When I travel I really aim to see the highlights of the place I am visiting, even if my time there is limited. Last summer I traveled to San Francisco and had about thirty hours to see the city. Even with this short amount of time, I feel like I did a good job of covering the major attractions and wanted to share how I did it.

Our itinerary started with us arriving in to San Francisco in the early afternoon and departing the following night.

Things to To

Lombard Street – As our hotel was nearby (more on our hotel at the end of the post), we started by walking to Lombard Street. Lombard Street is known for being a one-way, sharp descent street with eight switchback turns. The street’s design was a practical solution to its steepness, as it is on a 27-degree angle. Via a set of stairs on either side of the street, you can watch the cars go back and forth as they wind their way down.

Eat pastries in North Beach – The North Beach is an Italian area of town we stumbled upon while walking from Lombard Street to Chinatown. As we moved through the area, we saw various bakeries and Italian eateries. Never one to say no to a good cannoli, we decided to get pastries at Victoria Pastry Company and Cavalli Cafe. The cannoli at Cavalli Cafe was large with a creamy sweet ricotta filling and nice crispy exterior – yum!

Dinner in Chinatown – After walking through North Beach, we ended up in the Chinatown neighborhood of the city. This was my favorite area of the city; as the evening wore on it was lively and it felt like an authentic place where the Chinese-American community actually lives and gathers. We ate Chinese dim sum at City View Restaurant ordering a sampling of plates to try a variety of items. This meal was delicious!

The Painted Ladies – From Chinatown we took an Uber to the Painted Ladies, a serious of colorful Victorian homes made famous by the TV series Full House. At this point I showed my British husband – who had no idea what Full House was – the opening to the show so he understood the cultural significance of what we were looking at. You can best view the row of Painted Ladies from across the street at Alamo Square Park. We ended our day after this and went back to the hotel.

Powell/Mason Cable Car Turnaround – The next morning we started our day at the Powell/Mason Cable Car Turnaround. San Francisco’s cable cars are historic and the last manually operated system in the world. At the turnaround, we got to see the cable cars come to the end of the line and be manually turned around by the cable car workers. This was also a good place for us to start our day as it was close to our hotel and had a Starbucks right next to it!

Walk across Golden Gate Bridge and visit the Welcome Center – From the cable car turnaround we took an Uber to the far end of the Golden Gate Bridge and then walked the 1.7 miles across it. This was a really cool way to experience seeing the bridge, but be sure to factor into your clothing that the bridge is quite windy. Once we had walked across we spent time in the Welcome Center area reading about the bridge’s construction and buying a magnet that says “I Crossed the Golden Gate Bridge” to mark our accomplishment.

In-and-Out – Whenever I’m in California I always try to have a meal at In-and-Out, so that was the next place we took an Uber to for lunch. Surprisingly, there’s only one In-and-Out in San Francisco (333 Jefferson Street) so you’ll have to head there if you want to partake.

San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park Visitor Center – One block over from In-and-Out is the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park Visitor Center that is run by the National Park Service. The visitor center is free to enter and shares the Bay Area’s maritime history. I found the exhibits really interesting and a great way to learn more about what has happened in the past to make San Francisco the city it is today.

Ghirardelli Square – Just a few moments away walk from the visitor center is Ghirardelli Square. We wandered around the square a bit, and as we were full from lunch, we decided to buy some chocolates to take home – thought next time I’ll definitely save some appetite for one of their decadent looking famous hot fudge sundaes!

Visit Alcatraz – From Ghirardelli Square, we walked over to Pier 33 to get on the ferry to Alcatraz. I recommend booking the ferry ahead of time as they do sell out. Once we were on the island we went to do the included audio tour of the prison and then spent time walking around other areas of the islands before heading back. It was really fascinating to learn not only about the inmates who had been imprisoned at Alcatraz but also to learn about the families of the prison workers who lived on the island while the prison was in operation. The entire experience took about three hours.

Pier 39 – Just a short walk down from the Alcatraz ferry at Pier 33 is Pier 39. Pier 39’s major highlight is the sea lions you can view from the pier – they are so fun to see! The pier is also home to arcades, carousels, and several food stalls that make it great for a walk through.

Pier 39 was our last stop before heading to the airport for our night time flight.

Where We Stayed

We stayed at the Columbus Motor Inn which is near Lombard Street and Fisherman’s Wharf. We booked this hotel because free covered parking was included in the hotel room rate; we were on the tail end of a road trip during our time in San Francisco. The hotel is a little dated but the room was clean and a good size. I would stay there again if needed.

I have also returned to San Francisco since this trip and stayed at The Orchard Garden Hotel, which I also recommend. Our room was a good size here as well, and its just a few blocks over from Chinatown.