San Francisco Itinerary 3 Days to See Amazing Locations

Last Updated: April 12, 2025 // by Rhonda Albom // 64 Comments
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Our former home and still one of my favorite cities in the world, we found it a bit challenging to create a San Francisco itinerary that hit the highlights in just three days.

As a result, what we present below gives you choices, the main one being to either rush and get the highlights of each location or to take it slow but not see it all. Of course, there is a third option, and it’s my personal choice when I visit: stay longer.

However, if you are looking to create a San Francisco three-day itinerary, read on. We will help you include significant city icons like the Golden Gate Bridge and Fisherman’s Wharf, as well as ride the cable car.

Plus, you can explore some of the most impressive spots, like the Palace of Fine Arts or any of the visual or hands-on museums. There is nature at its best in the form of a sea lion colony that took over a pier and a huge open space park in the middle of the city.

Whatever you choose to do, if it’s your first visit to San Francisco, prepare to be impressed by every corner of this coastal city built on some surprisingly steep hills.

San Francisco itinerary day 1: Fisherman’s Wharf

Classic Fisherman's Wharf sign in San Francisco Califronai — Famous Fisherman’s Wharf sign

World-famous, Fisherman’s Wharf is a family-friendly area with plenty of things to include on any San Francisco itinerary. As a result, one can easily take days to explore the wharf area. We featured our favorites below.

The area is roughly defined as the northern waterfront area from Ghiradelli Square to Pier 35.

Enjoying an Irish Coffee at Buena Vista Cafe in San Francisco — Buena Vista Cafe

Tunnels at the Aquarium by the Bay in San Francisco California — Buena Vista Cafe

Fisherman’s Wharf highlights

Pier 39 (Free)
A major tourist pier featuring shops, restaurants, attractions, and even a colony of sea lions that have chosen to take up seasonal residence on the docks.
Alcatraz Island (visit through the parks department or as part of a waterfront walking tour).
On the bay
A must-visit for many tourists, the Alcatraz Island prison sits in the middle of the bay. While it may seem like a lovely location, in reality, it gave its prisoners a view of freedom out of its windows. Now, it is a National Recreation Area. It was once “home” to Al Capone and George “Machine-Gun” Kelly.
Blue and Gold Fleet Bay cruise (on Go City pass)
At Pier 39
This one-hour narrated San Francisco Bay Cruise will get you out on the water to enjoy the fabulous San Francisco skyline. It starts at and sails past Pier 39, along the historic waterfront, around Alcatraz, and under the Golden Gate Bridge. Reserve your Blue and Gold cruise here.
Aquarium of the Bay (on Go City pass)
On Pier 39
With 300 feet of tunnels, we get a diver’s view of over 20,000 marine animals, including sharks, bat rays, skates, sturgeon, and more. There is also an opportunity to see river otters and jellyfish, plus a touch pool with sea stars and anemones. Reserve your aquarium entry ticket here.
Buena Vista Cafe
2765 Hyde St
Irish coffee at the Buena Vista is a bit cliché, but I can never resist. The Buena Vista Cafe opened in 1886, serving Irish coffee since 1952, when a travel writer accepted the challenge to create a coffee similar to those he enjoyed in Ireland. And in 2003, bartender Frank Silloti was named the world Irish coffee-making champion.
Musée Mécanique (Free to enter)
At Pier 45
A fascinating step back in time allows the use of over 300 coin-operated mechanical musical instruments (like orchestrions) and antique arcade artifacts. It’s one of the world’s largest family-owned and operated collections. Read their fascinating history.

San Francisco itinerary day 2: Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park

Spend the morning near the Golden Gate Bridge

The Golden Gate Bridge is on every San Francisco itinerary — The Golden Gate Bridge as seen from Marin County. A photo of this icon is on just about every San Francisco itinerary

Lagoon and the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco — The Golden Gate Bridge as seen from Marin County. A photo of this icon is on just about every San Francisco itinerary

Golden Gate Bridge (Free)
Always open
An icon of San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge connects the city to Marin County to the North. Once the world’s longest and tallest suspension bridge, this engineering feat opened in 1937 after taking four years to complete. It’s on every visitor’s San Francisco itinerary. On Sunday or Thursday, enjoy a free walking tour on the bridge and delve into history, hear interesting stories, and enjoy impressive views.
Palace of Fine Arts (Free)
3601 Lyon St
The Palace of Fine Arts is my favorite relaxation spot. This monumental structure is the remaining building from the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition. Built in Greco-Roman style, it exhibited works of art. It was rebuilt in 1965 and retrofitted in 2009 and is now on the US National Register of Historic Places. It covers 17 acres in San Francisco’s Marina District, which is bound by Baker Street, Palace Drive, and Bay Street.

