When I heard that my next assignment was going to be in San Francisco, I was beyond excited. I can’t exactly pinpoint whether that was because I was ready to get the heck out of cold Wisconsin, to be closer to the beach, or to be in a city, so let’s just say it was a combination of all of the things. I immediately went to Facebook to solicit ideas of things to do and my friends did not disappoint. I took away from all of the suggestions that there were approximately 8 million things that I wanted to do and had to figure out how to fit all of them into my short five-week trip. On top of that, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to visit one of my closest friends that lives in Salt Lake City since I’m on this side of the country, so that immediately cut out one of my weekends (always 10000% worth it though!).

YOU KNOW I’M GOING TO DO IT ALL ANYWAYS! Planning Lauren to the rescue! [I mean, planning a trip with all of the things that you want to do is really just like putting together a puzzle.]

So I’m down to three full weekends to see 101 places all over the state of California and the planning commences. I decide to spend one of my six weekend days in the city and plan to use the rest to see other parts of California that are close enough to squeeze into day trips. Fortunately, my work schedule was flexible enough that I could use some of my evenings after work to see some of the SF sites that I otherwise would not be able to see.

I am so excited to share with you some of my favorite things that I did and foods that I ate so keep on scrolling for all of the information you need to plan a trip to San Francisco!

Where to Stay

There are a hundred and one hotels that you can choose from, but after extensive research, I stumbled across this amazing “fitness room” option and you best believe that I booked this baby for the full five weeks. The Parc 55 San Francisco is a Hilton Hotel, just off Market Street (and surrounded by the most incredible shopping). It has two of these fitness rooms in the hotel, which are unlike anything that I’ve ever seen offered anywhere else.

After booking, I learned that it is technically in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco, which is one of the less safe places to be, but if I needed to get around late at night or early in the morning I used Uber/Lyft and have never felt unsafe.

How to Get Around

I may feel this way since I come from an area where I don’t really have public transportation, but I think that the public transport is great in San Francisco! There are two train systems (Muni and BART) as well as a very extensive bus network and a couple of trolleys. I bought myself a Clipper Card, which is a reloadable card that can be used on all of the above, as well as on the ferries and for certain bike and scooter rentals. When you use your Clipper Card, most of the transport systems offer a reduced price. My hotel is just a hop, skip and a jump from the Powell Street Station on Market Street, which is a stop where every Muni and four of the five BART lines stop, so that’s generally my go-to for public transportation.

There are also more Uber/Lyfts than you can imagine. I’ve called at all times of the day and almost always have a car within 5 minutes (it’s generally two minutes or less). There are a lot of one-way roads, so that can slow things down just a bit!

If you need to rent a car for a portion of your trip, parking can be incredibly expensive. I think the overnight parking at my hotel ran at $75 per night. You can use the app SpotHero, which lets you prearrange parking at a set price. SpotHero has a Give $7, Get $7 referral program, so by using this link, you get $7 off your first spot reservation of $8 or more! I used SpotHero several times and was able to find parking for $25-35 per night within a couple of blocks of my hotel.

Must-Sees and Must-Dos in SF

Despite my cover photo, I have an unpopular opinion – I think the Golden Gate Bridge is extremely overrated (but I had to pull you in somehow!). I also have about 250 pictures that I took of the bridge (I guess it’s what you do in SF). It’s cool to see at least once, and honestly, you probably can’t help but see it more than once from all of the different places, but I think that there are a lot of much cooler things to do and things to see. So I’ll kick off my list with everybody’s favorite, but I beg you – don’t just stop there!

I’ve put together these handy Bucket List checklists for everything discussed below, but keep reading for more details and pictures (and an interactive map) to help you plan!

Attractions/Landmarks

• Golden Gate Bridge
• Fisherman’s Wharf (Pier 39) – There are some pretty incredible views of the bay and so many sea lions!

• Twin Peaks
• Ocean Beach

• Painted Ladies/Alamo Square Park

• Baker Beach – Perfect place to see a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge

• Chinatown

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Bars/Entertainment

• Bottom of the Hill – I went to this bar for a show to see several local bands play. The bar has a very cool vibe (I love the back patio area – see pic below) and the bands were incredible. I would highly recommend checking out the schedule and stopping in for a show if you can!

• Irish Bank (and St. Patrick’s Day Parade) – I happened to be in San Francisco for St. Patrick’s Day. The parade is a huge deal and was fun to watch, as the entire city comes together for the parade. After that, I went to the Irish Bank for a St. Patrick’s Day party and it was a party alright! There was an amazing line-up of bands throughout the weekend the headlining band was just amazing!
• Don’t Tell Comedy Show – Secret comedy show in a secret location and BYOB. Super fun, but you must plan in advance!
• Golden Gate Taproom – multi-level sports bars with more TVs than you can count!
• Palomino – great Happy Hour with a view of the Bay Bridge!
• California Academy of Bartending and Mixology (CABAM) – My team went to a bartending/mixology class as a group to learn some of the basics of bartending and we had A BLAST (see photos below!)! We started by learning some of the basics and trying a few different drinks that the bartender made. Then, we each had the opportunity to hop behind the bar and make a drink of our own. I opted for the mojito (obviously) and added in some fresh strawberries and it was DELICIOUSSSSS!

