weekend traffic is often restricted in summer.
Admission:
free
Time needed:
45 min
Chinatown
Chinatown
The oldest Chinese quarter in North America, founded around 1848 during the Gold Rush, with the Dragon Gate arch on Grant Avenue, temples tucked into upper floors of buildings, bakeries and herbal shops. More than fifteen thousand people live across roughly twenty blocks here.
Tip: Grant Avenue is the tourist face of Chinatown; the real neighbourhood is one street over on Stockton Street, with its fish and produce market. Duck into the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory on Ross Alley, where cookies are still folded by hand and you can watch for free. Breakfast dim sum here is cheaper than anywhere else in the city.
Admission:
free
Time needed:
1.5 h
Golden Gate Park
Richmond and Sunset
A park stretching five kilometres from downtown to the ocean, larger than Central Park in New York, built on sand dunes. It holds a Japanese tea garden, a conservatory of flowers dating to 1879, the de Young Museum and the California Academy of Sciences, with a rainforest under a glass dome.
Tip: The main road, JFK Drive, is permanently car-free, making it the best place in the city for biking or scooting. The Japanese Tea Garden is free on Monday, Wednesday and Friday before ten in the morning. The de Young Museum's observation tower gives a free view over the whole park and the ocean, with no ticket needed for the collections.
Admission:
free
Time needed:
3 h
Alamo Square and the Painted Ladies
Western Addition
A row of six pastel-coloured Victorian houses from the 1890s, fronted by a park on a hill with a skyline of skyscrapers behind them. San Francisco has more than fourteen thousand wooden houses of this kind that survived the 1906 earthquake.
Tip: The best light is in the afternoon, when the sun hits the facades directly. The houses are privately owned and lived in, so don't sit on the front steps. For Victorian houses without the crowds, walk the streets of Haight-Ashbury or Pacific Heights, where hundreds more stand.
Admission:
free
Time needed:
45 min
Ferry Building and the Embarcadero
Embarcadero
A 1898 waterfront terminal with a clock tower at the end of Market Street, which fifty thousand ferry passengers passed through daily before the bridges opened in the 1930s. Today it houses a marketplace of local food vendors, and the Embarcadero waterfront outside gives a view of the Bay Bridge.
Tip: On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays there's a farmers' market out front; Saturday's is the biggest and best. Inside, breakfast options include oysters, Blue Bottle coffee and sourdough bread. Ferries leave from here to Sausalito and Angel Island and are the cheapest way to cruise the bay.
Admission:
free
Time needed:
1.5 h
Mission District and its murals
Mission
The city's oldest neighbourhood, built around Mission Dolores, founded in 1776, now home to a Latin American community, taquerias and hundreds of murals. Balmy Alley is an open-air gallery of painted garage doors, and the Women's Building carries the largest feminist mural in the city on its facade.
Tip: The Mission is the sunniest neighbourhood in the city — when everywhere else is foggy, it's often clear here. Dolores Park fills with locals on weekend afternoons and offers one of the best views over downtown. This is also where the Mission burrito — a giant tortilla stuffed with meat, rice and beans — was invented.
Areas and districts, matched to the kind of trip you are taking
Union Square and Downtown
Best for: first-time visitors and transport links
The commercial core, with department stores, theatres and the most hotels. The cable car terminus is around the corner, and BART runs straight to the airport from here. Be mindful of the surroundings: two blocks southwest, the Tenderloin begins, with visible drug use and homelessness, so choose a hotel north or east of the square.
North Beach and Fisherman's Wharf
Best for: families and outings around the bay
North Beach is the Italian quarter, with cafés and the City Lights bookstore where the Beat poets once gathered. Fisherman's Wharf below it is touristy but closest to Alcatraz, the cable cars and a bike ride to the Golden Gate. Hotels here sit at a mid-range price and the area is quiet in the evening.
Mission and Castro
Best for: food, bars and sunshine
The Mission has the best cheap food, bars along Valencia Street and the warmest weather in the city. The neighbouring Castro, with its rainbow crosswalks, is lively day and night. Hotels are scarce here — mostly guesthouses and rentals — but BART reaches downtown in eight minutes.
Nob Hill and Pacific Heights
Best for: quiet streets and views
Hills above downtown with historic hotels, Victorian mansions and bay views. Nob Hill has a cable car stop right outside its hotels; Pacific Heights is the quietest and wealthiest residential neighbourhood. Walk down to Downtown, and take the cable car back up.
