City Tour
Twin Peaks, Haight Ashbury, Alamo Square, Marina Yacht Harbor, Crissy Field, Golden Gate Bridge, Sausalito, Presidio/Lincoln Park,
Richmond/Ocean Beach, Golden Gate Park
Richmond/Ocean Beach, Golden Gate Park
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Duration: full day
Distance: 36 miles/58 km Getting to Twin Peaks from Union Square: the best route is along Geary Street towards Golden Gate Park. At Van Ness Avenue you have to turn left to continue up to Market Street. Here you make a sharp right turn to merge into Portola Drive. From there make another sharp right turn to drive up Twin Peaks Boulevard. |
After you made a left turn onto Van Ness you pass the Herbst Theatre (at McAllister) followed by the San Francisco Opera and San Francisco Symphony, both located to your right at Grove Street. To your left at the opposite you see San Francisco’s City Hall.
Getting to Twin Peaks from Fisherman's Wharf: I recommend following Hyde Street until you end at Market Street. Turn right and continue on Market Street until it merges into Portola Drive. From Portola Drive make sharp right turn to drive up to Twin Peaks Boulevard. |
1st stop: Twin Peaks
The city’s most beautiful vista point is waiting on top of Twin Peaks. The stunning vantage point covers a panorama running in between Presidio and Golden Gate Bridge to the left and over the South of San Francisco to the right.
Twin Peaks is a great starting point. It gets you an overview of San Francisco before you start driving over the steep inclines and declines. The earlier you reach Twin Peaks the less crowded it will be. In general, the sightseeing busses start unloading their passengers here from 9 am.
In case of coastal fog skip this vista point since you won’t see anything.
2nd stop: Haight Ashbury
From Twin Peaks leave the parking lot towards Clayton Street and Haight Ashbury.
The corner of Haight and Ashbury Street is the famous gathering point of the Love & Peace devotees in the 1960s. Since then the Haight is known as the origin of the hippies. The quarter’s hippie culture is preserved until today. Many shops are still selling bell-bottoms and bohemian wear and the smell of dope is still unmistakable.
Walking down Haigh Street you come across Buena Vista Park. From the top, you have a nice view of the Victorian houses and San Francisco.
3rd stop: Alamo Square
Follow Haight Street to turn left onto Scott Street. Four blocks down the street you reached Alamo Square and the ‘Painted Ladies’. The term 'painted ladies' is used for Victorian buildings painted in more than 3 colors. The Steiner Row became a famous sight in the city because the houses appeared in several visitor brochures, ads, movies, and TV shows. From the top of Alamo Square, you have the best view over the row of houses (built between 1892 and 1896) and its colorful facades. If the sky is clear you also have a postcard view over the city’s skyline.
Parking can be difficult here, so start looking for a lot early.
Should come here close to lunchtime consider walking down Hayes Street for four blocks to the center of Hayes Valley. The residential area is known for many small and very good restaurants, bars and shops. A selection of restaurants is listed under ‘Restaurants’ and shopping tips at ‘Shopping’.
Follow Haight Street to turn left onto Scott Street. Four blocks down the street you reached Alamo Square and the ‘Painted Ladies’. The term 'painted ladies' is used for Victorian buildings painted in more than 3 colors. The Steiner Row became a famous sight in the city because the houses appeared in several visitor brochures, ads, movies, and TV shows. From the top of Alamo Square, you have the best view over the row of houses (built between 1892 and 1896) and its colorful facades. If the sky is clear you also have a postcard view over the city’s skyline.
Parking can be difficult here, so start looking for a lot early.
Should come here close to lunchtime consider walking down Hayes Street for four blocks to the center of Hayes Valley. The residential area is known for many small and very good restaurants, bars and shops. A selection of restaurants is listed under ‘Restaurants’ and shopping tips at ‘Shopping’.
4th stop: Marina
From Hayes Valley continue to the Marina. Take Fulton Street up to Filmore Street and make a left. On your way, you will pass Japantown and later Cow Hollow - both very diverse neighborhoods with many restaurants, event venues, and shops.
Follow Filmore up to the end to Marina Boulevard. On the other side of the street is San Francisco’s yacht harbor. Park the car and
walk towards Crissy Field for a beautiful vantage point over the Bay and Golden Gate Bridge. Afterward, make a detour to the the Palace of Fine Arts.
