San Francisco is one of the awesome cities in USA famous for Golden gate bridge, cable cars and colorful Victorian houses, beautiful beaches. We were surprised to see fog everyday even in the noon in our 4 days stay. I planned SFO (short for San Francisco) with other national parks of California including Sequoia, Yosemite, and Lake Tahoe. In this blog I am just going to cover all the fun we had in SFO. Please visit my other blogs for more details.
I always tend to combine as much as I can in one trip especially if it’s a long trip so that we can enjoy more things yet could save on some spending.
Best time to visit: All year around
In our 4 days stay we did following attractions:
Golden Gate bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge; the one-mile-wide strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. It has iconic orange color and is considered as one of the Wonders of Modern worlds for its architecture. At the time of its opening in 1937, it was both the longest and the tallest suspension bridge in the world. In your stay in SFO you might cross the bridge numerous times but walking on the bridge sidewalks, visiting visitor center to know the history of the bridge, and admiring its beauty is an amazing experience.
Lombard street
It is also known as Crooked Street. It’s difficult to describe it so please see below picture. ???? Driving on this crooked street was a thrilling experience. There is no fee to drive on the street but be prepared for traffic.
Try to go early here to avoid crowd and traffic jam
Fisherman Wharf and Pier 39
It is one of busiest touristy place in the SFO. It is surrounded by Souvenir shops and stalls selling crab and clam chowder in sourdough bread bowls. We saw lot of sea lions on Pier 39 – in the morning around 9 – 9:30. There are lots of tour companies here.
Ghirardelli Square
If you love Chocolate and have a sweet tooth, then don’t miss Ghirardelli chocolate factory. There are lots of other fancy restaurants in the area.
17-Mile drive
It is a beautiful drive with lots of scenic overlooks. Entry for this drive is $10.25 per vehicle. You will find map and other details here. We rented Corvette to drove this scenic drive and it was definitely a rewarding experience.
Alcatraz island
I wanted to visit this iconic prison but unfortunately, we couldn’t get tickets in our stay. If you want to visit this place, I would suggest booking tickets prior to your trip. You can book tickets here.
Ticket rates: $30.00 Adults (18-61), $20.00 Seniors (62+), $20.00 Juniors (12-17) and $20.00 Children (5-11).
Napa Valley
Napa Valley has endless vineyards and its beautiful. We drove on Highway 12, Highway 128, Highway 29 for scenic views. We also did Silverado Trail. There are lots of winery to choose and they offer various wine testing options. We visited Castello di Amorosa for wine tasting and did their guided tour. It is a beautiful castle and wine was also good. Honestly, that was my first experience tasting wine and I liked it.
The guided tour cost is $45 with 5 wine tasting. They have few options to choose from. You can find these details here.
In Napa Valley we had best turkey burger ever at Gott’s Roadside. I would suggest stopping by at the place and give it a try.