San Francisco: If you had only one day to visit, what would you do?

Question

I am visiting a friend there in a couple weeks and want to know what's recommended and what to skip! Should I do Alcatraz, Muir Woods, Fisherman's Wharf, etc? What do you recommend? What should I stay away from? I'm a fun-loving girl who's open minded for anything cool!

I'm actually visiting for 3 days but will go to San Jose one day, the beach one day and San Francisco the next so.. I just want to make sure I don't miss out on anything!

Answer 1

Well be sure to visit Alcatraz, it’d definitely worth seeing. If you visit on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, you should visit Fort Point which is a very old fort underneath the Golden Gate Bridge. The fort is cool, and the view from it is pretty awesome. Speaking of views, you should also get a snack in the café at the San Francisco Art Institute – it has the best view of Alcatraz in San Francisco. SFAI is near the “crooked” section of Lombard, so you could get them both in at the same time.

By the way, at the San Jose Museum of Art there is an awesome installation now you should really see called Listening Post – it’s amazing! The museum is free. Also in San Jose, if you decide to go to the Winchester Mystery House, do the mansion tour but save money and skip the Behind the Scene tours.

Hope you have a good time!

Answer 2

Take the bus and boat tour in San Fran. I was there back in the mid 80s, the year before the quake when the world series was there. I met people from all over the world and had a great time.
As a Canadian, I enjoyed and treasure those memories more then other places I have been to.Passing through customs was the only bad part of the trip and terrorists were not around back then. Seeing the rock and stepping into the cell was great. Muir woods is just breath taking.My visit was for six days and I still didn't get to all the places I wanted to see.

Answer 3

Ah, good ol' SF... I lived in the Bay Area most of my life. I'd say visit these places:

Fishermans Wharf (Great tourist area, best clam chowder, and go to Bubba Gumps Restaurant...it's based on the movie "Forrest Gump")
http://www.fishermanswharf.org
www.bubbagump.com

China Town (visit the fortune cookie factory if you can!)
www.sanfranciscochinatown.com

Haight and Ashbury (They are cross streets...all of Haight has great little shops! More of the hippy area back in the day. Visit Amoeba record store...they have new and used movies, records, Cd's, everything! and tons of them!!)
www.haightshop.com

Coit Tower (has a museum and great view of the whole city!) www.inetours.com/Pages/SFNbrhds/Coit_Tower.html

Golden Gate Bridge (for obvious reasons, haha!)

Mission Street (great shopping, but more expensive)

Lombard St. (the most crooked street in the world!)

Ride the trolley! (Something that definitely represents San Francisco!)

There is SO much to see if you haven't been there before! I'd say skip Alcatraz...wasn't the greatest tour. You can see it from Coit tower and the bay bridge anyways. Have fun! If you have any questions, just ask...I go to SF all the time! Have a great time!!!!

Answer 4

If you like shopping, check out the area around Union Square & Powell St. There are a lot of popular shops (i.e. H&M, Gap, Urban Outfitters, Macy's, Neiman's Marcus, Louis Vuitton, FCUK, etc.) and restaurants there.

For sightseeing, visit Pier 39. Definitely get the mini-donuts there & clam chowder.

You can also visit the Metreon & SFMOMA. They have a Titanic exhibit at the Metreon right now.

Check out the cultural communities: Chinatown, Japantown, Little Italy.

If you are into thrift/vintage stores and the hippie lifestyle, visit Haight-Ashbury. They also have a number of cute boutiques if you don't like the idea of secondhand clothes.

If you're in the area during the last weekend of August, check out the San Francisco Fashion Week.

Answer 5

Golden Gate Bridge, Fishermans Wharf, Maritime Museum, Ghirardelli Square, Lombard Street, Collins and Polk Streets.

Can do all in 1 day.

Answer 6

The top places in San Francisco/Bay Area

The Embarcadero
Pier 39
Ghiradelli's Square
Marin Headlands (just across the bridge on the Marin County line)
Golden Gate Park

and don't forget to ride a cable car!

Answer 7

Alcatraz is a great tour. You can actually do Alcatraz and Fisherman's Wharf on the same day, so that is what I would recommend. Have fun!

Answer 8

From SFO airport, take the subway (BART) Downtown. It in elementary terms expenses $5.15 and gets you to Union sq. in approximately half-hour. The BART station is placed next to Concourse G interior the international Terminal. as quickly as Downtown... there are buses, cable autos, trams, trains, and ferries crisscrossing the city and previous. San Francisco has an extremely finished public transportation community. whether you're able to do Wine united states on a guided excursion, utilising Greyhound, or by using a mix of ferry/interior sight buses...I do agree that a condo motor vehicle is in all threat the final thank you to bypass. it's going to supply you the liberty you may extremely come across the section. it extremely is greater helpful to p.c.. up your motor vehicle as you bypass away San Francisco. lots of the vehicle condo chains (which is composed of employer, Thrifty, national, and budget) have garages Downtown.

Answer 9

I did spend only one day in San Fran. Actually, it was 12 hours.

1 hour - in security at airport
1 hour - waiting for shuttle to hotel
1 hour - getting a room that wasn't already occupied (had to try twice) and getting a key that worked (had to try three times)
5 hours sleep
1 hour - waiting for shuttle and going back to airport
3 hours - in security and waiting for flight

So I didn't see much.

Answer 10

see the places that make San Francisco famous for.