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An honest, realistic itinerary & guide to help you plan your two days in San Francisco without trying to fit too much in!
When I was researching my own two-day trip, I found several great blog posts with itinerary ideas. But once I got to San Francisco, I quickly realised that all the blog posts I had read were very optimistic in terms of timings! Either that or the bloggers could walk at the speed of light!
All of them packed so much in that doing everything in the itinerary would have exhausted me, so I decided to write a slightly more realistic and reasonable guide to seeing as much of San Francisco as possible – without draining yourself of all energy!
If you’re short on time and need quick answers, you’ll find a short version of the entire itinerary (plus a map) at the bottom of this page. Use the contents menu below or scroll right down to find it. Otherwise, please keep reading for my detailed itinerary and guide to planning your time in San Francisco. Enjoy!
Is Two Days Enough?
Let me say right off the bat that two days isn’t really enough time for San Francisco. There’s a lot to see and do, and so many different neighbourhoods to discover, that you could easily spend a week or two exploring the city.
But sometimes, two days is all you have – and thankfully, that’s still plenty of time to tick off all the main tourist sights and explore a couple of different neighbourhoods. Just don’t try to pack too much in – and remember that it will take time to get between each attraction (I’ve included timings in the itinerary below).
Top 6 Sights in San Francisco
I’ll kick off with a quick list of all the “main” sights in San Francisco – perfect if you only have a couple of days to explore.
NOTE: This list doesn’t include the city’s many museums or the major neighbourhoods, like Chinatown, as I will cover these in more detail further down the page.
- Golden Gate Bridge
- Alcatraz
- Fisherman’s Wharf & Pier 39
- Hyde-Powell Cable Car
- Ferry Building
- Pretty streets and houses: Lombard St, the Painted Ladies, and the Mrs Doubfire House.
If you’re really short on time, check out these great tours in San Francisco:
Chinatown Culinary Walking Tour – 3 hours
Golden Gate Bridge and Sausalito Cycling Tour – 3 hours
Inside Alcatraz Tour with Bay Cruise – 4 hours
San Francisco Movie Filming Locations Bus Tour – 3 hours
Getting Around San Francisco
All the blogs I’d read promised that San Francisco’s centre is very walkable – but I’d say this is only partly true. Each neighbourhood is easy to explore on foot, but many of the city’s attractions are quite spread out – for example, Union Square is about a 40-minute walk from the Alcatraz Ferry.
San Fran is also VERY hilly, so even relatively short walks can be pretty tiring (for me at least!). Luckily, there’s a decent public transport network in place…
Transport Options
Trams/Cable Cars: the city’s famous cable cars have a fairly extensive network. You can buy a Visitor Passport ticket which allows unlimited rides on Muni, Muni Metro, historic streetcars, and cable cars for 1, 4 or 7 days. The one-day passport costs $13 – more info here.
Bus: again, the bus network is extensive. I found that Google Maps wasn’t always accurate, so you’re best off using the SFMTA’s Trip Planner. A $5 Day Pass allows for unlimited trips on buses, trains and historic streetcars.
Uber: I found Uber quite expensive for short journeys (compared with the UK): for example, a 10-minute drive cost me $12. For longer distances it felt more economical: the 5-mile drive out to Golden Gate Bridge was about $16. However, I took a bus back from the bridge visitor centre for $3 – so it’s far cheaper to take the bus!
Big Bus Hop-On Hop-Off Tour: you may find it easier to get around via the hop-on, hop-off bus tour from Big Bus. This double-decker bus calls at most of the city’s popular sights, and includes an audio guide – so it’s a great way to cover a lot of ground if you’re short on time. Click here for prices and more info.
How to Spend Two Days in San Francisco
Choose ONE museum
There are a lot of great museums in San Francisco – most of which need to be visited for at least an hour or two to do them justice. If you want to see a lot of the city, the honest truth is that you’ll probably only have time for one or two museums.
Pick the ones that appeal the most and make these your top priority. I’ll show you where you can fit them into your day one or day two itinerary below – for now, here’s a list of some of the top museums in San Francisco:
- de Young Museum – historic art museum (and the most visited in SF)
- Walt Disney Family Museum – dedicated to the life and work of Walt Disney.