San Francisco International Airport (SFO) sits on the peninsula twenty kilometres south of downtown, right on the BART line. Flights from Prague require one connection, most often in Frankfurt, Munich, London, Amsterdam or Paris, and the journey takes fifteen to eighteen hours. An ESTA authorisation, costing forty dollars, is required before departure. Oakland Airport, across the bay, handles cheaper domestic flights and also connects via BART; San José, to the south, is convenient for Silicon Valley. By car, most arrivals come up the coast from Los Angeles, a full day's drive with stops along the way.
San Francisco International (SFO) · 21 km
BART metro to downtown· 30 min· 11 USD
Uber / Lyft to downtown· 25–45 min· 40 USD
Taxi to downtown· 25–45 min· 55 USD
Oakland International (OAK) · 30 km
BART with a transfer at Coliseum· 40 min· 11 USD
Uber / Lyft to San Francisco· 30–60 min· 45 USD
Around town
San Francisco is one of the few American cities where you don't need a car — and where one is more likely to work against you: parking is scarce and expensive, and car break-ins are rampant. The city's Muni system covers buses, trolleybuses, underground streetcars, the historic F-line streetcars and the cable cars; pay with a Clipper card, a contactless card, or the MuniMobile app, and a ticket covers ninety minutes of transfers. The BART metro connects downtown with the airport, Oakland and Berkeley. A Visitor Passport, valid for one, three or seven days, covers everything including the cable cars and pays for itself after just a second cable car ride. The hills are steep — expect walking to take longer than the map suggests.
Muni buses and streetcarsA dense network across the whole city. The historic F-line streetcars run along Market Street and the Embarcadero from the Castro to Fisherman's Wharf. · 3 USD / 90 min
Cable carsThree lines through downtown, single-ride tickets only, no transfers. Included in the Muni pass. · 9 USD per ride
Visitor PassportUnlimited rides on all Muni vehicles, including the cable cars, bought through the MuniMobile app. Doesn't cover BART. · 13 USD / day
BARTRapid transit between downtown, SFO airport, Oakland and Berkeley. Fare depends on distance. · 2.40 USD
FerriesFrom the Ferry Building and Pier 41 to Sausalito, Oakland and Angel Island. The cheapest scenic cruise under the Golden Gate and past Alcatraz. · 8 USD
Bay Wheels and UberBike- and e-bike-share work well for flat routes along the waterfront and through Golden Gate Park. Uber and Lyft are available everywhere. · 4.49 USD per ride unlock
San Francisco has one of the strangest climates in America: the warmest months are September and October, when the fog retreats and temperatures climb above twenty degrees. Summer, oddly enough, is cool — in July and August fog rolls in from the ocean every afternoon, the wind picks up, and the temperature drops to around sixteen degrees. Come from late August through late October, or in April and May, when skies are clear and the hills are still green. Winter is mild, ten to fifteen degrees, but it rains between November and March. Hotel prices spike during major tech conferences that fill the whole downtown area — check the event calendar at the Moscone Center before booking.
Best time
September and October
What to avoid
weeks with major conferences at the Moscone Center, and January for the rain
Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Day
14°
16°
17°
18°
19°
21°
21°
22°
23°
22°
18°
14°
Night
8°
9°
9°
10°
11°
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13°
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13°
12°
10°
8°
Rainy days
10
10
9
5
3
1
0
0
1
3
7
10
Food & drink
San Francisco is one of America's best food cities: more than four thousand restaurants packed into a small area, with wine country in Napa and California's farms nearby, and the city has invented several dishes known the world over. Prices, though, are the highest in the country, and on top of tip and tax, many bills add a separate employee healthcare surcharge, listed as its own line. Cheap eating means a burrito in the Mission, dim sum in Chinatown, and the market hall at the Ferry Building. Dinner at popular restaurants needs a reservation weeks ahead, but the counter seats at the bar will often seat you without one.
What to try
Mission burrito
A large flour tortilla wrapped in foil around meat, rice, beans, cheese, salsa and guacamole — enough to keep you full all day. It was invented in Mission taquerias in the 1960s and costs twelve to sixteen dollars.
Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
A thick, creamy soup with clams, served in a hollowed-out loaf of sourdough. It's most famous at Boudin Bakery at Fisherman's Wharf, which still bakes sourdough to a recipe from the Gold Rush era.