Spend the afternoon in Golden Gate Park

Rainforest in the California Academy of Sciences

California Academy of Sciences (on Go City pass)
55 Music Concourse Dr, Golden Gate Park
A fabulous museum describing itself as the ‘world’s only aquarium-planetarium-rainforest-living museum.’ If you have more time, rather than rushing through, this can easily be an all-day adventure. The four-story rainforest dome was a highlight, as was the aquarium. Our best tip: get your timed planetarium ticket when you first arrive so you don’t miss out. Also, don’t miss the live penguins in the back of the African Hall. Reserve a California Academy of Sciences entry ticket here.
De Young Museum (on Go City pass)
50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr., Golden Gate Park
This is the city’s fine arts museum and the most visited art collection west of the Mississippi. It features paintings, sculptures, and decorative objects from the 17th century to the present and includes couture designs by Coco Chanel and Christian Dior. Your ticket also allows free same-day general admission to the Legion of Honor Museum. Reserve your De Young Museum entry ticket here.
San Francisco Zoo (on Go City pass)
Sloat Blvd & Upper Great Hwy
A bit farther out of the way, the San Francisco Zoo was my children’s favorite spot when they were young. It’s no wonder, with over 2,000 endangered, exotic, and rescued animals surrounded by serene gardens and the Pacific Coastline. It’s another spot you could rush through or spend all day. Reserve a SF Zoo entry ticket here.

San Francisco itinerary day 3: Union Square to Embarcadero

Giant mirror at the Exploratorium — Exploratorium

Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill in San Francisco — Exploratorium

Cable car (on Go City Explorer pass)
Since the 1870’s, San Franciscans have ridden on these first-in-the-world cars pulled by an underground cable up and over the city’s largest hills. Now an icon in the city, riding the cable car is on most San Francisco itineraries. And it’s easy to use the cable car.
Exploratorium (on Go City pass)
Located at Pier 15
A hands-on experimental museum with more than 600 interactive exhibits, that, in my opinion, is one of the top things to include on any San Francisco itinerary that includes school-aged children. Of course, with late-night Thursdays being 18+, you know there is plenty to keep adults interested too. Reserve your Exploratorium ticket here
Chinatown (Free)
413-401 Grant Ave
The Dragon Gate welcomes tourists to Chinatown along Grant Ave (at the intersection with Bush Street). Filled with shops, Grant Ave tends to attract tourists. Locals wanting Chinese goods tend to do their everyday shopping one block to the west on Stockton Street.
Coit Tower
1 Telegraph Hill Boulevard
Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill overlooks the city, offering 360º views from its observation deck. The tower itself is named for Lillie Hitchcock Coit who left a substantial bequest “for the purpose of adding to the beauty of the city I have always loved.” It is the stories behind the 1934 controversy over some of the frescos inside the tower’s base that makes this such a fascinating place to visit.
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (on Go City pass)
151 3rd Steet
SFMOMA is home to over 33,000 modern and contemporary artworks from some of the world’s most renowned artists. We found that the building itself was part of the eclectic mix. My personal favorite is the floor dedicated entirely to photography. Reserve your SFMOMA entry ticket here.

A few photo stops along the way

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

Lombard Street, the crookedest street in the world is on many a San Francisco Itinerary — Transamerica Pyramid Building (white) and the Sentinel Building (green).

Three more icons of the city don’t easily fit into any of our itineraries and are just photo stops.

The Transamerica Pyramid (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.
Lombard Street, once universally considered the crookedest street in the world. Now, there is some debate as to whether or not Vermont Street in the Potrero Hill neighborhood is more crooked.
The Painted Ladies are a row of beautifully maintained Victorian and Edwardian houses symbolic of the famous California Gold Rush.

Looking for a secret adventure? Check this out: Hidden SF – Prohibition Secrets Remain in a San Francisco Hotel

Get around on the hop-on-hop-off bus

San Francisco’s hop-on-hop-off bus not only provides passengers with commentary about and transport to the key city locations, but it also crosses over the Golden Gate Bridge. Reserve your spot on the hop-on-hop-off bus.

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