Points of interest San Francisco: Tourism & Monuments

Practical information : Sightseeing San Francisco

Timetable

The vast majority of attractions and museums are open every day of the week, usually from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., throughout the year, with the exception of certain holidays, including December 25, January 1 and Thanksgiving. When museums that normally charge admission offer free admission, expect crowds

To be booked

Few tourist attractions in the area require advance reservations. It is highly recommended to make a reservation for a trip to Alcatraz

Budget & Tips

It's going to be difficult for us to give you good plans to pay less, everything is overpriced in San Francisco! That's why it's a good idea to buy a pass to visit the must-see places in San Francisco at unbeatable prices. The City Pass (www.citypass.com/san-francisco ) allows you to save money if you plan to visit 4 of the city's must-see attractions.

Main events

San Franciscans like to party, a lot and often. Everything is an excuse for a parade, a festival or a fair. They especially like to dress up and take any opportunity to bring out feathers, hats and clown noses. The list of festivals is long, but the 4th of July, Gay Pride, Chinese New Year and St. Patrick's Day are worth a visit. Even our Bastille Day on July 14th gives rise to festivities, especially in the French Quarter downtown, between the Café de la Presse and the Hôtel de France, where flags and blue/white/red balloons are waving..

Guided tours

To see as much as possible in the shortest time, hop on a red double-decker bus from the Big Bus Tour (www.bigbustours.com) and you'll get around the city without getting tired and with the commentary of the guides. For the sporty, there are guided bike tours or running tours; for the foodies, there are food tours (Local Tastes). And if you are more comfortable in French, let yourself be guided by French-speaking expatriates (Voyage en français). They offer thematic guided tours, often off the beaten track, to discover San Francisco in a different way. You can even discover the wine route from the comfort of a sidecar (www.ridesbyme.com).

Smokers

Smoking is prohibited in public buildings, offices, clubs, concert halls, bars, restaurants and even on patios. In fact, the minimum distance to light a cigarette from the entrance of a building is 4.5 meters (15 feet). It is also very bad to light your cigarette in private homes.

Tourist traps

The cable car at 8 dollars a ticket looks like a tourist trap. Beside that, we don't really notice any scam in the streets of San Francisco.

What's very local

There aren't many hippies left in San Francisco. But if you go out to techno parties, you might run into Burners, their futuristic rainbow-furred descendants who appeared at Burning Man.

Tourist Attractions & Monuments San Francisco

GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE

LOCAL TASTES OF THE CITY TOUR

ALCATRAZ

ALAMO SQUARE - PAINTED LADIES

COIT TOWER

BAKER BEACH

CABLE CARS DE POWELL STREET

DOLORES PARK

EXPLORATORIUM

SFMOMA

FISHERMAN'S WHARF AND PIER 39

LOMBARD STREET

MISSION DOLORES

CABLE CAR MUSEUM

CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

ASIAN ART MUSEUM

ALL ABOUT CHINATOWN WALKING TOURS

OCEAN BEACH

HAAS-LILENTHAL HOUSE

INA COOLBRITH PARK

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