Sourdough bread
A tangy bread made with wild-yeast starter, baked here since 1849. Local bacteria give it its unmistakable sourness, and one of them is even named after the city. Tartine Bakery in the Mission draws a line before it opens.
Cioppino
A fish stew of crab, shrimp, mussels and fish in a tomato-and-wine broth, invented by Italian fishermen in North Beach. It's served with sourdough and a bib, since the crab is cracked and eaten by hand.
Dungeness crab
A local crab with sweet meat, in season from November to June. At Fisherman's Wharf it's sold boiled from stalls, and restaurants often roast it with garlic.
Dim sum
San Francisco has the oldest Chinese community in the US, and its dim sum rivals Hong Kong's. The cheapest option is Chinatown bakeries selling dumplings for two dollars; Richmond District restaurants roll out carts with a choice of a hundred items.
Irish coffee
Coffee with Irish whiskey and whipped cream, brought to America in 1952 by the Buena Vista Café near the cable car turnaround. Bartenders pour more than two thousand a day, lining them up twenty at a time.
Napa and Sonoma wine
The wine valleys an hour north are the most famous in America, and their cabernet and chardonnay appear on every restaurant list in the city. A glass runs fifteen to twenty-five dollars.
What it costs
Mission burrito
12–16 USD
Coffee at a café
5–7 USD
Dinner at a restaurant
60–110 USD per person
Cable car ride
9 USD
Day pass for Muni
13 USD
Alcatraz tour
from 47 USD
Bike rental for a day
35–50 USD
Night at a 3-star hotel near Union Square
200–350 USD + tax
Indicative prices that change over time — treat them as a guide, not a price list.
Practical information
SocketsAtwo flat pins (US/JP)Btwo flat pins plus ground (US)
Voltage120V / 60Hz
Tap waterTap water is drinkable — Tap water is safe to drink throughout the United States, and restaurants will bring it free with ice — just ask for tap water. Buying bottled is unnecessary and expensive: a bottle at a shop costs two to three dollars, five near an attraction. It's worth carrying a reusable bottle, since airports and parks have refill stations. Ice is everywhere, and drinks are served noticeably colder than is typical in Europe.
TippingTipping isn't optional — it's part of the server's wage. At a sit-down restaurant, leave eighteen to twenty percent of the pre-tax total; at a bar, a dollar per drink; for taxis and rideshare drivers, fifteen percent; for housekeeping, three to five dollars a night; for bellhops, two dollars a bag. Payment terminals usually offer preset percentage buttons — watch out, as they sometimes calculate from the total including tax. On top of the bill, San Francisco adds an 8.625 percent sales tax, hotels add a fourteen percent tax, and restaurants often tack on a four to six percent employee healthcare surcharge, listed separately on the check.
Driving on theright
SafetyTourist areas of major American cities are safe during the day and police presence is visible, but the line between a good neighbourhood and a rough one can be sharp and just a few blocks wide. Check your accommodation's address on a map before booking. Never leave anything visible inside a parked car. A major budget item is health insurance: an ER visit without insurance costs thousands of dollars, an ambulance ride over a thousand, and American hospitals expect payment upfront — travel insurance with a high coverage limit is an absolute necessity. The emergency number is 911. A local quirk is car break-ins: leave nothing inside, not even an empty bag, even for five minutes at a viewpoint.
Opening hoursShops open from ten to nine, including Sundays; supermarkets and pharmacies like CVS or Walgreens are often open around the clock. Restaurants serve breakfast from six, lunch from eleven, and dinner early — many kitchens close by nine at night. Bars check ID for anyone who looks under forty and won't serve you without a passport; a copy isn't accepted. Drinking alcohol in public, on the beach, or in a car is illegal.
Customs & etiquetteThe friendly small talk from service staff is a professional norm, not an invitation to strike up a friendship. Queueing is respected, and personal space runs larger than in Europe. Haggling is limited to cars and flea markets — never elsewhere. Smoking is banned in nearly all indoor spaces and on many beaches. Questions about salary or politics aren't opened with strangers. San Francisco is liberal and tolerant, and locals expect visitors to be too. Trash is sorted into three separate bins, and shops charge for single-use bags.
A few local wordsHello — Hi / Good morningThank you — Thank youCheck, please — Check, pleaseJust looking, thanks — Just looking, thanksHow much is it with tax? — How much is it with tax?Tap water, please — Tap water, please
How to plan your days
1 day
A day in San Francisco
1Morning cable car ride on the Powell–Hyde line to Lombard Street.
