San Francisco for 1 week - please advise on best places to see!

[SanFranPam]

Hi there, we have a week in SF and on our list so far is the film tour and Alcatraz. I am getting a bit befuddled with so many things to do 🙃- we want to make the absolute most of the week so any recommendations would be great!
There are 3 of us (me and 2 adult kids) Going early May

Thank you!

The Museum of Modern Art is great. If you have a car and want to drive around the Bay Area, Carmel by the Sea is gorgeous for views and sunsets.

I also really enjoyed the street cars, but don't assume they are going to run on time if you need to use them for transport as opposed to sightseeing. On the wharf, Ghirardelli's is fun - huge queues for straightforward ice cream sundaes but also a sort of chocolate museum/shop. Nice ice cream to eat while looking at the views and the box mix for brownies to take home tastes exactly the same when you mix it up.

Book Alcatraz well in advance. We went to a baseball game if that would interest your adult kids.

My favourite place in San Francisco was the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park.

Another vote for the Japanese Tea Garden. The Walt Disney museum was fascinating - I could have spent hours there.

Boudin Bakery is a super place to eat and you can see the bread being made.
We did a Whale Watching tour. We saw a few grey whales but the best bit was going under the Golden Gate Bridge.
There’s a shop in China Town where you can make your own fortune cookies. That was fun!
If you don’t mind an early start and a late return, it’s totally possible to do a coach trip to Yosemite.

The pier with the sea lions was one of the loveliest things I've ever seen, I could have stood there for hours.

We loved the cable car museum and the Exploratorium (latter may need kids as an excuse!) but were underwhelmed by Alcatraz (flies and crowds) and the Golden Gate Bridge (nice photo, unpleasant walking experience).

Will you have a car? A week is a long time in SF

You can hire bikes and cycle over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito, then take the bikes back on the ferry. You get given maps etc and there are some lovely views (it's a very steep hill down into Sausalito!).

Lombard Street is worth a visit.

https://museemecanique.com/ near Fisherman's Wharf - that's quite entertaining.

https://www.famsf.org/ is good too - it's in Golden Gate Park (which is a lot bigger than it looks)

We had 3 nights there at the start of a California road trip. Apart from Alcatraz and the wharf we did a minbus tour around the city by a company called "Dylan's Tours". The tour guide was great, took us all round the city on a minibus showing us the sights, then off on the Golden Gate Bridge out to Muir Woods to see the Redwoods, then onto Sausalito for lunch which was lovely for a little wander.

We'd definitely go back as didn't manage to see everything we wanted to. Take layers and a windproof jacket even in the height of summer. It can be FREEZING first thing and in the evening when the fog comes in, and it's windy on the water.

There are homeless around, as I'm sure you're aware, and it's a sad indication of the state of the US health services, housing crisis, drugs problems etc. Avoid the Tenderloin area and don't stay out too late after dark and you'll be fine. Hope you won't have a car with you, the city is known for car breakins.

Is it? I had a 6 night holiday to San Francisco without a car booked into 2020. Covid meant it got cancelled, but I had researched what I wanted to do and roughly planned my days, and had no trouble filling the whole time there. OP I'll see if I can dig out my list of what I was planning to do.

Yeah, I don't think i'd want a week there unless I was visiting family/friends. If you have a car, leave it in the hotel car park while you're in the city itself and use public transport or uber to get around. You could venture out of the city in the car up or down the coast. Monterey is a couple of hours away, has a great aquarium and is good for whale watching.

DH and I were just talking the other day about the lunch we had at Greens in San Francisco - we both remember it as one of the best lunches we've had.

We also hired bikes and cycled over the bridge as per PP's recommendation. Alcatraz was more interesting than I was expecting (we went first thing in the morning and it was really quiet).

Alcatraz - strongly advise you book well in advance. Also it can be very cold out there so wrap up warm.

Lombard street - fun and interesting - take a cable car there.

Pier 39 - eat there and some shopping.

Ghiradellis - ice cream

As pp mentioned cycle hire and go across the bridge down to Sausalito , maybe have lunch there and ferry back.
Be aware there’ll be plenty of other with the same idea and dozens and dozens of hire bicycles side by side look the same so remember exactly where you left yours!

As you’re all adults I’d also recommend a wine tour to Napa and Sonoma valleys. We went with extranominical tours including Muir woods first.
The driver also recommended the bar/restaurant at the top of Mark Hopkins hotel for the best panorama. He was right but it is expensive !

We booked the last Alcatraz tour of the day and the ferry out went right around the island first rather than just straight to the landing stage.

Oh wow!

Amazing ideas than you all so much. Will make sure to book Alcatraz early, and looks at "Dylan's Tours"

Lombard street - I forgot that one too

Will have access to a car for some of the days

Fisherman’s wharf
biking over the Golden Gate Bridge
lombard street

If you are unlucky you might end up in the tram museum. I did.

If you have a car there is signposted scenic drive through the town but you will need a passenger to spot the signs for you.

https://www.streetcar.org/

You only need a night or two in SF. It’s not particularly nice. Yosemite and Napa Valley are all in easy reach and much nicer.

Make sure you book Alcatraz months in advance as tickets sell out. The trolley cars are fun and the electric bike tour over the Golden Gate Bridge to Saucilito was excellent. But that’s about it.

Another vote for the Pier/Sealions etc. The other side of the Golden Gate Bridge (Sausalito etc is cool)

Eat sushi - the best sushi I've ever eaten was in San Fran!

Haight Ashbury was over-rated and stank of weed....

I loved it in SF. A particular memory was eating clam chowder from a sourdough before sourdough was EVERYWHERE giant roll whilst waiting for my ferry to Alcatraz on the pier.
I also second Lombard Street and all the tram journeys. I had the best time.
Have fun OP.

Another recommendation for Dylan’s tours. Try to book it early on so that you get a really good understanding of the city, the history and its different districts. You’ll then know where you want to go and explore further and frankly where you can’t. Some parts are shocking …. the drugs / homelessness….there is nothing remotely comparable in Britain. SF is a very left wing city and, for American standards, provide support for vulnerable people so many make their way there from neighbouring states so the numbers are horrific. And some areas simply are not safe. Don’t think it will be ok because it won’t …don’t go there.

As others have said Museum of modern art, pier 39 and the sea lions and clam chowder served in sourdough bread, Alcatraz, river trip under the bridge, Japanese tea garden.

We absolutely loved hiring bikes and cycling to Sausalito and beyond to Tiberon then catching the ferry back. Loved Alcatraz and the Boudin bakery. We loved Bubba Gumps restaurant - was fun.