Top Things to See & Do in San Francisco! (full travel guide)

[@alysmalls]

Thanks for watching! Here's everything I mentioned in the video 👇 ► MY HOTEL The Alton Hotel (where we stayed): plannin.com/hotel/44582b58-24cc-4963-b501-ae481a88d01e?refId=alysmalls ► PLANNING GUIDES My SF travel planning cheat sheet: docs.google.com/document/d/1z1Kzv7pxBFmHI6wRAbRQ5KuAcl0DZU6mPE_hoGDT_Qs/edit?usp=sharing My blog: likewhereyouregoing.com/things-to-do-in-san-francisco-for-first-timers/ ► TOURS Painted Lady House guided tour: viator.tp.st/Q1cQm2Ke Volkswagen Bus City Tour: viator.tp.st/DDaoSEfL Chinatown Walking Food Tour: viator.tp.st/BHYgHXcB Little Italy Walking Tour: viator.tp.st/SZaw369B Wine Country Day Trip: viator.tp.st/i7ajEUmN My backpack: amzn.to/4coiQsS *this video is not sponsored - we paid for everything: flights, hotel, tours, all food, etc!

[@Pegasus-wx4qd]

Thanks for an amazing through recommendations, will be checking out some of these gems on my next return trip to SFO soon.

[@pytube777]

As a native San Franciscan, the SF tourism bureau should showcase this video in their promotions. It truly captures the essence of our beautiful city! Amazingly done.

[@CanuckTony]

I’m from Vancouver Canada and LOVE, Vancouver, Montreal and San Fransisco (oh San Diego too).

[@CanuckTony]

And Oregon coast. Hwy 101!

[@marlonburden3117]

I love the Bay

[@markcummings3146]

We visdited San Francisco in 2023 as a lay over on route to Hawaii from England. We loved it, felt much more European culturally than other places in America, We also had fog when we cross the Golden Gate bridge on the way to see the Sequia trees.

[@mybrkly]

This is by far one of the best travel vlogs of "The City!" I'm so tired of all of the negative news I hear about San Francisco, when there is so much more to love about this place. It looks like you timed your visit well, as it looks like you got good weather. Thank you.❤

[@kek3908]

It's a dump, literally a urine and feces filled hell hole.

[@RichardDaly51]

Thank you I lived here all my life 67 yrs Great video you did a great Job

[@sanfranciscobay]

Views of the San Francisco Bay Bridge are very spectacular from the Embarcadero Road. The Twisted The MIRA Tower. The Sales Force Tower is the tallest building in San Francisco and has a nice roof top Park on top of the Bus Station, next to it is the leaning and tilting Millennium Tower. Fort Point on the West side of the Golden Gate Bridge.

[@marcydrake9159]

Just got the biggest grin when you said that if the fog didn’t block your view you didn’t really visit San Francisco. Yes! That’s exactly right, Karl is part of the package. So glad to see you enjoying my favorite city on the planet. ❤ 🌁

[@Ronydoo-yv2hs]

Favorite city on the planet?😂 it's a dump in reality, and I work here every day to see how bad it is. Especially with homelessness and crime. You have NO idea... 😂

[@alysmalls]

something endearing about Karl for sure!

[@josephc9694]

We live here in the San Francisco Bay Area and frequent the city all the time and we have watched many videos of SF. This was one of the best ones we have seen! You nailed pretty much all the main places to check out. Great Job!!!

[@alysmalls]

Aw thanks!

[@marcydrake9159]

Yep, I’m a local and I second this! You did a great job planning your trip! 👏👏👏

[@Ronydoo-yv2hs]

Yes, but please visit the tenderloin area and then market street to see how bad it is to visit here. All you see is homelessness and mutants. This video cut off many spots and gave the reason san franciscois in a decline today.

