San Francisco guides
San Francisco squeezes cable cars, foggy hills, an orange bridge and famous burritos onto a small peninsula, and BART runs from the SFO International Terminal straight to the Mission and downtown.
Layover guides for San Francisco
San Francisco International Airport (SFO) layovers
6 hoursHow to Spend a 6 Hour Layover in San Francisco: SFO to the Mission
A 6 hour layover in San Francisco is enough for a BART ride to the Mission. Walk an alley of protest murals, eat a super burrito, gaze at the skyline from Dolores Park and step into the city's oldest intact building.
8 hoursHow to Spend an 8 Hour Layover in San Francisco: SFO to Coit Tower
Eight hours between flights lets you graze the Ferry Building and climb the garden lined Filbert Steps to Coit Tower. Then wander down to North Beach for focaccia pizza and the City Lights bookshop.
10 hoursHow to Spend a 10 Hour Layover in San Francisco: SFO to the Cable Cars
Ten hours is time for the full Fisherman's Wharf day. Hang off a Powell-Hyde cable car to Lombard Street, eat a hot fudge sundae and fish and chips, play antique arcade games and watch the Pier 39 sea lions.
12 hoursHow to Spend a 12 Hour Layover in San Francisco: SFO to the Golden Gate
Twelve hours lets you walk onto the Golden Gate Bridge and look up at its deck from a Civil War fort. Then follow the Crissy Field shore to Presidio Tunnel Tops and the Palace of Fine Arts.
Short trip guides for San Francisco
Neighborhoods
3 hoursHow to Spend 3 Hours in San Francisco: Painted Ladies and the Haight
A 3 hour walk in San Francisco takes in the Painted Ladies from Alamo Square, the corner where the Summer of Love unfolded and a huge used record store inside an old bowling alley.
4 hoursHow to Spend 4 Hours in San Francisco: The Castro and Its History
4 hours in the Castro, heart of the city's LGBTQ life, covers the giant rainbow flag and the restored Castro Theatre. Then read the Rainbow Honor Walk plaques and visit the GLBT history museum.
6 hoursHow to Spend 6 Hours in San Francisco: Lands End and the Legion of Honor
Six hours is time to head west for a famous croissant, Rodin's Thinker at the Legion of Honor, a cliff path with Golden Gate views and the ruins of a Victorian bathhouse by the ocean.
8 hoursHow to Spend 8 Hours in San Francisco: A Day in Golden Gate Park
An 8 hour day in Golden Gate Park covers its Victorian greenhouse, the de Young's art and free tower, and a timed visit to the Japanese Tea Garden. Finish with the Academy of Sciences and Blue Heron Lake.
Downtown
3 hoursHow to Spend 3 Hours in San Francisco: Chinatown and Fortune Cookies
Three hours covers a loop through Chinatown: walk under the Dragon Gate, read the warning on Old St. Mary's clock, watch fortune cookies being folded by hand and pick up dumplings to go.
4 hoursHow to Spend 4 Hours in San Francisco: Nob Hill and the Cable Car Barn
Four hours is enough to ride a cable car up Nob Hill to the barn that powers it. Sit by a Roman style fountain, walk Grace Cathedral's labyrinth and take on a giant donut on Polk Street.
6 hoursHow to Spend 6 Hours in San Francisco: SFMOMA and a Rooftop Park
6 hours in San Francisco gives art lovers a SoMa afternoon: stroll a rooftop park above the bus terminal, spend real time at SFMOMA, then rest beside the waterfall memorial at Yerba Buena Gardens.
8 hoursHow to Spend 8 Hours in San Francisco: Alcatraz and the Exploratorium
8 hours in San Francisco is enough for Alcatraz and its cellhouse audio tour. Spend the afternoon on hands-on science at the Exploratorium, then end with crab cioppino in North Beach.
Fitness guides for San Francisco
FitnessSan Francisco Panhandle Run to Blue Heron Lake and a Fitness SF Day Pass
Eleven kilometers of trees, lawns and city blocks: past the Painted Ladies, west along the Panhandle and the car-free JFK Promenade to Blue Heron Lake, and back to a swimming pool.
FitnessSan Francisco Embarcadero Run to Fort Mason and a Fitness SF Day Pass
A 9.7 km loop from Fitness SF Transbay follows the flat Embarcadero past the Ferry Building and Pier 39 to the Fort Mason meadow. The way back crosses the foot of Russian Hill and runs down Columbus Avenue through North Beach.
About San Francisco
San Francisco is small for a big city, just seven miles across, so a short stop can still cover a lot of ground. BART trains leave from inside the SFO International Terminal and reach the Mission, Civic Center, Union Square and the Embarcadero without a change. From there, cable cars climb Nob Hill and Russian Hill, the waterfront promenade runs to Fisherman's Wharf, and Muni buses cross to Golden Gate Park and the bridge. Pack a jacket even in summer: fog often rolls in off the Pacific in the afternoon, and the hills are steep.