The Palace of Fine Arts was built in 1915 for the Panama Pacific International Exposition and is the only building that was kept.
You might recognize the building from movies like Vertigo, The Rock, and TV shows like Monk and The Streets of San Francisco. The best way to explore Palace of Fine Arts is by taking the loop trail starting to your right or left. Take a great photo from the duck pond in front of the building.
Walk back to Marina Blvd, cross the street, and continue straight towards the Bay.
5th stop: Crissy Field (http://www.parksconservancy.org/our-work/crissy/)
At the end of Yacht Boulevard, you see stairs that lead into the Bay. This is a great vantage point over Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and Sausalito, the small village on the other side of the Bay. The red-colored rocks along the beach are debris from the big earthquake in 1906.
Crissy Field is a great opportunity to stretch your legs and have a nice panorama over Golden Gate Bridge. At the beginning of the path, you have the ‘Crissy Field Visitor Center’ where you can gain more information about its history and development. Moreover, the center sells nice souvenirs if you need some presents for family and friends.
The lawn to your left was a former runway of the Presidio Army Base. The old Presidio buildings are lined on top of the hill to your left. Today, many of them are used for commercial and residential purposes. From the Presidio hills, you have wonderful views over the Bay, the Pacific and of course Golden Gate Bridge.
Warming Hut
At the end of Crissy Field, you come across the Warming Hut. The café sells delicious snacks and has a small souvenir shop with outlandish gifts. For a nice view of San Francisco’s skyline, I recommend to entering the pier in front of the Warming Hut.
Fort Point – (http://www.nps.gov/fopo/) – check their website for hours
From the Warming Hut, you can see Fort Point in the far. During winter and spring, this area of the Bay turns into a popular surf spot.
Fort Point was a former deterrence to naval attacks in California. Today a small exhibition informs about the life of the army officers and soldiers in the Fort and shows uniforms, furniture, and more from the time of the civil war.
The best vantage point over Golden Gate Bridge is from the roof.
At the Fort's exit is a tiny box collecting donations to keep the Fort open to the public. If you can spare some money I think it’s worth to support them.
Return to your car.
6th stop: Golden Gate Bridge
From Yacht Boulevard turn into Doyle Drive (Highway Bridge) to enter the ramp to Golden Gate Bridge directly.
Golden Gate Bridge was built from 1933 to 1937 after long disputes with the Department of War and the Southern Pacific Railroad. One party was concerned that the bridge would affect the ship traffic; the other was afraid of losing its monopoly in transportation.
There are no records of how many people worked on the Golden Gate Bridge. However, eleven men died during the construction and 19 were saved by a safety net that was running from one side to the other. Those guys were nicknamed the ‘Halfway-to-Hell-Club’.
Driving out of San Francisco you are not charged any toll fees for bridges but coming back you have to pay - how this works I explain later. At the bridge’s other end you will see a vista point to your right, perfect for bikers but since you are driving with your car there are more spectacular outlooks coming up later. First follow me to Sausalito.
Take HWY1/101 north and exit at Marin City. At the end of the exit continue straight (please do not turn right onto N Bridge Boulevard) along Bridgeway. Pass the harbor and houseboats that are typical for Sausalito before you get to Sausalito’s center. Pass the center to park along the waterfront promenade (Bridgeway).
7th stop: Sausalito
Sausalito is a picturesque small seacoast village with beautiful homes that are lined along rolling hills. Its center is packed with tiny souvenir shops, boutiques, and restaurants. From the long waterfront promenade, visitors have stunning views towards San Francisco.
Leave the seacoast village by following Bridgeway to its end. Make a right onto Richardson Street and an immediate left onto 2nd Street. Continue on South Street that becomes Alexander Avenue. Make a right onto Conzelman Road and stay right to reach the next stop: the Golden Gate Bridge Vista Point.
8th stop: Golden Gate Bridge Vista Point
From Conzelman Road you have jaw-dropping views over the Bay. First, stay right to reach the highest lookout over Golden Gate Bridge. Finish the scenic view with a stop next to the old fortification. Walk down the path that passes the fortification to the vantage point that is located above the bridge.
9th stop: Presido/Lincoln Park
From Conzelman Road head back to Highway 1/101 and cross Golden Gate Bridge to return to the city. This time you have to pay a toll fee. Since all toll booths are closed since March 2013 you have to pay the fee online in advance, within 72 hours: http://www.goldengate.org/tolls/ or in advance with your car rental company. Have your credit card and license plate ready for the purchase.