[@allandsouza5153]

Hey Aly made it till the last of ur video 20:54 it was an amazing time watching it love the way u present the things one day definitely to visit san francisco ❤

[@thatonegirlelaine]

I'm going to San Francisco on a business trip in April. I lived near Edwards AFB as a kid and my Uncle Joe and his wife and cousins were stationed at Presidio. We went to visit them in 1979. I was 11 and we went across the Golden Gate Bridge and walked along Fisherman's Wharf. I remember it was a full moon and there was this guy walking around in vampire garb. That's not so shocking now, but in 1979 it was for a little girl from Colorado. I'm so excited to go back! I'm into knitting, crocheting, fountain pens and cooking. I'm going to a couple yarn stores, a Japanese stationary store, and Bernal Cutlery. I'm super excited!

[@macvince2012]

Great video. I'm a Bay Area native, but I've never tried many of the places. Now you've got my curiosity going.

[@alexwallace6120]

Wow! Great video. San Francisco is my Favorite California city. I lived in California for 12 yrs ,and for 8 yrs. a 3 hour drive north of San Francisco. You covered so many, places and some yet to visit like Chinatown, The Haight-Asbuyr,and Ghirardelli Square. I do love golden Gate Parkbank the Castro. The public transportation wonderful, and affordable. I liked those VW bug buses looked cool, the Wheo is interesting. You reminded that dislike Irish coffee, as I don't like the whisky. Take care. Thanks.

[@sbdrummer615]

Dude, I’m going to San Francisco soon and I’ve been doing tons of research on blogs and vlogs, and yours is by far the most well laid-out travel guide. I plan on following in your footsteps steps almost to a T!! lol thank you so much for putting in the time and effort to make this!!

[@alysmalls]

Thanks for watching! This one was fun to make.

[@RickJaeger]

massive cred for shouting out Musee Mechanique. What with Playland-Not-At-The-Beach closed down, it's one of the last places left preserving the old time entertainment machines in the Bay, and it's totally underrated.

[@crunknavajo]

Nice, I'm going next week for 5 day's... can't wait

[@earlgelenbrecht5973]

Very nice video. Thanks for the tips.

[@elsawaters97]

My husband and I lived in California most of our lives and visited San Francisco 100's of times. You did the city justice and even told us about one place we had never heard of (Yoda Statue). Great video.

[@hrussell9677]

Great video of the most beautiful city in the U.S. and among the top 5 in the world.

[@kim2hawaii1]

Visited SFO in late Mar 24, we found the city safe . There were visible police presence and tourist ambassadors at all the tourist locations. We parked our car at the Ellis O’Farell garage and there was no issues. We drove all round the city including Sausalito, and we felt safe. The sad part is the closures of many businesses at the touristy points incl Chinatown . Other than in the Tenderloin the homeless issues are overblown .

[@theo9976]

Aly, don’t give into the haters. You did a great job showcasing the beauty of the city. It looks like the weather smiled on you during your stay!

[@modembuddy]

Love that you loved my city! Always fun seeing people's take on it and glad you two had a great time.

[@HayagitaranHayastan]

I fell in love with San Francisco, such a wonderful city! ❤🌉 I've also filmed videos and shared them on my KZbin channel. 🎥☺️

[@luxgea_w]

Thanks for the tips, excellent video, regards

[@andrewpettola6097]

Yes, yes, yes!!! The San Francisco video! I spent a lot of time in San Francisco in the 1990s and early-2000s. Your video brings back sooo many good memories. I've experienced everything you and Chris did on your trip! My two favorite neighborhoods are North Beach (I'm Italian) and the Haight (I was born in 1967, just a coincidence my parent tell me). Although, I can honestly say I loved every part of that city! You're right about Pier 39, though. You can walk through it once and just say you've been there! And what can I say about wine country?! I do prefer Sonoma, though St. Helena up in Napa is beautiful, too. I could go on!!!

[@Ronydoo-yv2hs]

The problem is that it changed for the worst. It's not looking good now. This video skipped a lot of areas that are bad around. It's a declining city.

[@alysmalls]

I hear you! It was so hard not to make this video 2 hours long with all the amazing places ❤

[@BradDSchwartz]

Very well done 👏👏👏

[@JBoy340a]

What a great video. As someone that lives 30 miles from the City, I learned about a lot of new places to try next time I am there. Thanks!