2Walk down to Fisherman's Wharf for chowder in a bread bowl.
3Bike from the wharf across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito.
4Ferry back to the Ferry Building.
5Evening in Chinatown, dinner in North Beach.
2 days
Two days with Alcatraz
1Day one as outlined above.
2Morning on the first boat out to Alcatraz.
3Afternoon at the Painted Ladies on Alamo Square and a walk through Haight-Ashbury.
4Early evening in the Mission, murals on Balmy Alley and Dolores Park.
5Dinner in the Mission — burrito or taqueria.
3 days
Three days with the park
1The first two days as outlined above.
2Morning at Golden Gate Park, the Japanese Tea Garden and the California Academy of Sciences.
3Bus out to Ocean Beach and the ruins of the Sutro Baths.
4Walk the Lands End trail with its view of the bridge.
5Evening Irish coffee at the Buena Vista Café.
Day trips
Muir Woods and Sausalito
25 km · 40 min by car
A forest of coast redwoods, some over six hundred years old and seventy metres tall, just half an hour from the bridge. Parking and the shuttle bus both need to be booked online in advance. On the way back, stop in Sausalito, a harbour town of houseboats, from where a ferry runs straight into downtown San Francisco.
Napa Valley
80 km · 1 h 15 min by car
America's most famous wine region, with more than four hundred wineries along a valley fifty kilometres long. Tastings cost thirty to a hundred dollars, and most wineries require a reservation. Whoever drives can't drink, so an organised tour or the Napa Valley Wine Train, with lunch served in the dining car, works best. Neighbouring Sonoma is more rustic and cheaper.
Yosemite National Park
300 km · 4 h by car
A glacial valley with the granite walls of El Capitan and Half Dome, and waterfalls among the tallest in North America. It's a long way for a single day — leaving at six in the morning and returning after ten at night — and an overnight stay is the better plan. In summer a reservation is often required to drive in, and the rules change year to year. The waterfalls are at their strongest in May and June.
Frequently asked questions
Why is San Francisco cold in summer?+
A cold ocean current runs along the coast, and when the sun heats up California's interior in summer, it pulls fog in through the Golden Gate. It rolls in every afternoon and the temperature drops to around fifteen degrees. Pack layers and a windbreaker even in July — September is actually the warmest month.
How do I buy tickets for Alcatraz?+
Only through Alcatraz City Cruises, the official operator, and as early as possible — tickets sell out two to three weeks ahead in summer. Resellers and city-tour bundles cost more. If it's sold out, try again on the morning of your visit, when a small number of tickets are released.
Is San Francisco safe?+
The tourist areas are, but the city has a visible homelessness and drug problem, concentrated in the Tenderloin and around Market Street between 5th and 8th. Avoid lingering there at night. The biggest risk for visitors is break-ins into parked cars — never leave anything in the car at all.
Do I need a car in San Francisco?+
No, a car is more of a liability in the city itself. Muni, the cable cars and BART cover everything you need, and buses handle the hills. A car only makes sense for trips to Muir Woods, Napa or Yosemite. If you're continuing down the coast afterward, rent one on the day you leave.
How do the cable cars work?+
At the terminus you queue up; elsewhere, you flag the car down at a stop marked with a brown sign. Buy a ticket from the conductor, through the MuniMobile app, or use a Muni pass. You can ride standing on the outside running board — hold on tight, it swings on the curves.
How many days do I need for San Francisco?+
Three days for the city and one or two more for trips to Napa or Muir Woods. San Francisco is often part of a wider West Coast loop with Los Angeles, Las Vegas and the national parks; the coastal drive down to Los Angeles via Big Sur takes about eight hours in a single day.
What's the best way to cross the Golden Gate Bridge?+
By bicycle. Rental shops at Fisherman's Wharf hand out a route map through the Presidio and across the bridge to Sausalito, twelve kilometres of mostly flat riding, with a ferry back. On foot, crossing the bridge takes about half an hour each way. By car, the toll is only charged heading into the city and is collected electronically by licence plate.
What is Silicon Valley, and is it worth visiting?+
A valley south of the city, between San Francisco and San José, home to Apple, Google, Meta and thousands of other tech companies. There isn't much for a visitor to see — the campuses are closed to the public, and the Apple and Google visitor centres offer little beyond a shop and a view. Stanford University and the Computer History Museum are worth the detour, though.
Visa Requirements
Check the latest visa requirements for entering this country. Some nationalities may need to apply for a visa or e-visa before travel.