Stay at the far right because you have you turn right into Merchant Road immediately after the tollbooth.
By making the turn you will explore the other side of Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Make another turn at the first possibility and follow Lincoln Blvd.
Just behind the intersection of Merchant Road and Lincoln Blvd enter a small parking lot that is marked with the sign ‘Vista Point’ and walk up to the cliff edge. From there you have another stunning view over Golden Gate Bridge.
Back on the road turn right twice at Bowley Road, which gets you to Baker Beach. This beach is also very popular during sunset.
Back on Bowley Road turn left or right to return to Lincoln Boulevard. At Lincoln turn right and continue through the Presidio neighborhood, the secondary residence of many Hollywood stars.
Down the road, you will bump into a golf course fairway to your right. This is the 17th hole of the Lincoln Park Golf Course. Park here for another opportunity to take pictures of Golden Gate Bridge. Plus, the Lands End Trail trailhead is located here.
Lands End Trail goes down to Ocean Beach and the Cliff House. It is a 4-mile roundtrip and I would only recommend it if you have enough energy and time left and love to hike since there are some steep inclines on the trail.
Back at the car continue the tour to the North where Lincoln Boulevard becomes El Camino del Mar and ends at California Palace of the Legion of Honor (art museum). Make a left and drive down 34th Street to Geary Street and the Richmond (neighborhood).
10th stop: Richmond/Ocean Beach/Golden Gate Park
Leaving the Presidio you enter Richmond, a neighborhood with Asian, Eastern European, and Arabian influences. Here you find a variety of international restaurants and supermarkets.
One of the most colorful supermarkets is New May Wah at 707-709 Clement Street. You will find spices from all over the world at Haig's Delicacies, 642 Clement Street, and next door a Hawaiian place that offers traditional Hawaiian fare for the hungry.
If you want to skip this neighborhood make a right into Geary Street and follow the street to the ocean and the famous Cliff House. The Cliff House is one of the oldest restaurants in California and located at Ocean Beach.
The Cliff House had to be rebuilt five times since it fell victim to bad construction, fires, and an explosion. Its Sutro Bar and Restaurant opens nice views over the shore, in particular during sunset. While all people are heading to the upper floor I recommend the lower floor since it is less busy. http://www.cliffhouse.com/.
Stone throws away is the entrance of Golden Gate Park. Take John F Kennedy Drive to the left. The Dutch windmill at the entrance was built in 1903 to water the park. The Wilhelmina tulip garden in front was a present to the city from Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. Continuing JFK Drive you will reach the Chain of Lakes Drives, which is located next to the bison paddock on your left. If you are really really lucky they will wait for you behind the fence but honestly: usually they are hanging around in the far back of their compound. I recommend bringing binoculars.
Please note: if the JFK Drive is temporarily closed use the Martin Luther King Jr Drive (south of JFK Drive).
After passing Park Cross Overdrive you should look for parking if you are planning to visit Stow Lake, the Japanese Tea Garden, the De Young Museum or the California Academy of Science.
Stow Lake is the largest lake in the park and visitors can rent pedal and rowing boats to explore it if they do not want to walk along the lakeshore.
The Japanese Tea Garden was originally built as a Japanese Village in 1894 for the Californian Midwinter International Exposition. The beautiful landscape contains ponds, koi fishes, Japanese monuments, flowers, and plants.
The De Young Museum (contemporary modern art) and the California Academy of Science (natural history museum incl. an aquarium, planetarium, and rain forest) are amazing museums and worth a visit but you have to allow at least 2 hrs each. More details are available under http://deyoung.famsf.org/ and http://www.calacademy.org/.
Leaving the park you now could consider:
To watch the sunset at Ocean Beach and later have dinner at one of the great restaurants in Marina/Cow Hollow.
To head back to Hayes Valley to try out the restaurants in this charming neighborhood.
Or to drive one of the steepest streets in San Franciso: Filbert Street. Take HWY 1/Park Presidio Blvd to Golden Gate Bridge and make a right into California Street. Follow California to Hyde Street and make a left. From Hyde turn right onto Filbert and stop before you descend.
Recommendations for dinner in all areas are listed under ‘Restaurants’.