[@robertforman3494]

Should have mentioned the Walt Disney Family Museum in the Presidio. It is, as its name suggests, family Disney, not corporate Disney. It is a very worthwhile stop for any fan of old time Disney and it’s fun to see the many Academy Awards on display. The special Academy Award for Snow Whit features a regular sized Oscar along with 7 small ones! Also on display is his Presidential Medal of Freedom. Really cool. There is lots to see in the museum and you could easily spend a couple of hours in it.

[@GAILUTEVADOPALAITE-bm1cy]

Thanks for a great video and info❤ l love San Francisco and like visit it

[@antwanjones6048]

Just got from San Fran today and can't wait to go back. I really loved your take on the city. There's always something new to explore there every time I've gone. I also ended my trip with some In N' Out lol. Thanks for all the great tips.

[@sergioangel8362]

Super professionally constructed. Excellent job!

[@guarescarodriguez3094]

I come from like 15 other videos and this is the best one!!

[@gavinnorman1841]

Great video. We going there this week from UK. Very useful tips. Thanks!

[@juliettosterhaus54]

I absolutely loved your video! We are in San Francisco right now and your information helped us with our exploring of the city! Especially seeing the old arcade at Fishermen’s Warf. I also, had a fan girl moment with the Full House location. Cheers!

[@clstravel]

Just back from San Fran... OMG....... We loved it so much.......

[@dianaj3139]

I was forced to have a "lay-over" in San Francisco due to flight changes coming back to the NW from Central America... We ended up turning it into a 4 day stay after finding we loved the hotel near the bay and the walk about areas were wonderful with morning joggers, small shops and restaurants, Perfect weather and no obvious homeless or drug use, although we didn't go out much after dark... LOVED the Weather!!

[@alysmalls]

Love this!

[@banderson1979]

SO happy you showed Waymo.

[@mcnater]

Great recap! I just did all of this and more with my kids maybe four years ago and we had a blast.

[@Pattymelt415]

Thanks for a great tour of my City!! ❤

[@russellmacarthur2089]

Great video, best I've seen of several, Chris is a lucky guy! We leave on Monday.

[@MovingToMexiCo]

Beautiful video as always! 🍻

[@alysmalls]

Gracias!

[@sanfranciscobay]

20:25 Shows the Hyde Street Pier and the Balclutha. Balclutha, also known as Star of Alaska, Pacific Queen, or Sailing Ship Balclutha, is a steel-hulled full-rigged ship that was built in 1886. She is representative of several different commercial ventures, including lumber, salmon, and grain. She is a U.S. National Historic Landmark and is currently preserved at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park in San Francisco, California. She was added to the National Register of Historic Places on 7 November 1976.

[@markkitaoka8783]

I've lived here for 39 years after moving from LA where I grew up. Even to this day I find The City a magical place. Worked on Alcatraz for three months, got to spend the night in one of the Birdman's two cells, D Block on the third floor is where I slept. Went down to the dungeon below the main cell block. And yes I have experienced things I cannot explain. You've covered many of the sights to see. I love Angel Island, spent many nights there too.

[@Jeannified]

FANTASTIC video! So many gems! Makes me want to go back soon! Will definitely have to try Scoma’s!

[@seanobrien2306]

Hi, Aly and Chris...; I haven't been to San Francisco in forty ( 40 ) years ! ! * This excellent video was refreshing... * Brought back a lot of MEMORIES ! ! * Excellent video and very informative and "Thank you" for sharing the video ! ! Excellent video... * Aly..., you are bright, intelligent, and attractive... "Semper Fi" Mike in Montana :)

[@alysmalls]

Thanks for watching!

[@seanobrien2306]

@@alysmalls Hi, Aly..., One of the best videos that I have seen on San Francisco in a long, long time ! ! * Brought back good ( MEMORIES ) of San Francisco ! ! * "Thank you, Aly and Chris ! !" Mike in Montana :)

[@EverydayHolly]

Loved this! The best SF video I have seen! Thank you!

