Traveling to San Francisco with my boyfriend for a weekend – What should we see?
Juiz de Fora Hi — my boyfriend and I, (mid 20’s) are heading to San Francisco for a weekend in June. We are thinking about hitting Napa Valley, but need some advice — I see so many vacation packages including wine tours, Alcatraz, city tours, wax museum, etc. What are the must-see attractions? Thanks so much!
on 25 Nov 2013 | California Vacations | Comments (4)
4 Responses
cathoratio
25 Nov 2013
ms bell
25 Nov 2013
Grayline has many different sightseeing tours that cover wine country and the many attractions of San Francisco. I highly recommend touring with them.
Here is their website:
http://www.grayline.com/Grayline/destinations/us/sanfrancisco.go
The "must-see" attractions of San Francisco are:
Fisherman’s Wharf
Chinatown (visit the fortune cookie factory or take the evening tour of Chinatown with Grayline)
Alcatraz
Pier 39
The Embarcadero
Golden Gate Park (The Japanese Tea Gardens and the Buffalo Paddock are the best attractions in the park)
Coit Tower (go to the observation deck for a beautiful view of San Francisco)
Muir Woods (Grayline has a tour that goes there. I took it many years ago and it was beautiful walking in the woods).
Cable Car Museum
Ride on a cable car
Drive across the Golden Gate Bridge
The San Francisco Zoo
China Beach (you’ll get the best photos of the Golden Gate Bridge here)
Drive down the crookedest street in the world, Lombard Street
I also highly recommend taking a tour of Monterey with Grayline. It’s about 1 1/2 hour drive south of San Francisco. It’s very scenic and you’ll get to stop and see the Monterey Aquarium (which is excellent), Cannery Row, and Fisherman’s Wharf. They also drive on the 17-mile drive in nearby Pebble Beach which is spectacular. The ride to and from Monterey is also scenic on Highway 1. It’s one of the best day tours Grayline has in San Francisco.
ebeme
25 Nov 2013
It’s tough to try to squeeze a lot in within a weekend. I love San Fran and there is so much to do and see, both within the city and just outside of it. It depends on the transportation available to you – my opinion is you don’t need any official tour package and can get by with a guide book, which will also be cheaper and free up your budget to actually use on your trip. If you can, try fitting in the redwood forest (Muir Woods) across the bridge. I recommend against Alcatraz since you only have a weekend. It’s very time-consuming and, while it’s a very interesting attraction, you can fit in so much else instead. San Fran’s Chinatown is particularly great, ride a trolley, visit Ghiradelli for a sundae, walk up the steep streets to catch the unique architecture including Lombard Street, visit the little shops near the corner of Haight and Ashbury, go to a bar in the Castro District, and generally walk around. Wine country is amazing but again, with such a limited time frame, you want to consider if you want to dedicate a full day to it or not. By the way, the gay pride parade is usually sometime in June – if that’s happening, it’s so much fun and cannot be missed! I looked up website that might be helpful for you, check it out. Enjoy!!! Happy travels!
Flusterated
25 Nov 2013
For a weekend you really need to pick between San Francisco or the wine country. San Francisco can be seen and done on your own without packages (which are pricey). There’s little yellow electric cars that have an audio sightseeing tour while you drive – those are fun. The Red & White fleet does a nice tour of the Bay – goes under the bridges & within sight of Alcatraz. Fisherman’s Wharf & Pier 39 will eat up a good portion of one day alone – a lot of locals will tell you to skip those because they’re so "touristy", but they really do give you that San Francisco feel and you can’t have photos of your trip without those in there the first time you go at least. Boudin’s sourdough is not to be missed – get the clam chowder breadbowl…yum! Don’t forget a shrimp cocktail or a cracked crab along the wharf near Alioto’s – the Best! The San Francisco Zoo is great – as is the Academy of Sciences, Japanese Friendship Garden and Golden Gate Park in general. Coit Tower, Lombard Street, walk across the Golden Gate Bridge…the list goes on and on. Bottomline – there’s no shortage of things to do in the City – don’t shortchange it by trying to squeeze Napa (or Monterey) in there too!
One weekend is not enough time to travel outside the city. Where are you coming from? If outside California you might want to take a trip to Mt. Tam/Muir woods to see Redwoods.
Alcatraz trip is usually must do for first visit because city is pretty from the Bay. Ferry Building is great for views and great snacks/food.
I would hang out in the Embarcadero area, go to Golden Gate bakery in China Town for their great Egg Tarts, Eat Dim Sum at Louie’s California Chinese restaurant. You can rent bikes/mopeds etc at Fisherman’s Wharf to get over to Golden Gate Bridge view point (best views are underneath from Fort Point/Chrissy Field Area.
At night try Matrix Lounge in Fillmore area (other stuff nearby too for nightlife). Fresca is nice for Peruvian Dinner, or Medjool is cool lounge/restaurant in the Mission District (take BART there if you can – parking stinks). Thirsty Bear is also good for bar/tapas at night.
Union Square for shopping (Sears fine foods has good french toast).
Day One
Breakfast
Ferry Building
Pier 39
Fishermans Wharf
Chrissy Field/Golden Gate Bridge
Matrix for nightlife
Day Two
Alcatraz
Chinatown
DimSum
Union Square
Thirsty Bear
If three days, might go out to Muir Woods if you like nature stuff. Or you can Ferry to Sausalito for the day OR hang out in Haight Ashbury area and see Golden Gate Park museums.