Cities are like people. The closer you get to them, the more you learn about them. The best way to get close to a city is to walk in it, and San Francisco is a great city for walking. Don't be intimidated by the hills, some walks are on flat ground. Depending on your preferences, you can take a guided tour or a do-it-yourself one. There are plenty of opportunities for either kind of tour.
Guided Tours
- San Francisco City Guides offers free guided walking tours to many areas of the city. Some of their more popular tours include Chinatown, North Beach, the Palace Hotel and Gold Rush City (early San Francisco history), but there are many more.
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To learn about the architecture, lifestyle and history of the Victorian Era, take the Victorian Home Walk, or try City Guides free Landmark Victorians of Alamo Square or Victorian San Francisco tours. If you're lucky, the Alamo Square tour might take you inside a Victorian home.
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Food lovers will enjoy the Wok Wiz tours of Chinatown. Some include a Chinese lunch. The Chinese Culture Center also offers walking tours in Chinatown, as do City Guides.
- For something to do in the evening and a good tale, join Mina Harker on the San Francisco Vampire Tour
- Cruisin' the Castro gives you a chance to learn about a little-known aspect of San Francisco history.
Do-it-Yourself Tours
San Francisco is a good place to just wander. It's comparatively small and the major landmarks are visible from everywhere, so it's hard to get lost. If you're a do-it-yourselfer, you'll find brass markers in the sidewalk showing the path of the
Barbary Coast Trail. You can simply follow them, or buy the accompanying guidebook "Walking San Francisco on the Barbary Coast Trail," available at many San Francisco locations.