• San Francisco Giants baseball game – Classic SF activity if you’re in town at the right time!

Activities

• Lands End Trail – There is a lot to see along this trail/in this area of SF. I recommend starting at the Lands End Lookout Visitor Center (near the Sutro Baths) and then taking the trail down to the Sutro Baths first. I spend about 30 minutes walking around the baths and over and up and all over. There were people down on the beach and out on the rocks. You could plan to spend as much time here as you’d like. From here, make your way towards Point Lobos along the Lands End Trail for some amazing views (including the Golden Gate Bridge). As you continue along the trail, you’ll come across the Lands End Point and Mile Rock Beach, which I definitely recommend stopping and spending some time at! As you finish the trail, you’ll be at the other end (farther north) so I recommend walking the additional ~1 mile to Baker Beach then kicking your shoes off and relaxing there a bit!

• Jack Kerouac Alley – My mom brought me to the alley to show me after she saw and learned about it on a free San Francisco Walking Tour (which she highly recommends, but I wasn’t able to join her since I was working). The alley was remodeled as part of a project in 2007 to convert it to a pedestrian walkway. It was repaved with Chinese quotes and quotes from John Steinbeck, Maya Angelou, Ferlinghetti, and Jack Kerouac paved in the ground. There are a series of incredible murals painted along both sides of the walls for the entire length of the alley.

• Mosaic Tile Steps – There are two sets of mosaic tile steps (very close together) that you can walk up and just be amazed by the work that went into these stairs. You’ll want to first locate the bottom of the Hidden Garden Steps and walk up those. Then it’s just a short walk to the bottom of the 16th Avenue Tiled Steps (through a very cute neighborhood). Once you get to the top of these steps, you’ll find yourself face to face with the Grandview Park. You can also walk up just a few more stairs if your poor legs can take it for a pretty “grand view” of the city.

• Night Tour at Alcatraz – You will have to book this tour in advance (likely four weeks out or more). You should book from Alcatraz Cruises, which is the only SF Park Service approved ticket seller and any other sites will charge additional booking fees, as they are third-party. The night tour has two departure times to choose from and you can take either ferry back. You take a self-guided tour of the island and the old prison building and then there are opportunities to sit in on different talks covering a series of topics related to the island and prison. The self-guided tour is extremely well done and I thought it was a great experience! I took a new friend that I made in SF and we were saying it was the most interesting thing that we’d done on a Tuesday night in a long time!

• The Museum of Ice Cream – there is a sprinkle pool. Need I say more? Click here for pictures, because this place deserved a whole post of its own!
• Shopping – I mentioned earlier that there are a lot of shopping options near my hotel. There are tons and tons of stores along and off Market Street between 2nd and 5th (that I have seen). There is a massive mall called the Westfield San Francisco Centre that has a five-story Nordstrom inside and CIRCULAR escalators. I’ve never seen anything else like it!

Must-Sees and Must-Dos via Car – Day Trips

Over the six weekend days that I had, I spent five taking day trips all over the state! Read about them below!

1. Day Trip to Muir Woods and Sausalito
2. Day Trip to Santa Cruz
3. Day Trip to Yosemite
4. Day Trip to Big Sur, Monterey, and Carmel-by-the-Sea
5. Day Trip to Sonoma and Tiburon

Must-Eats in SF

Food

• Big Fish Little Fish – Poké – If you go for lunch, expect to wait in a long line, but it moves pretty quickly.
• Slanted Door – Fancy Vietnamese spot – it’s kind of hard to find and you can’t access from inside the ferry building. If you’re looking at the building, the door is going to be on the back side to the far left and you access from outside.
• Pho Vung Tau – Classic Vietnamese spot

• Paxti’s Pizza
• Seven Hills – Italian with homemade pasta
• Suppenküche – German

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• 4505 Burgers and BBQ
• Mensho Tokyo – Ramen – Plan to arrive early (i.e. 4:30) to get in line for the restaurant opening at 5:00. They don’t do takeout and you can wait in line forever if you show up at 5:00 or later!

• Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot
• Sushi Zone – CASH ONLY
• Kin Khao – Thai – I personally think this place smells bad, but it was highly recommended by every person who dropped me off at my hotel (it’s connected to the Parc 55 hotel).

Drinks

Desserts (aka mostly ICE CREAM)

• Smitten Ice Cream – Made with liquid nitrogen in small batches in front of you!

• Doughp – Edible cookie dough – but be warned – it is super rich!

• Lush Gelato – I highly recommend the Banana Salted Caramel. I think it’s my favorite that I had out of all of these places!

• Salt and Straw – They had a Lucky Charm ice cream that I was so excited for, but it did not live up to the hype (in my head). The Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons was pretty freaking delicious though.

• Cream – Ice Cream Sandwiches

• Bi-Rite Creamery – certain flavors are available at all Bi-Rite locations

Overall conclusion – I LOVE THIS PLACE!

I think I did a pretty damn good job fitting some really awesome sights and day trips and restaurants in, in just five weeks! Lucky for me, I found out that I actually get to spend almost another six weeks in San Francisco so I have the opportunity to try some other things I didn’t get to do before. What are your favorite things to do or places to eat that I missed?! Drop a note in the comments and I’ll definitely check it out and let you know what I think!

Here is a map with all of the above listed out for your planning purposes!