Several years ago, I lived in California for a little more than a year and one of my favorite locations to visit was Fisherman's Wharf. There is so much to see and do! Food and beverage is a centric part of any travel experience no matter where you are, and San Francisco is a hotspot of producing world-renowned wines! If you've never experienced dim sum, there's no better place in California to try it than San Francisco. Despite what you may think, not all of the best dim sum is in Chinatown. All over the city, you will find restaurants that are serving traditional dim sum in new ways. From old-school parlors who are passing dumplings around on a cart to upscale eateries who are pushing the boundaries, dim sum is a staple in the city's food scene!
𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐚'𝐬 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝟏 is known for its 450+ miles of stunning coastal views from Los Angeles to San Francisco. If you're just passing through and get hungry during your drive, there are no shortage of places to eat. Along the coast, you'll find plenty of restaurants serving up local dishes with a spectacular view!
𝐒𝐚𝐧 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚'𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐚, 𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐝-𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬. The city is home to many iconic landmarks, including the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island with history dating back to the California Gold Rush. To help make sure you don't miss a thing, I've compiled the ten must-see sights in San Francisco:
Palace of Fine Arts - 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒔 𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒐𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒍! Built for the 1915 World’s Fair, the Palace of Fine Arts features a classical Roman rotunda that is situated beside a traditional European-Style lagoon.
Chinatown - 𝑺𝒂𝒏 𝑭𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐'𝒔 𝑪𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑨𝒔𝒊𝒂 . The Gold Rush brought many Chinese immigrants to the city in the 1840s. By the time the gold had run out, a thriving community was established.
Alamo Square - 𝒀𝒐𝒖’𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒄 𝒔𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒍𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒗 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝑺𝒂𝒏 𝑭𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐. Alamo Square is a residential neighborhood and park that is best known for the famous Painted Ladies, which are a row of colorfully painted Victorian houses set against the backdrop of downtown.
Transamerica Pyramid - 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝑩𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝑵𝒆𝒘 𝒀𝒐𝒓𝒌, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂 𝑷𝒚𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒅 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝑺𝒂𝒏 𝑭𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐 . Completed in 1972, the building is located in the heart of the financial district, and at 853-feet tall, it is still the tallest building in San Francisco.
Lombard Street - 𝑯𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 "𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅" Lombard Street is another one of San Francisco’s many iconic locations. Sitting at a 27% incline, Lombard Street features eight tight turns to help cars safely navigate down the road.
Golden Gate Park - 𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒇𝒖𝒏 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒐𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒔, 𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒂 𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒏𝒊𝒄 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝑮𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝑮𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒌. The park is roughly 20% larger than New York's Central Park, which means there is plenty to do. The park is home to museums, lakes, carousels, windmills, bison, and even a Japanese tea garden.
Cable Cars - 𝑺𝒂𝒏 𝑭𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐’𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒔. The world-famous cars date back to 1873 and were built sturdy enough to survive the earthquake of 1906 that destroyed most of the city. The cars run on three lines in the steep streets of downtown between Market Street and Fisherman’s Wharf.
Alcatraz - 𝑱𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒂𝒏 𝑭𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐 𝒃𝒂𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒚 𝑨𝒍𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒛 𝑰𝒔𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅. As early as the 1840s, "The Rock" served as a military prison before becoming a maximum-security prison. There were 36 failed attempts to escape Alcatraz in the history of the prison. Some of the country’s most famous gangsters called Alcatraz home, including George "Machine-Gun" Kelly, Alvin Karpis and Al Capone.
Fisherman’s Wharf - 𝑭𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏’𝒔 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒇 𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑺𝒂𝒏 𝑭𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐’𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒑𝒐𝒑𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔. The wharf is filled with shops selling fun knick-knacks and restaurants serving up everything from Dungeness crab to sourdough bread. The wharf is best known for being home to Pier 39, a 45-acre waterfront complex filled with restaurants, shops, with perfect views of the bay.
Golden Gate Bridge - 𝑭𝒆𝒘 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝑮𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝑩𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒈𝒆. When it was completed in 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge spanned 4,200 feet, making it the longest suspension bridge in the world. A trip across the Golden Gate Bridge will take you from the city of San Francisco to Marin County, where you can find incredible views of the city and bay below.
𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣 𝙖 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙥 𝙩𝙤 𝙎𝙖𝙣 𝙁𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙤? 𝘾𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙧 𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙡 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙧 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙘𝙞𝙩𝙮!
𝓒𝓪𝓻𝓸𝓵
