San Francisco in a Day

See As Much of San Francisco as You Can in a Day

If you've got only one day to visit San Francisco, make the best of it you can. These are a few ways to see the most interesting and popular sights, without wasting too much time in between. Things to know:

• Visiting Alcatraz takes almost a half day, by the time you take the ferry out there, look around and get back. If you want to see it desperately, reserve ahead (to avoid finding the tour sold out). Opt for their evening tour and you'll have more daylight time to see other things. How to visit Alcatraz

• Park once and leave your vehicle there until you're ready to leave the main tourist area. While it might seem like you can see more by driving from place to place, you'll burn up both your brakes and your good humor looking for parking places. If you want to drive Lombard Street, go there in the morning when it's best-lit, on your way to or from the Golden Gate Bridge.

Day Tour by Cable Car and Walking

If you're up to a lot of walking (most of it on fairly flat streets), this is the best way to take in as much of the San Francisco experience as can be managed in a single day. Get more information about riding San Francisco cable cars and find out about ticket prices and how to ride. It will be cheaper to buy a Muni Passport for this trip than to pay each time you board.

• Start at Union Square, have a look around and catch any cable car from the stop at Powell and Market Streets.

• Get off the cable car in Chinatown (at California Street). Walk two blocks to Grant Avenue and follow Grant north through Chinatown to Columbus Ave.

• Turn left on Columbus for a walk through North Beach. Stop for a coffee and a little people-watching at Caffe Roma or any of the other coffee shops along the street.

• Follow Stockton over the hill to Pier 39, the follow the waterfront west toward Fisherman's Wharf and Ghirardelli Square. Grab a quick bite to eat at Boudin's sourdough bakery or from one of the sidewalk vendors at Fisherman's Wharf.

• Take the cable car back from the Hyde Street turnaround, ending up at Union Square where you started. If you have time, get off at the top of Lombard Street and walk down. From the bottom, continue on Lombard to Columbus, where you can catch the cable car again.

If you're not interested in Chinatown, try this instead: Take the Market Street trolley to the waterfront near the Ferry Building, then walk along the water to Pier 39. From there, follow the rest of the itinerary above.

Day Tour by Trolley

The San Francisco Trolley Hop uses motorized vehicles that look like the San Francisco cable cars. They travel past most of the popular spots, with frequent departures during the day, saving you travel time. You can get on or off at Pier 41 1/2 near Fisherman's Wharf, Union Square, the Embarcadero Center near the Ferry Building or in North Beach/Chinatown.

Combine the trolley with the San Francisco Explorer Cruise and you'll see a lot in just one day. This cruise breaks ranks with the others that loop out around Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge, instead taking you to more interesting and unusual sights that even many San Franciscans may not have seen.

Tour Companies

Many companies offer day tours in San Francisco, promising to take you to more than a dozen places in just a few hours. That works out to only about 15 minutes in any one place, with no hope of lingering at a particularly appealing spot and no way to avoid the ones you aren't interested in. If you choose this way of seeing the city, we suggest using a company that uses a van or small shuttle bus so you have a better chance of seeing things out the windows.

If your budget allows for it (even if it's a bit of a splurge), opt instead for one of the companies who offer customized tours in a mini-van. You'll have a chance to see what you're really interested in and have much more individual attention. Try Blue Heron Tours or A Friend in Town.