I love to bring visitors on a driving tour of San Francisco.
Typically starting North Beach with the suggestion to stroll through downtown and Chinatown first. North Beach is a neighbourhood made famous by the Beat Movement, our Little Italy too, and feels relaxed and European, on the edges of the ‘downtown’ vibe of the city, with Saints Peter and Paul Church a landmark Catholic Church gazing actoss the recently refurbished small triangular park. Caffe Trieste (Wikipedia page on Caffe Trieste) on Grant is famed for being the first espresso maker and coffee bean roaster on the West Coast.
If you have time, break off to the North-East up Union and left on Grant to Coit Tower, which will give you first stunning views of the Bay and both the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges.
But only after a beer or espresso at my favorite ‘setting sun’ bar, Mario’s Bohemian Cigar Store Cafe (no longer a Cigar Store).
I like to show a few charismatic neighbourhoods, as we zig zag across hills, including the famous crooked Lombard Street and the slightly European-feeling Union Street.
From there, I love to play “one block over, one block up” driving into Pacific Heights for first Bay and Golden Gate Bridge Views, with somewhat of an architecture tour of stunning streets and houses, before dropping into the Presidio National Park that wraps around the north headland of the peninsula, taking a detour over into Sea Cliff to see Robin Williams former house, and the Legion of Honor classical art museum (with stunning vistas) before heading over the Golden Gate Bridge and then immediately breaking off into the beautiful Marin Headlands coastal cliffs. Great views of the Bay and the Pacific. We’d stop a few times along the way, for views, short walk etc.
An option is to then head into the cute Sausalito, a small Bayside town in Marin, or return to the Marina neighbourhood for dinner in the city.
On foot, you can cover some of the same ground, in a smaller walking loop (3-4 miles in total) from North Beach to Cow Hollow, Pacific Heights, into the Presidio and down onto Crissy Field.
Chestnut Street
A16 – fine Italian & Pizza
Causwells – European-inspired American / NorCal Bistro, won “Best Burger in SF” award
Cultivar – great NorCal menu, the restaurant of a Napa Winemaker
Union Street
Wildseed – a first ‘posh’ vegan restaurant in SF, opened 2019. Great menu.
Flores – excellent Mexican cuisine, great cocktails too.
In Sausalito
Le Garage Bistro – fun location in the Sausalito Marina area, a charismatic french restaurant
Fish – just next door to Le Garage, for pure fish!
Bar Bocce – on the water, its own small beach
Scoma’s – an old school fine dining fishy classic “best Fish restaurant in SF” (also in Fisherman’s Wharf)
Reminder!: San Francisco has continuously moderate weather and you always need to bring a layer in SF in case the famous fog arrives in, the temperature can plunge from 23 (average) to 13 with wind chill in ten minutes…
And sharing below, a collection of Other Resources on San Francisco…
Other Resources on San Francisco
San Francisco’s Six Architectural Gems (BBC)
