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I couldn’t spend time in my favourite city without snapping a few classic San Francisco images. A coastal city built on the hills, there are plenty of interesting sites and unusual things to do in San Francisco.

Golden Gate Bridge

The most iconic San Francisco images include the Golden Gate Bridge. Connecting the city to Marin County to the North, the bridge was once the world’s longest suspension bridge (until 1964). Construction on the bridge took four years and began in 1933, during the Great Depression. The US Navy had wanted to paint it black with yellow stripes. Personally, I am glad it is “international orange”.

San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge as seen from Marin County, looking across to the city of San Francisco California
The Golden Gate Bridge as seen from Marin County, looking across to the city of San Francisco.

Alcatraz island

Sitting in the middle of the bay, Alcatraz Island prison gave it’s prisoners a view of freedom out its windows. Now it is a National Recreation Area. It was once “home” to Al Capone and George “Machine-Gun” Kelly.

Alcatraz Island in San Francisco
Alcatraz Island.

Cable car

I think it is the cable car that comes to mind first when people think of classic San Francisco images. At a normal price of $7 per ride, I was thrilled to find unlimited cable car rides on our San Francisco CityPASS.

Cable Car rides are included in the San Francisco City Pass
San Francisco cable car.

Buena Vista Cafe

Locals and tourists flock to Beuna Vista cafe for one of their famous Irish Coffees.

Enjoying an Irish Coffee at Buena Vista Cafe in San Francisco
Another classic San Francisco image: visitors (in this case, us) with an Irish Coffee from the Buena Vista Cafe.

Palace of Fine Arts

One of my personal favourite spots in San Francisco, the Palace of Fine Arts was built for the San Franciso’s Panama-Pacific Exposition in 1915. It exhibited works of art. It was rebuilt in 1965 and retrofitted in 2009. Visiting here is often thought of as one of the romantic things to do in San Francisco.

The Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco California
San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts.

Chinatown

The Dragon Gate welcomes tourists to Chinatown along Grant Ave (at the intersection with Bush Street). While filled with shops, they tend to attract tourists. Locals wanting Chinese goods tend to do their everyday shopping one block to the west on Stockton Street.

Dragon Gate entrance to San Francisco Chinatown
Dragon Gate to Chinatown.

Transamerica and Sentinel buildings

The Transamerica Pyramid Building (white) is the tallest building in San Francisco. The green building in the foreground is the Sentinel Building, home to American Zoetrope – the film studio founded by Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas.

The Transamerica Pyramid Building and the Sentinel Building are classic images of San Francisco
Two classic San Francisco images: The Transamerica Pyramid Building (white) and the Sentinel Building (green).

Faceless statues

Certainly one of the more unusual things to do in San Francisco, we stared up at these 12-foot faceless, hollow statues on the 23rd floor in the city’s financial district. There are 12 of them in total. Locals walk by daily without giving them so much as a glance.

Hollow faceless statues in San Francisco's financial district
Angelic or creepy?

Oakland Bay Bridge

Standing much longer than the Golden Gate Bridge, the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge is not nearly as well known. In fact, a visit here would be considered amongst the non-touristy things to do in San Francisco. The bridge crosses the San Francisco Bay heading towards Oakland. A section of this bridge collapsed during the earthquake of 1989.

San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge
The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge.

Coit Tower

Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill is named for Lillie Hitchcock Coit. She left a substantial bequest “for the purpose of adding to the beauty of the city I have always loved.”

Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill in San Francisco is one of the classic images of San Francisco
Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill.

Fisherman’s Wharf

The world-famous San Francisco Fisherman’s Wharf is still popular with tourists and locals. It’s also home to Boudin’s Sour Dough bread, a personal favourite of mine.

Classic Fisherman's Wharf sign in San Francisco Califronai
San Francisco Fisherman’s Wharf sign.
Fishing Boats on Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco California
We walked past the fishing boats, heading towards Boudins.
San Francisco's sourdough bread at Boudin Bakery
What makes San Francisco’s sourdough so special is a bit of a debate. Some say it’s a specific strain of the lactobacilli found in San Francisco. Other’s say it’s the fog, or, it is simply the bakers’ skill.

The Cannery

The Cannery is now a mall with several eateries. It was originally built in 1907 (after the big earthquake) by Del Monte as the world’s largest fruit-canning plant.

The Cannery in San Francisco
The Cannery in San Francisco.

Getting to the classic sites of San Franciso

I know we missed a few, like Lombard Street and the Painted Ladies. But overall, I think we saw a good collection of the classics. We got around San Francisco on public transportation that was included on our San Francisco CityPASS.

My favourite classic monkey bench

Everyone has their favourite spot in San Franciso. Most are one of the classic San Francisco images above. Mine is this “Speak no evil, see no evil, hear no evil monkey bench:”

Hear no evil monkeys in San Francisco
Even the street monkeys started laughing as the bread rolled by.

Where to stay in San Franciso

We stayed at The Sir Francis Drake Hotel, a Kimpton property with a secret prohibition room. Getting up into it is definitely one of the unusual things to do in San Fransico.  If you want to stay in the perfect spot, check for deals and low prices at booking.com.

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Classic San Francisco Images

San Francisco is one of my favourite USA destination cities.

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Comments

  1. Have you seen the murals of the Mission District? If not, check them out on your next SF visit. Off the standard beaten tourist path, but they are amazing! Nearby Dolores Park and Mission Dolores are also fantastic.

    Reply

    • There is no shortage of photo opportunities in San Francisco. Although I didn’t get to take a shot of my sourdough rolling down the hill. I was in shock and disbelief.

      Reply

  8. Definitely The Golden Gate Bridge image is one of San Francisco must have shots. Not to say you did get some really nice pictures all together.
    We have never been to San Francisco but it’s a place that I would like to visit one day.
    Thanks for sharing !

    Reply

  12. One of my favorite cities! You’ve captured it well! My last visit, we rented bikes and rode across the Golden Gate Bridge. Such a fun adventure! Thank you for taking me on a photo journey to lovely San Fran!

    Reply

  13. Awesome shots, Rhonda! Brought back so many memories of my visits there – it’s been waaaaay too long since we’ve been there, might have to talk the hubby into revisiting all our favorite spots! 🙂

    Reply

  18. Beautiful shots, I had the opportunity to vacation in San Francisco and had a wonderful time including Lombardie Street, that was when it was still open to drive down.

    Reply

  19. Brilliant shots Rhonda and I agree with Alex 🙂

    That Green Sentinal building is amazing, whenever I see photos of San Francisco it always reminds me of that series “Tales Of The City” from the 80’s

    Have a santastic day and I like that photo of you both too …cheers 🙂

    Reply

  24. Wonderful images of this beautiful city. Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge still gives me goosebumps every time – after 15 years! My favorite image is the one of the Chinese lanterns. The red really pops.

    Reply

  27. I love any shot of the Golden Gate Bridge. It’s a beautiful sight from the land and especially on the water. Been under it in our boat several times.

    Have a fabulous day Rhonda. 🙂

    Reply

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