[@bibivazquez3160]

Wow! What a beautiful video! Hi from Puerto Rico!😊

[@peters6454]

Great video of SF!

[@digitaldemonic1]

Great video we were there last week, stayed at the same hotel and did many of the same things. I would also recommend for people to get go city passes and go the the museums in the park, as well as the exploratorium.

[@Trutoke]

While you're there, be sure to visit the famous Fisherman's Wharf Ruins.

[@ericl5512]

I have lived near San Francisco my entire life and you really hit all of the best spots! This is the best video I have seen great work 👍

[@classik_vip]

Amazing review, makes me want to explore my own backyard some more.

[@henryluka361]

Thanks Aly, this is a great vid!

[@TheNobleExile]

Check out "The Willows" in San Francisco. Nice spot

[@eeffocian88]

Reminds me of the good memories of my visit in 2022. Thank you!

[@deepintheheartoftexas7915]

We always fly in early so we can hang out at the Buena Vista before our room is ready. 🙂 we also like to buy the Irish coffees to go and walk down the hill, sit in the grass and people watch. Another fun thing to do (we do this nearly everywhere we travel) is go on one of those ghost walk tours. Kind of goofy, but the story telling is always great, and you learn so much unknown history of the neighborhoods, etc. so fun!

[@ksr1991]

Excellent info on SF thank you!

[@johnnyquist8362]

Great video. I've lived here since 1964 and would never imagine being anywhere else. I enjoyed your presentation, but it included Only the obvious tourist places. There is so much more that you ignored. Good photography. Good narration.

[@badboyblue9675]

Great short review you did the city justice The city is great and if you know where to go you can completely avoid all the crazies I live here and there are many places to go and some to avoid like any big city

[@cyrildeidda9324]

Hi, I saw that you did a lot of shots with a drone, what are the restrictions on drones in SF?

[@DeanRockwell21]

Thumbs up for the Sideways reference 😂😂😂😂

[@whitejade1000]

Great review on my favorite city, the City by the Bay 🌁💕

[@ngdoug]

As a native San Franciscan, this was one of the best videos I've seen about visiting San Francisco.

[@larsbars99]

no golden gate park

[@blancacruz1188]

Great Information

[@kevinh573]

Great job guys. 33 years still living in SF!

[@irishledden4924]

NOBODY "lives" in Frisco.

[@jeffmurata4287]

i was born and raised in San Francisco and i've never lived anywhere else. i sometimes wonder why people like to come here. thanks for reminding me!!

[@andrearuizdebustamante6550]

Hi! I’m so happy to see you had a lot of fun in my city! I loved the way you put all the sights and places you popped into 😊. You even went into some eateries I didn’t even know about. So I’ll be checking your list. 😅The next time you come to visit stop Panadería La Mexicana Bakery near the corner of 24th and York streets to grab some Mexican bread, there are others but I’m a little biased because my grandfather worked there when they moved to San Francisco in the late 50’s from Mexico and we always get bread from there to this day. There are a few restaurants where you can try different Latin country foods. Saludos!

[@Gaurav.P0]

Beautiful information ❤

[@ruthmclean5116]

Ally, this is an excellent travel vlog! Your editing is phenomenal! I registered with Plannin because of one of your previous vlogs. It’s really useful. Question: where did you get your cute backpack?

[@alysmalls]

Thank you! I got my backpack from Amazon: amzn.to/4coiQsS (looks like it's on sale lol)

[@Westleymiller1343]

I enjoy san fran, though heres a kinda fun fact. The palace of fine arts is actually from the 1960s, because the original was demoloshed because it wasnt built to last

[@tvd1188]