- San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA)
- Asian Art Museum – more than 18,000 works from every region of Asia.
- The Exploratorium – art and science museum packed with interactive exhibits.
- Musée Mécanique – a quirky collection of coin-operated mechanical instruments and antique arcade machines.
- Cable Car Museum – dedicated to the city’s iconic cable cars.
- READ MORE: All Museums & Galleries in SF
Pick ONE of these neighbourhoods to explore in-depth
There are some amazing, unique neighbourhoods and cultural districts dotted around San Francisco. After reading a more jam-packed city itinerary, I honestly thought I’d have time to explore them all – but by the time I was done with all the main tourist sites, I only made it to Chinatown!
You’ll explore some of San Fran’s major neighbourhoods as you visit the tourist attractions or wander the city – but it’s worth picking one to explore in-depth. Here’s a quick list of the top neighbourhoods to visit:
1
Chinatown
North America’s oldest and largest Chinatown; packed with amazing restaurants, colourful street art, and some fantastic galleries and museums. Don’t miss the Fortune Cookie Factory to see the magic that makes these iconic snacks, or the free Chinese Culture Center.
RECOMMENDED TOUR: Chinatown Culinary Walking Tour
2
Mission District
Also known as the Dogpatch, the Mission District is the heart of the city’s Latin community. Today, it’s a trendy neighbourhood packed with independent eateries and boutiques. There’s also an incredible collection of murals.
RECOMMENDED TOUR: Mission District Walking Food Tour
3
Haight-Ashbury
This was the birthplace of the 1960s “flower power” movement, and the Summer of Love lives on in streets of colourful Victorian houses, funky murals, and a whole heap of independent businesses to explore.
RECOMMENDED TOUR: True Crime Tales from the Haight
4
Castro
The Castro District was one of the USA’s first gay neighbourhoods and remains the hub of SF’s LGBTQ+ culture. Look out for the rainbow crosswalks – and the Rainbow Honor Walk outside the iconic Castro Theatre: golden plaques celebrating LGBTQ+ pioneers.
RECOMMENDED TOUR: Castro LGBTQ Walking Tour
READ MORE: Guide to San Francisco’s Neighbourhoods
Two Days in San Francisco: Itinerary
Below, I’ve mapped out a two-day itinerary, grouping together the activities that are easiest to visit on the same day. But of course, you can do these in any order.
Short on time? There’s a quick version and a map at the bottom of this page.
Day One
Golden Gate Bridge
How much time: 1-2 hours (more if you walk across the bridge)
Think of San Francisco, and you’re probably picturing the city’s iconic rust-red bridge. This is the one thing you really shouldn’t miss when you visit!
Head straight to the Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Centre to learn about the bridge’s history and construction. Behind the centre, you’ll find several viewpoints to get some great photos of the bridge. I just hope you get slightly better weather than I did!
Top tip: If you have time, you could bike or walk across the bridge and climb up to one of the viewpoints on the northern side. The walk across takes around an hour – or you can take a 3-hour guided tour across the bridge to Sausalito with Blazing Saddles. Click here for more details.
Fisherman’s Wharf & Pier 39
How much time: 1-2 hours (longer if you decide to visit the aquarium or Madam Tussauds)
Travel Time from Golden Gate Bridge: 15-min drive / 20-min bus
One of the most visited neighbourhoods in San Francisco is Fisherman’s Wharf, a colourful district spread along the bay with numerous piers, scenic marinas, working fishing harbours, a fantastic food scene, and some of the city’s top attractions.
It’s a very touristy area: there’s a whole strip with the likes of Madame Tussauds, Applebee’s, Hard Rock Cafe, etc. But the scenic marinas are worth exploring – and there are plenty of fun things to do in the area.
Don’t miss Pier 39, home to a huge colony of sea lions who can be seen lazing on wooden platforms. The sea lions moved into the marina following an earthquake in 1990 and never left – presumably because the marina gives them protection and abundant food supplies. Eventually, the city gave up the marina for the sea lion’s exclusive use – today, you can see them in their hundreds throughout most of the year.
More Things to do in Fisherman’s Wharf
Eat cioppino – an Italian-American “fisherman’s stew” filled with the catch of the day.
