Planning a quick vacation to San Francisco? I am sharing in this post the places that we have visited for our 48-hour trip to this tourist-lover city of America.
Here is a rundown of the 21 touristy things you can do while in San Francisco for an ephemeral trip.
1. Eat something Chinese for a very late night / wee-hour welcome meal to the city.
3. When the weather is very cooperative, i.e. foggy-free day, the No. 1 Tourist Attraction to prioritize is the GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE!
Capture endless shots, from the right side of the bridge, to the left side, from the top, and even on the pedestrian lane on the bridge. I did that! See all my photos.
4. Get slightly dizzy at the famous crooked LOMBARD STREET.
Fast Fact on Lombard Street via the wikipedia:
Address: Lombard St, San Francisco, CA 94133
East end: The Embarcadero
West end: Presidio Boulevard
Major junctions: US 101
Did you know: The Powell-Hyde cable car stops at the top of Lombard Street. (via about.com)
See my photo below, I successfully captured the cable car when it stopped to drop off a passenger.
We walked down the Lombard Street using the pedestrian stairs on the side and had the best chance to capture how crooked the street was.
When we reached the bottom part of the street, we were picked up and embarked on the car to experience a ride on the street. The experience was slightly dizzying since we were laughing, having fun, snapping the moments and boisterously talking all at once.
5. Get a peek of ALCATRAZ ISLAND, from afar.
Fast Fact on Alcatraz Island via the wikipedia:
Address: San Francisco, CA 94133
Closed: March 21, 1963
Opened: August 11, 1934
Area: 22 acres
Max length: 1,677′
Capacity: 312
Did you know: There were approximately 1545 total men imprisoned there and the NPS indicated that while 1,576 number were issued, over thirty convicts were returned to Alcatraz with different numbers issued.alcatrazhistory.com
The above photo was a snapshot of Alcatraz Island from the Golden Gate Bridge and the photo below was another angle of the island taken from the Lombard Street.
6. Never miss to snap a photo at the famous welcome post of the FISHERMAN'S WHARF OF SAN FRANCISCO.
7. Have lunch at the bakery / cafe that serves the Original San Francisco Sourdough - BOUDIN and buy some souvenirs at the Fisherman's Market! See review of this cafe from my food blog HERE.
8. Stroll the famous stretch of the EMBARCADERO.
Fast Fact on the Embarcadero via the wikipedia:
The Embarcadero is the eastern waterfront and roadway of the Port of San Francisco, San Francisco, California, along San Francisco Bay. It was constructed on reclaimed land along a three mile long[2] engineered seawall, from which piers extend into the bay. It derives its name from the Spanish verb embarcar, meaning "to embark"; embarcadero itself means "the place to embark". The Central Embarcadero Piers Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 20, 2002.[1]
9. Wander inside the FERRY BUILDING and search for some good finds at the market.
What I discovered and bought from the market was a BLACKWING Pencil!
10. Eat softserve ice cream at GOTT'S ROADSIDE Restaurant take-away corner. See my review HERE from my food blog.
11. Discover another National Historic Place in San Francisco and buy chocolates at GHIRARDELLI SQUARE.
12. Hop on and enjoy an uphill and downhill ride with the SAN FRANCISCO'S POWELL & HYDE CABLE CARS.
I did not take note how much a ride (one-way or roundtrip) would cost since we were just treated by our travel host. This was the queue, but it was worth lining up and patiently waiting for our turn. The photo below is the view from the back portion of the cable car terminal.
We were fortunate to be seated on the entire trip - end point was the Union Square. I captured this lovely couple who stood beside me the whole time.
The photo below showed how steep the streets of San Francisco are. I was quite apprehensive during this ride since the cable cars have no doors to prevent / protect us from falling from our seats and the trip was quite "bumpy" not because of road humps but because of the vertiginous streets.
13. Frolic on UNION SQUARE and luxuriate in a shopping spree from famous chain of department stores, like Macy's, and boutiques along that area.
Fast Fact on Union Square via the wikipedia:
Union Square is a 2.6-acre public plaza bordered by Geary, Powell, Post and Stockton Streets in downtown San Francisco, California. Wikipedia
14. Get lost at "the city by the bay", meander a bit and you will be surpised to discover the beautiful sakura flowers at GOLDEN GATE PARK JAPANESE TEA GARDEN.
15. Take a few minute walk from the sakura garden to another garden of flowers and bask with nature's scenery at the CONSERVATORY OF FLOWERS.
16. Stroll along the quirky and hippie HAIGHT-ASHBURY district and sip and swallow some pho noodle soup at one of Haight-Ashbury's diners. See my review of this eatery in my food blog HERE.
Fast Fact on Haight-Ashbury via the wikipedia:
Haight-Ashbury is a district of San Francisco, California, named for the intersection of Haight and Ashbury streets. It is also called The Haight and The Upper Haight. Wikipedia
17. Saturate your sense of sight with one of the most photographed location in San Francisco, the PAINTED LADIES. One can capture these gorgeous architectures from the opposite park.
Fast Fact on the PAINTED LADIES via the wikipedia:
Address: Steiner St, San Francisco, CA 94117
Did you know: The Painted Ladies are situated inside of a neighborhood known as Alamo Square. sftodo.com
18. Reminisce the memorable scenes of #otwol at the iconic PALACE OF FINE ARTS
Fast Fact on the Palace of Fine Arts via the wikipedia:
Address: 3301 Lyon St, San Francisco, CA 94123
Area: 17 acres
Opened: 1915
Architectural style: Beaux-Arts architecture
f.y.i. On the Wings of Love (OTWOL) is a 2015 Philippine romantic comedy television series directed by Antoinette Jadaone and Jojo Saguin and starring James Reid and Nadine Lustre in their first primetime television series.Wikipedia
First episode date: August 10, 2015
Final episode date: February 26, 2016
Number of episodes: 145
See HERE for the episodes that featured the Palace of Fine Arts.
Did you know: The Palace of Fine Arts was designed by Bernard Maybeck, who took his inspiration from Roman and Ancient Greek architecture in designing what was essentially a fictional ruin from another time. wikipedia.org
19. Appreciate the impressive architecture and exquisite interior design of the SAN FRANCISCO CITY HALL.
Get closer to this majestic structure and you will discover seemingly romantic sightings. Love has indeed no boundaries.
20. Do some religious and spiritual refuel at SAINTS PETER AND PAUL CATHEDRAL.
21. Relish a hearty and sumptuous farewell dinner at a Filipino restaurant at TASTEBUDS. See my review on Tastebuds, HERE.
The entire San Francisco city was like a huge theme park with numerous tourist attractions worth exploring. Everything I saw was divergent from the other California cities that I have been to, like Anaheim and Los Angeles, maybe because the city was situated in a mountainous landscape, with the houses almost appearing alike and with the kind of life that is relatively laid back.
Hope to have shared something useful on your future travel to San Francisco!
Travel and Live in style, everyday!
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