San Francisco. 1 day. What to do?

[LoriKay]

I need some recommendations please! If someone who had never been to San Francisco before was going to have 1 free day in the city what would be the "must do" sites/activities? Thanks for any and all suggestions!

 

[LuvTigger]

Ooh, tough one...will you have a car? Are you more interested in things like shopping or sightseeing?

My first thought was Golden Gate park because it's like several attractions in one place. I like Pier 39 and the Wharf area a lot, it's fun to see the sea lions laying out there, and there are some good places to eat. Oh, I know, there's Alcatraz, or you could just do a boat tour of the area.

 

[LoriKay]

LuvTigger, thanks for replying. We will have a car and sightseeing is more important than shopping. We'd considered Alcatraz but were concerned that it might take the entire day. Can you elaborate about Alcatraz and/or Pier 39? We'd also considered Fisherman's Wharf but I am unfamiliar with Pier 39. TIA.

 

[Michelemouse]

I would definitely do the Alcatraz tour. They have several tours each day and it definitely won't take the whole day. You can make tour reservations here... http://www.blueandgoldfleet.com/abcsc.htm

I'd definitely recommend reservations as tours regularly sell out.

The Alcatraz tours leave from pier 41...just a short walk from Pier 39...so you could definitely do both.

I would then take the bus to the top of Coit Tower (beautiful views) and then head to Chinatown for dinner. Oh, and don't forget to take a ride on a cable car. That's a MUST do!

Have a great trip!

 

[nancyj_pa]

Definitely Fisherman's Wharf and Alcatraz. The sea lions are amazing, lots of nice restaurants in the area for lunch, outdoor entertainment all along the wharf. The Alcatraz tour gives you headphones so that you can hear all the original sounds from when it was an operating prison. We all enjoyed it. Just make sure you're in good physical condition because there's a lot of walking, some of it uphill. Along the wharf you can also book tours of the city that only take a couple of hours at most. I would also try to ride the cablecars if only for a short distance. They were a lot of fun.

 

[DisneyJules]

We were in California about 3 years ago. We only had half a day in San Francisco, so we drove over the golden gate headed to Fisherman's Warf, shopped around, had something to eat. It was a very enjoyable day. I would LOVE to go back, San Francisco is such a neat place.

 

[smiley]

I live about a 45 minute drive away from San Francisco. I agree with the posters regarding Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39, but I would also walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. If you don't have time to walk across the entire bridge you could at least walk part of it. Honestly, if I could only do one of those 3 things I would walk across the bridge bar none, but I'm a fairly outdoorsy person. If you aren't inclined to be outdoors then Pier 39 is your best bet. And don't forget to drive down Lombard street. Have a great time!

 

[LuvTigger]

Pier 39 is basically a shopping and dining complex that is right on the water. We would go there at night since there wasn't a lot to do in the area we were staying in, and it kept us entertained. We also ate dinner there, which was very nice, and there's an outside area that you can walk around on and you can see sea lions lying around on floating wooden planks. (I love animals, so that was really great for me.)

Also, maybe the Presidio? I've never been there myself, but I've seen pictures and it looks beautiful, right next to the Golden Gate Bridge.

 

[Disneymoon04]

Fishermans Wharf... I have the best memories of clam chowder from there - LOL!. Ghiradelli is there as well. Definitely do Alcatraz!

 

[Planogirl]

My DH doesn't care much for touring but he checked out Alcatraz when he was in San Francisco on business some years ago. He was very intrigued and said that the place has an unbelievable atmosphere. I would pick this if it were me.