The Musee Mecanique – I highly recommend this small, quirky museum on Pier 45. It’s packed with antique arcade games and coin-operated mechanical toys, most of which still work.
Pier 39 – as well as the famous sea lions, the pier itself is lined with arcades, eateries and kitschy souvenir shops.
Ghirardelli Square – this trendy shopping and dining area makes an excellent spot to grab lunch (I recommend Barrio for tacos with a view!). Don’t miss the original Ghirardelli Chocolate and Ice Cream Shop – home to the world-famous hot fudge sundae.
Aquarium of the Bay – a Smithsonian-affiliated aquarium with one of the longest saltwater tunnels in the USA.
Madam Tussauds – popular wax museum with celebrity likenesses. It’s not my cup of tea, but I know a lot of people love it.
Top tip: you can easily take a bus to Fisherman’s Wharf from the Golden Gate Bridge. They stop right outside the Welcome Centre and the staff will be happy to help you figure out which one you need.
Ride a Cable Car
How much time: 1 hour (more if the queue is long. I waited about 40 mins to board and it was a weekday).
Travel Time from Fisherman’s Wharf: 10-min walk
San Francisco’s cable cars are iconic – and incredibly historic, dating back to the late 1800s. There are three historic routes to choose from; the most popular (and the most scenic) being the Powell-Hyde cable car which runs between Fisherman’s Wharf and Market St (via Chinatown and Union Square)
From Fisherman’s Wharf, hop on the Powell-Hyde cable car line (a single ticket costs $8) and ride it as far as Lombard St for epic views from the top of the hill. From here, you can start the tour I’ve outlined below. If you want a longer ride, take it all the way to the end before heading back to Lombard St – a great way to soak up the sights!
Tour of San Francisco’s Scenic Streets and Colourful Houses
How much time: 1.5 – 2 hours
Travel Time: Lombard St is a 10-min walk or a few minutes by cable car
San Francisco’s steep hills and pretty, townhouse-lined streets are iconic. Chances are, you’ll recognise at least a few of them from the Silver Screen. Many a movie has used these scenic streets as a backdrop, including the likes of Herbie, Bullitt, Ant-Man, Mrs Doubtfire, and more.
You can visit three of the main sights on a walk that takes around an hour. It’s a lovely walk that takes in several attractive streets and some beautiful architecture along the way!
Stop 1 – Lombard St: This super-steep east-west street is famous for a one-block section with eight hairpin turns – dubbed the “crookedest street in the world”. There are colourful flowerbeds planted in the gaps between the turns, and from the top, the views are pretty spectacular. This ridiculously bendy road has also been the setting for some iconic movie chase scenes, including Herbie’s first film The Love Bug.
Stop 2 – Mrs Doubtfire House: The house used in the 90’s classic Mrs Doubtfire is a real place, at 2640 Steiner St (on the corner of Broadway St). It’s a private home, so you can’t visit it, and the owners have grown a large tree outside which makes it harder to see than it used to be. But it’s still worth walking by if you’re a fan of the movie.
Stop 3 – Painted Ladies: This pastel-painted row of Victorian houses on Steiner (directly opposite Alamo Square) is one of the most famous sights in San Francisco. Nicknamed the “Painted Ladies”, these houses were made famous by the sitcoms Full House and Fuller House.
The Walking Route
Take the tram from Fisherman’s Wharf to Lombard St. Soak up the stunning views from the top of the street, then walk down the block to get a view looking back up at the hairpin turns.
Take Larkin St, then Broadway for ten blocks to find Mrs Doubtfire House. From here, simply follow Steiner St all the way to Alamo Square for fantastic views of the Painted Ladies and across the city.
Top Tip: If you want to speed things up, hop on the 22 Fillmore tram from the Mrs Doubtfire house to the Painted Ladies.