Aly - I enjoyed this guide. As a frequent visitor to the bay area over the past two decades, i think this is a great start for newbies visiting SF. However, I think you missed on three key things. First - You didnt discuss public transit (I dont count the cable cars). The bay area has wonderful transit, with direct connections to SFO and OAK. Its easy to reload your clipper card on your phone (with access to MUNI, BART, AC Transit and more). . Also, the vintage street cars along the Embarcadero are a must ride! Each car is painted in vintage colors, running between fishermans wharf, downtown and the castro. Theres also a cool trolley museum across from the Ferry Building market place. Secondly, speaking of the Castro.. You guys left off two of my must see neighborhoods in SF. The Castro is a cool and funky area that is world famous for its LGBTQ+ community. Even if you are not part of that group, its a great place to visit with cool shops, theatres, etc. A very colorful area. The other is the Mission District. Its a little more rough around the edges these days but IMHO its home to the best mexican food in the US. I think its better than anything in So Cal. Plus loads of cool bars too. Lastly, you didnt mention any other spots outside of the San Fran proper except wine country. The bay area is big with lots of things to see (and easy to get to via BART), but I always recommend Berkley along/near the telegraph ave area. Home to the original Amoeba records, and the campus of UC Berkley is right there. And also, downtown Oakland. I know Oakland gets a bad rap, but the downtown area is a super up-and-coming area. Cool restaurants, funky bars, brewerys, etc. Theres the Oakland Ale trail, (some faves, Drakes and Two Pitchers brewing) and some great beer gardens too! Would love to see another video going into these spots!

[@alysmalls]

Thanks for watching! Would have loved to do a million more things, but can only do & see so much in 6 days!! That just means we have to go back hehe. Stay tuned 😊

[@tvd1188]

@@alysmalls awesome, lets hope so!!

[@thecleaningteacher638]

One of my most terrifying travel experiences was riding in a taxi in San Francisco. The Waymo is blowing my mind…I can’t imagine getting around the city without a human! 😮

[@Larch_Lane_Puppies]

Headed down for the long weekend end of Sept. Love your cheat sheet. I've been searching for a "how to do it on Transit." We plan on getting 3 day metro passes, which include the cable cars! We will have to get the Waymo for something, though. Very cool.

[@CramerGallimore]

Interesting film shots. Glad you added drone footage, perfect spot for it. Which one did you carry?

[@addy088]

Loved the video :) but the photography is also amaizing, is it analogic?

[@neutrino78x]

Great video! I grew up in Silicon Valley and still live here....contrary to popular belief, SF is actually not part of Silicon Valley. It's a colloquialism for Santa Clara County, which is an hour south of San Francisco either driving or on Caltrain (it's part of the Bay Area; it touches the south shore of the San Francisco Bay). San Francisco is a great city!!🙂 A couple things I don't see mentioned are the Exploratorium and the Napa Valley Wine Train! The latter takes you on a journey to several different wineries for wine tasting, and it's a train. I haven't done it, as I don't drink, but I hear it is good. 🙂 Exploratorium, along with the California Academy of Science and Alcatraz, are basically required field trips for kids growing up in the Bay Area, but I still go to the California Academy of Sciences and the Exploratorium as an adult! It's a mix of science museum and art gallery! You guys were really close...it's on Pier 15!! Both of those places, California Academy of Sciences and the Exploratorium, have adult-only night on Thursday night where alcohol is served, and there's usually a science lecture too. Should be noted, the world class public transit system is one of the things the Bay Area is known for. The cable cars are kept for historical purposes, but locals use "muni" -- the public transit internal to SF, consisting of an extensive network of buses as well as electric trains, and BART, Bay Area Rapid Transit, which is a regional subway. BART not going north to Napa was a big political fight -- BART thought that the golden gate bridge could handle the weight, but the Bridge District claimed it could not, plus they claimed it would ruin the aesthetics of the bridge lol. There's a train on the other side though, called SMART. And there's a bus across the bridge, as well as a ferry that takes you from SF to Sausalito, takes 30 minutes. I'm 46 and don't know how to drive, because of the great transit system in the Bay Area. Another important thing with food, The Bay Area is home to five restaurants that have Three Michelin Stars! In SF itself, you have Benu, Quince, and Artelier Crenn. In the North Bay (across the GG bridge), you have French Laundry in Yountville and SingleThread, in Healdsberg. The only other Three Michelin Star Restaurant in California is Addison, in San Diego! Three Michelin Stars means it's the best food in the world. There are 30 in France which have earned this distinction, and the USA ties for 4th in terms of the number of Three Star Restaurants; both Italy and the USA have 13. 🙂All these places are 300 USD/plate, but according to the French, it's the best possible food experience you could have anywhere. 🙂

