A visit to San Francisco is like visiting no other city. In San Francisco every neighborhood feels like a new place with new sites, new food, and new cultures. Whether you’re here to see the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, eat dim sum in China Town, ride a historic cable car, or to experience the culturally rich neighborhoods – there is something for everyone! To see and experience it all, you will definitely want to spend more than one day here – but as we all know that isn’t always possible. We were able to spend one jam packed day exploring the foggy city and below are our recommendations for how to spend one day in San Francisco.

Things to do in San Francisco in One Day:

Visit The Round House Cafe

Is it really even a visit to San Francisco if you don’t stop to see the iconic Golden Gate Bridge? There are several viewing stops for the Golden Gate Bridge, but we feel like the best spot is at the Round House Cafe where you can get a bite to eat, a coffee, and have a view of the bridge! And what’s a better way to start your time off in San Francisco than with coffee and view of the Golden Gate Bridge!

Other Viewing Areas for the Golden Gate Bridge (on the San Francisco side):

Fort Point National Historic Site:
Battery East Trail (2 spots)
Battery West Trail
Golden Gate Overlook
Crissy Field
Baker Beach
Marshall’s Beach
Lands End

Best Views from Marin County (across the bridge):

Battery Spencer
Point Bonita
North Vista Point
Hawk Hill
Kirby Cove
Slacker Hill
Fort Baker

Head to Wise Sons Jewish Deli

After visiting Round House, we suggest heading inland for a bagel at Wise Sons Jewish Deli. As someone with food sensitivities, I found their menu to have a wide variety of options including vegetarian, dairy free, and gluten free options! I ordered a cinnamon raisin bagel with vegan cream cheese and it was delicious! Brandon ordered some kind of bagel sandwich (sorry, I didn’t catch the name of which one), and these bagels were also so good that Brandon ended up going back for seconds. He probably would have done a third bagel as well if we didn’t have food plans later in the day – they were that good!

Visit Salt and Straw

If you are here closer to lunch, Salt and Straw is an ice cream shop right around the corner from Wise Sons. We unfortunately were here too early in the morning and didn’t end up eating here – but we’ll be sure to stop in during our next visit for a taste of their vegan ice cream options!

Drive Around and See The San Fransisco Sights

Andy Goldworthy Wood Line

If you aren’t an art school nerd like myself then you may not know who Andy Goldsworthy is – but he is a world famous environmental sculptor known for making art using natural materials. Sitting just off Lover’s Lane, you’ll find the Andy Goldsworthy Wood Line, a playful, windy path made from reclaimed eucalyptus branches. This is a quick and unique stop in San Francisco, perfect for those Insta worthy shots!

Painted Ladies

Another famous, but quick photo stop in San Fransisco is the iconic Painted Ladies. These colorful houses are known as “Postcard Row,” offering a stark visual contrast between historic charm and the modern downtown skyline behind them. If you have ever watched the TV series Full House, you’ll recognize these houses from the opening credits.

Lombard Street

This famous windy road is one of San Francisco’s most unique features – and worth a drive to say you’ve done it at least once in your life – however I must say that it felt strange to drive as although it is a public road, it is also a road that leads to many peoples homes and personal driveways. You can’t really stop and take photos along the way, so we weren’t able to capture this area on camera during our trip.

Fisherman’s Wharf & Pier 39

Fisherman’s Wharft is San Fransisco’s premier waterfront destination, housing a variety of things to do and places to eat! Known as a gathering place for the California sea lions, and a Mecca for seafood lovers – this is a must visit place while in San Fransisco…unfortunately one of our friends that we were traveling with wasn’t feeling well and didn’t want to be near the pier smelling fish so we ended up skipping this area. We do however have recommendations of what to do if you decide to visit during your time in San Fransisco!

Eat clam chowder or some sourdough at Boudin Bakery
Visit the Sea Lions at Pier 39 (peak time to see them is from 9-11am)
Visit Ripley’s Believe It Or Not
Walk to Ghiradelli’s

Explore China Town

Remember when I said every neighborhood is like a different culture in San Francisco? China town is definitely the epitome of this! San Francisco’s Chinatown is the oldest Chinatown in North America and one of the largest Chinese communities outside of Asia. A visit to China town is like visiting another country altogether – the 24 square block area is full of vibrant culture, dim sum palaces, tea rooms, and historic alleys! We recommend spending several hours here, making your way through a few restaurants, making your own fortune cookies, and just embracing the culture!

Eat In China Town

There are so many delicious places to eat in China Town and its so hard to choose just the right one to visit – so honestly if you have the time and space in your stomach – we highly recommend eating at a few places. We only had time for just one stop – and we made that stop by Rice Roll Express and the food did not disappoint. Even my friend who thinks most food is just “meh” or “it was okay” couldn’t stop raving about this food! We ordered a wonton soup and a rice roll with corn and both were delicious!

Get Drinks at Vesuvio Cafe

Just outside of China Town you’ll find this bohemian bar in the North Beach neighborhood. Established in 1948, its rich literary history, unchanged eccentric decor, and proximity to the City Lights Bookstore make it a cultural landmark of San Fransisco. This was by far one of our favorite stops in San Francisco due to cool vibes, unique decor, and very affordable drinks!

Check out one of San Francisco’s Sky Bars

If a dive bar isn’t really your style, then we recommend checking out one of San Fransisco’s many sky bars to end your evening in the sky! We personally made reservations at Starlite as it was right near our hotel and their food and the views were well worth it. We highly recommend the hot fried chicken buns!

A few other Sky Bars in San Fransisco:

Where to Stay in San Fransisco:

Hotel Adagio
- We personally chose to stay here due to its close proximity to multiple destinations we wanted to check out including China Town and Starlite – a rooftop bar right around the corner from this hotel. We also lucked out and had a Marriott gift card we were able to use here as well!
Marriot Marquis Union Square
- We nearly decided to book here due to the access to the Sky Lounge which seems like a really unique and very scenic rooftop bar.
Hyatt Centric Fisherman’s Wharf
Hyatt Regency

Don’t have a car to get around?

While renting and driving a car to get around San Francisco is totally doable (and what we did), parking can be a struggle and driving up and down these extremely steep hills isn’t for the faint of heart. We nearly decided to return our rental car and just do a hop on – hop off tour, which is what we may do the next time we are in San Francisco!

Another option is to take public transportation or hire for some ride shares – San Francisco is famous for the Waymo cars after all. We saw so many while driving around as while we visited in 2026 there were over 1,500 ways in San Francisco alone!

Have more time in San Fransisco?

Take a tour of Alcatraz

If you have a bit more time another iconic thing to do in San Fransisco is touring the famous Alcatraz Island. We recommend booking a trip through get your guide for this to ensure you have a ticket and a ferry ride guaranteed!

Visit the Japanese Tea Garden

While visiting San Fransisco, another fun area to visit is the Japanese Tea Garden, which is a gorgeous tea garden with a variety of fun photo worthy spots. It’s also completely free for all visitors on Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays between 9:00am and 10:00am. If you plan to visit here, plan for at least 1 to 2 hours to explore the park.

Check out our Wanderlog map for a full list of recommendations for things to do in/around San Fransisco!

Map from Wanderlog, a trip planner app on iOS and Android

Feel free to download our free one day in San Francisco itinerary to make your trip planning easier for you!

Planning to spend more time in California? Check out our other California blogs…

How to maximize 3 days in Monterey and Carmel by the Sea, California

How to Spend Just One Day in San Francisco