Evening
I’ll be honest, as a solo traveller who tires easily, I was in my hotel room with an Uber Eats delivery by 7pm every night! But if you still have energy, San Francisco has a great nightlife scene. Check out these guides for more info:
- Local’s Guide to the Best San Francisco Restaurants
- Fun Places to Eat in San Francisco
- San Francisco Bakery Crawl
- 15 Best and Most Unique Bars in San Francisco
- TRY THIS: Haunted Pub Crawl (2 hours)
- TRY THIS: Local Distillery Cocktail Class (1.5 hours)
Day Two
Ferry Building
How much time: 1 hour (longer if the farmers market is on)
Start your day with a coffee or brunch at the iconic Ferry Building. This historic ferry terminal was built in 1898 and was once the gateway to the city. Today, it’s home to a strip of independent restaurants and shops, including a number of artisan food suppliers. Don’t miss the fantastic Book Passage bookstore!
There’s also a year-round Farmer’s Market held in front of the building on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays – where you’ll find some of the region’s best farmers and chefs. Don’t miss it!
Top tip: If you prefer to visit Alcatraz (below) first, the ferry building is less than a 20-minute walk away and makes a good lunch spot for when you get back to the mainland.
Alcatraz
How much time: at least 2.5 hours (including ferries to/from the island)
Travel Time from Ferry Terminal: 20-min walk + 15 min ferry
No trip to San Francisco is complete without visiting Alcatraz Island and its infamous prison. I actually considered skipping this as I thought it might be a little boring – but it turned out to be one of the best things I did in San Francisco!
This tiny island 1.25 miles offshore from SF has a fascinating history. It’s been home to a fort, then a military prison, then the maximum security penitentiary most people associate with Alzactraz. In 1969, a group of Native Americans called the Indians of All Tribes occupied the island for 19 months as an act of political resistance (read more here).
You can only reach the island by ferry, organised by Alcatraz City Cruises: the round-trip ticket starts from $45.25 and includes entry to the island and the Cellhouse. It also includes the excellent Cellhouse Audio Tour, narrated by former officers and inmates, which brings to life the history of the prison – I highly recommend listening to this!
Top tip: A lot of people suggest doing Alcatraz early to beat the crowds, but this really depends on the day and season: I visited on a weekday in April and the midday ferry was less than a quarter full.
Visit your chosen museum
How much time: 1-2 hours
See the section near the top of this page for more info about the best San Francisco museums. You should have time to visit one or two museums today.
Explore one or two neighbourhoods
How much time: 1-2 hours (longer if you want to take a tour)
See the section near the top of this page about the best neighbourhoods to explore in San Francisco.
If you have more time
With a little more time in San Francisco, you could spend more time exploring the city’s different neighbourhoods or visit a few more of the museums (see the sections covering this earlier on the page). Alternatively, you could take one of these fun tours or get out of the city for a day trip:
- California Sunset / SF City Lights Cruise (from $58 / £46.40)
- Yosemite Day Trip with Giant Sequoias Hike & Pickup (from $229 / £183.20)
- Muir Woods, Napa & Sonoma Valley Wine Tour (from $179 / £143.20)
- Napa and Sonoma Valley Wine Tour (from $169 / £135.20)
Quick 2-day Itinerary Guide for San Francisco and Map
Day 1
- Golden Gate Bridge (roughly a 15-minute drive or 30-minute bus from the city centre).
- Welcome Centre and viewpoints
- If you have time, you could bike or walk across the bridge and climb up to one of the viewpoints on the northern side. The walk across takes around an hour, so take that into account when planning.
- Fisherman’s Wharf (20-minute bus ride from the Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Centre). While you’re here don’t miss:
- Musee Mecanique
- Pier 39 sea lions
- Ghirardelli Square
- Ride the historic Hyde-Powell Cable Car
- Tour pretty streets and houses: Lombard St, Mrs Doubtfire House, Painted Ladies
Day 2
- Ferry Building – great for breakfast/brunch or a coffee overlooking the bay. Even better if the Farmer’s Market is on.
- Alcatraz – take a ferry to the infamous prison island known as “The Rock”.
- Pick one Museum (see list above). You may have time for two museums depending on how long you spend exploring.
- Pick one neighbourhood to explore (see list above).
Read More
Reasons to Visit Tuolumne County
11 Stops for a Tuolumne County Itinerary
So, that’s my guide to spending two days in San Francisco without exhausting yourself! Got a question (or a tip of your own)? Scroll down to leave a comment!