[@Larch_Lane_Puppies]

Plan on getting the Muni pass for the three days for visiting! Just searching for a cheat sheet on how to see everything via transit! Haven't been to SFO for 17 years but I was born in Alameda County and my mom used to live on the corner of Castro and Jersey!

[@jjenner3002]

Super film, kolejka wyglada zapraszajaco. Moze kiedys uda sie odwiedzic 😊x

[@NatureConnection-zn4jw]

I love SF ❤

[@raloufen4292]

You did a great job

[@u2ten]

Oh yeah!!! In N out! 😋

[@tylerclarkwiestproductions]

"Hell yeah dude" You're officially a Californian now😊

[@animalactions5111]

Such a beautiful video well done. Somehow you guys avoided all of the homelessness and filth of the city and no one mentions it in the comments.

[@MiaOne96]

Great ❤

[@GummyCandy4Life]

Did you mention how long you were there? Looks like a lot of ground to cover and I’d only have 5-6 days.

[@alysmalls]

5 days + 2 days in Napa/Sonoma

[@dogsense3773]

Was in san Francisco for two weeks! Fox news lies alot about this city, it was great!

[@irishledden4924]

Sure it was.

[@gardenofe12]

Do you need an app to book the no driver car and what app is it and was it worth it ?? I’d be sooo scared with no driver. How safe is it ??!!

[@CmoneyLos209]

Nice video ! I just came from SF today I go often to hang out and do DoorDash !

[@asullivan4047]

Spent quality time in (SF) last century.🤗. No plans of ever returning.

[@joetrumble9216]

You did a vid a while back about why you recommended a level8 carry on. I think it was the black one and you even gave a code we could use on the level8 site. I can’t seem to find it.

[@BarakaeliLawuo]

Great guide Aly, Did y'all need a permit to get the drones shots ?

[@sajjadnasiri746]

❤

[@waleedalagele4389]

good Job 👏

[@rochellenatasha]

What camera do you use? The photos you show on here are lovely

[@alysmalls]

The stills are all film! Chris is using an old Canon AV-1 with a 50mm f1.8 lens and Fuji200 film.

[@00SilverWolf]

What is the difference between the walking chinatown tour and the food tour? And did you combine the two tours on the same day?

[@Kertbob-yu6dw]

I actually have never seen Golden Gate Bridge in person drove over it though. that time I was asleep though in the car.

[@peter-pg5yc]

i went for the bridge walk and lunch but all my fav eateries are long gone.

[@chandrakantpatel5459]

❤❤❤❤In our India capital cities are not states but there is no such structure what a beautiful environment roads and buildings and also how wonderful gardens are wonderful America I love so much even though I am an Indian...so much advanced infrastructure only because of advanced civilizations It is up to you to maintain it for generations and centuries. I wish I could also be a part of living in this great country. I have a very important dream that my entire small family is in a great country like America and among its great citizens. You have done a very beautiful videography by Jeevan Prasad. Very nice work. Thank you very much.

[@Qthepug]

You went to all the old 1980 touristy places in San Francisco. Everything is East of Fisherman’s Warf not West. Suburban types with You Tube channels always go to the same old places. The rest of the city is much better (except for the Civic Center Tenderloin area) Just look at the skyline for new development.

[@TheLewistownTrainspotter8102]

If you can encounter Adrian Monk, it's worth it. You'll thank me later. 😉

[@MichaelReibke]

Cool

[@sanmann57]

You guys should of took waymo on the crooked street😂

[@chris_talls]

No way, I wanted to drive it! 😎

[@sauce1478]

All the sf tourist traps ,lol