Telegraph Hill with Coit Tower and the downtown San Francisco skyline
  1. Home
  2. Destinations
  3. United States
  4. San Francisco
  5. 2 day itinerary

San Francisco in 2 days

  • 2 days
  • 9.1 km on foot
  • 16 stops
  • Audio guide

With two days you no longer have to choose between downtown and the postcard views of the bay. Day one pairs the downtown icons with the sea lions of Pier 39 and the prison on Alcatraz; day two brings the Gold Rush story and an afternoon facing the Golden Gate. It's the plan for a first visit: complete, well paced and with nothing essential left out.

Day 1From Chinatown to the Rock

Get going early with "Cable cars, Chinatown and the Beats": from the cable car turntable to Waverly Place, City Lights and Lombard Street. Head down for clam chowder at Boudin on Fisherman's Wharf, then follow the waterfront to Pier 39. Mid-afternoon, your ferry to Alcatraz leaves from Pier 33. Back on shore, walk up to Chinatown for "Secret San Francisco", which starts at Old St. Mary's and ends in Washington Square just as the lights of North Beach come on. Round it all off with cioppino.

  1. Morning

    Cable cars, Chinatown and the Beats: San Francisco highlights

    Mixed · 3.4 km · 2 h 15 min

    1. The cable car turntableHere the cable cars are turned by hand: climbing the hills since 1873 and saved by a group of determined women.
    2. Union Square, the square of VictoryPro-Union rallies, a goddess with the face of a future patron of the arts and the hotel that watched the city burn.
    3. The Dragon Gate, entrance to ChinatownThe gateway to one of North America's oldest Chinatowns, which survived an exclusion law and a plan to move it away.
    4. Waverly Place, the street of painted balconiesTemples on the top floors, family associations and the most photogenic balconies in Chinatown.
    5. City Lights, the Beat Generation's bookstoreA poet, a poem put on trial for obscenity and the bookstore that made North Beach the capital of the Beat Generation.
    6. Lombard Street, the street of eight curvesAn impossible slope tamed with eight curves of brick and flowers, with the bay as a backdrop.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  2. Lunch

    Try Clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl at Boudin Bakery. 160 Jefferson Street, Fisherman's Wharf

  3. Afternoon

    Pier 39 and the sea lions

    Fisherman's Wharf's most touristy pier, packed with shops and stalls, but with a free show: the sea lions that have been lounging on its floating docks since 1990. You'll hear them before you see them. It's a short stroll from lunch and minutes from the Alcatraz ferry.

    Directions

    Alcatraz Island

    The former federal penitentiary that held Al Capone and other notorious inmates, on an island in the middle of the bay. The cellhouse audio tour is superb and the views back to the city are like nowhere else. Ferry tickets tend to sell out, so book ahead.

    Directions

  4. Early evening

    Emperors, kidnappings and tunnels: secret San Francisco

    Mysteries & legends · 2.7 km · 2 h

    1. Old St. Mary's and Emperor NortonA clock that warned brothel-goers and, on the corner, the spot where the only emperor of the United States collapsed.
    2. Ross Alley, the alley of secretsGambling halls behind iron doors, tunnels nobody has ever found and a fortune cookie factory.
    3. The Old Ship Saloon and the Barbary Coast shanghaiersA bar that began inside a stranded ship, and the dark reputation of sailors kidnapped on the waterfront.
    4. Coit Tower and the girl who ran with the firemenA tower atop Telegraph Hill, a rebellious heiress and the fire hose nozzle nobody designed.
    5. Washington Square and the time capsuleA statue holding a message for the future, a wedding that never happened in that church and a tribute to the firemen.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  5. Dinner

    Try Cioppino at Tadich Grill. 240 California Street

Day 2Gold Rush and Golden Gate

In the morning, "From Yerba Buena to the city that rose from its ashes": Grant Avenue, the Jackson Square warehouses that survived the fire, the Ferry Building and Lotta's Fountain, where survivors of 1906 found each other again. From Market Street it's ten minutes back to Chinatown for dim sum. Afterwards, the 30 bus drops you in the Marina: first the Palace of Fine Arts, then the walk along Crissy Field to the Golden Gate. If you've still got the legs, cross it on foot in the late afternoon.

  1. Morning

    From Yerba Buena to the city that rose from its ashes

    History · 3 km · 1 h 50 min

    1. Grant Avenue, where the city was bornA ship's sail turned into a tent, a village called Yerba Buena and the square where gold was announced.
    2. Jackson Square, the district that survived the fireGold Rush warehouses, a bank run by William T. Sherman and the whiskey that, as the joke goes, God chose to spare.
    3. The Niantic, the ship buried under the officesWhere offices stand today there was water, and beneath your feet lie the remains of a whaler turned warehouse and hotel.
    4. The Ferry Building, gateway to the bayBefore the bridges, everyone arrived here; its clock tower outlasted two earthquakes and a freeway that hid it.
    5. Lotta's Fountain and the 1906 earthquakeThe gift of an actress who started out singing for miners became the meeting point of a city in flames.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  2. Lunch

    Try Dim sum in Chinatown at Great Eastern Restaurant. 649 Jackson Street

  3. Afternoon

    Palace of Fine Arts

    A rotunda in the style of a Roman ruin beside a swan-filled lagoon, built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition and later rebuilt. It's one of the most photogenic corners of the city, and an easy walk from Crissy Field on your way to the bridge.

    Directions

    Golden Gate Bridge

    The red suspension bridge that opened in 1937 is still the city's great symbol. From Crissy Field you see the whole span; walking it, or cycling across to the Battery Spencer viewpoint on the Marin side, is a different experience altogether. Watch out for fog and wind.

    Directions

The map

San Francisco in 2 days, on the map

Each route’s stops are numbered in order; the stars are the extra sights.

Mixed Mysteries & legends History Extra sight

Loading the map…

Before you go

Tips for San Francisco in 2 days

  • Book Alcatraz as soon as you have dates, through the national park's official ferry operator, and check the time of the last boat before planning the rest of the day.
  • Fog on the Golden Gate comes and goes: if the bridge is hidden in the afternoon, flip the order and save the Palace of Fine Arts for later while it clears.
  • If you drive to the bridge or any viewpoint, leave nothing visible in the car, not even an empty bag: break-ins at parked cars are common.

Questions

San Francisco in 2 days: your questions

Is two days enough for San Francisco?

For a first trip, yes: you'll see the historic center, Chinatown, North Beach, Alcatraz and the Golden Gate. What's left out are the western neighborhoods, such as Haight-Ashbury, Golden Gate Park and the Painted Ladies, plus day trips to Sausalito or Muir Woods. For those, plan on three days.

How far will I walk in two days?

The tours add up to about 9.1 km (5.7 miles): roughly 6.1 km on day one and 3 km on day two. Add the Fisherman's Wharf stroll, the Alcatraz visit and about 3 km along Crissy Field to the bridge; the Golden Gate itself is 2.7 km end to end if you cross it.

Is Alcatraz worth it on a short trip?

For most people, yes: it's one of the city's best-rated visits and the prison audio tour is gripping. Allow about three hours including the ferry. If you can't get tickets, spend the afternoon on Fisherman's Wharf, at Hyde Street Pier and over an Irish coffee at the Buena Vista.

Other itineraries for 2 days

San Francisco

More or less time?

1 day itinerary 3 day itinerary All about San Francisco