From Chinatown we took California Street up to Nob Hill. Great exercise- best way to see SF. Fisherman's Wharf walking tour & Alcatraz visit. To make driving easier, the most curved section of Lombard Street was made a one-way street (only down), and there is a strict speed limit (5 mph, 8km/hour). Let California Tours take care of all of your accommodations on a self-guided driving road trip vacation. 49 Miles of 100% San Francisco. Please arrange for a vehicle before you take the tour. With TourCentric, you'll be completely immersed in the stories, sights, and sounds of San Francisco. No need to worry about driving in Central San Francisco. $85.00. And even if you do have more time to spend in the city (or even if you live there) its worth it to take the drive at least once to see all that San Francisco is known for, discovering a few of the gems that people sometimes miss like Mission Dolores. Not far away from Haight Ashbury comes the place where we will end our San Francisco sightseeing tour for today. I've used these in other cities too and they are great. You'll hear historical facts about SF events such as the California Gold Rush and the 1906 Earthquake and Fire. Double Bottom Assembly, Kaiser Shipyards, Richmond CA [RORI 1039_b] . and will seek out other neighborhoods on our next trip! Subscribe to our newsletter belowcoupon code on the next screen. Included with your San Francisco tour is a complimentary bonus tour of the Golden Gate Bridge. Our next post will show you more about San Francisco as we will go and see the Golden Gate Bridge and more Golden Gate area sights. As the ground convulses, buildings disintegrate and fires are ignited. My tour guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. The busy street begins at the Dragons Gate and you will find loads of Chinese restaurants on the main street and even more on the side streets: On the nearby Kearny Street the Chinese community of San Francisco gathers for Chinese music and games. The great thing about this drive is that it takes you through so much of the city that nearly any hotel youre staying in within city limits is going to be close to a portion of the drive. This is a walk through the past and future of San Francisco. Contact Me | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Site Map | Advertising Disclaimer. Powell-Hyde Line: Cable Car Museum and Russian Hill. The Action Tour Guide app functions as a guide, an audio tour, and a map all in one. CityListen Audio Tours Includes Tours of New York, Chicago, and San Francisco CarTours Self-guided Interpretive Audio Driving Tours Includes Tours of Lewis and Clark Trail, Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, The North Cascades Highway, and The Olympic Peninsula Museum of the Open Road (MOTOR) American Highway Tours All of these self-guided tours are designed to be easy to do using the San Francisco Metroor BART (for more information on navigating this sometimes confusing city read our articleHow to Use Transit in San Francisco). Book your San Francisco bay cruise service now and discover Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. Are you interested in exploring the city of San Francisco without a large group around you? DOWNTOWN SAN FRANCISCO TOUR. A graduate of the University of Maryland and University of Southern California, he has been leading tours for Free Tours by Foot since 2015. free, guided walking tours of San Francisco, free, fully guided Chinatown walking tour, self-guided tour of the Golden Gate Bridge, GPS-enabled audio tour of the Golden Gate Bridge, free walking tour of the Golden Gate Bridge, GPS-enabled audio tour of the Financial District, free walking tour of Downtown San Francisco, GPS-enabled audio tour of the Castro District. 29. On this San Francisco tour, drive down the very steep and crooked Lombard Street, and around neighborhoods such as the Mission. from. Join us! Like Pacific Heights and Nob Hill, Haight Ashbury consists of large Victorian houses but thats the only similarity. You cant visit San Francisco without flashing back to the hippie-dippie days of the 1960s. $ 65 $ 50. Fishermans Wharf is known for its seafood restaurants (that exist in all price classes), cafes, shops, museums and other typical tourist attractions. Despite the bridges theres still a lot of ferry traffic on the bay. The San Francisco Museum and Historical Society offers two self guided walks of the Barbary Coast Trail in San Francisco. As we get back to the tour and continue driving, we'll learn all about the city's rapid real estate growth and the housing crisis it currently faces. Want to work with us? . We spent a sunny Saturday driving around Central San Francisco and on Sunday we explored the Golden Gate area. Boston You'll also stop by many places that were frequented by famous locals from San Francisco's past. Enjoy an immersive walk with amazing views and riveting stories of San Francisco and visit the notorious Alcatraz prison during this guided tour! The following health and safety measures are in place, so you can relax and enjoy your experience. New Orleans Streets like this would never work in Europe where a lot of cars still have manual gears. Opening hours: Fri 12:00am-11:59pm. The ultimate audio tour of San Francisco, this self-guided, app-based driving tour covers the city's most iconic attractionsfrom the Painted Ladies of Steiner Street to the Golden Gate Bridge. How many people know what San Francisco is like? The Castro District. Pacific Heights surprised us: all streets are lined with old-style Victorian homes. This post presents a driving route in the Golden Gate area on the westside of San Francisco. Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. This district is widely considered the home of the gay rights movement in the United States. (See privacy policy), Find additional self-guided tours plus some multi-day itineraries, Learn more about things to see and do in Japantown, You can buy these together or separately through Amazon. However, we do suggest you download the tour at your home, hotel, visitor center, etc before you head out for a completely immersive experience. Chinatown: Stroll down the colorful streets of Chinatown and see its historic temples, top dim sum restaurants, and amazing street art. Chinatown is pretty close to Fishermans Wharf and North Beach, so you may want to consider taking multiple self-guided tours on the same day if youve got enough time and energy. Not bad, both tourists and locals like this. After driving down from the freeway we got into a deep gorge with super high skyscrapers on both sides. The self guided treks are 3.8 miles long and take you through several SF neighborhoods including Union Square, Chinatown, North Beach and Fisherman's Wharf. This is where most department stores are, making the San Francisco Market Street one of the main shopping streets of the city. Yosemite National Park (/ j o s m t i / yoh-SEM-ih-tee) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest.The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an area of 759,620 acres (1,187 sq mi; 3,074 km 2) in four counties - centered in Tuolumne and Mariposa, extending . Thanks! While youre up there, youll learn to identify some of the most famous structures which make up Friscos skyline. Lowest price guarantee Reserve now & pay laterFree cancellation. This means only a small number of sea lions stay here throughout the year. The old-style Market Street of San Francisco. Rome By 17 Mile Day Trips. From the Powell Street turnaround at Market Street near Union Square, take the Powell-Hyde Line. You cant come to San Francisco and not set foot on the Golden Gate Bridge! Musement helps you get the best from every destination, by giving you easy access to memorable experiences around the world. San Francisco City Self-Guided Driving Tour in English. Start your self-guided tour at San Francisco City Hall. per adult. Walking: At Clay Street, turn right, then go left to enter one of San Francisco's original city parks. Next, we'll head up one of SF's famous hills: Theres a phenomenal view of the bay and of the city skyline once youre up there. Your email address will not be published. That is why these two adjoining neighborhoods are another must-see for your driving tour. At last, youll reach the beautiful waterfront, home to some of the best food and drink in Frisco, not to mention astonishing views of the bay! View All . No worries! And as you can imagine, there are a lot of interesting sites to see in the neighborhood. It should say Powell-Hyde (it has a brown sign). These steps require good data/wifi. Electric Tour Company Guided Walking . The SF self-drive tour follows a circular route through the city, so you can start at any point along the way. To get the best views of the painted ladies come here in the evening and look at them from the Alamo Square Park. Even when the Americans insist on driving up and down the steep 44 San Francisco hills, one street turned out too steep even to them. Book now from $8! Cable car conductors also sell day passes. This is an excellent alternative if you prefer to interact with a professional guide rather than an app on your phone. As we drive towards Chinatown, we'll pass a strange sight: a huge, glass pyramid. This comprehensive self-guided San Francisco City Tour covers everything from the Painted Ladies to the Golden Gate Bridge. There are also ferries to the historic Alcatraz Island, leaving from another terminal further north. When you book with an account, you will be able to track your payment status, track the confirmation and you can also rate the tour after you finished the tour. And our professional guides will help you find each of the most notable landmarks in the neighborhood. What follows is 1 of 17 walks from their book, "Walking San Francisco's 49 Mile Scenic Drive", edited and condensed for our website. Read reviews, compare customer ratings, see screenshots and learn more about San Francisco Audio Tour Guide. We provide customizable self guided driving vacations throughout United States, including car rentals, GPS, and hotel accommodations. Closed Christmas and Thanksgiving Day. The residential area of Pacific Heights is on the next hill in order and offers great views to the city and the bay area. Book today! Chinatown Self-Guided Tour. Founded as a "sketch club" for female artists in 1887, San Francisco Women Artists (SFWA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and expanding women in the arts. tours at your own pace and literally at any time of the day! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); For first-time visitors discovering the lay of the land or those who cant leave until theyve seen it all, the 49-Mile scenic drive is a fantastic way to get acquainted with all of San Francisco. It has three Michelin stars (the highest rating) and the James Beard Award for outstanding restaurant. Go City | San Francisco All-Inclusive Pass. GPS-activated audio app that plays on your phone. Simply follow the audio instructions and the route from there. With 12 tours across the state, our value-for-money California bundle (priced at just $39.99) gives you the flexibility to see all the top sights in the state at your own pace. Be sure to check your email before you begin to download the Action Tour Guide app, enter your unique password, and access your tour. Theres a lot of history behind this area of San Francisco, and many notable buildings and sites to experience. San Francisco has well developed public transport and many connections. Mooncakes are their specialty, filled with a light melon or rich-tasting lotus-seed paste. Alternatives include taking a tour bus that goes along most of the route or renting a bicycle and doing it on bike, which takes approximately six hours but eliminates some of the difficulties of having to drive in the city. Got a soft spot for the hippie-dippie days of the 1960s? If you are only going to be in the area for a day or two, then an unique way to fit them all in is to take San Franciscos 49-Mile scenic drive. 7 Sites to Visit on a Driving Tour of San Francisco. This 3-hour guided tour takes you to bike across GGB and then explore Sausalito's waterfront. These beautiful, colorful homes exemplify Friscos funky culture and are a great way to start your journey. Blacksmithing Youth Classes. Here you will find some of the best at night from scary ghost walks to night cruises around the bay. Temporary new starting point address: Alamo Square Park, Steiner St, San Francisco. Disclaimer: I receive a small commission from some of the links on this page. All of these tours take you on a specific walking route through the city. This is a self-guided experience and not an entrance ticket. TOURS All Destinations Hawaii. Simply download the free TourCentric app, purchase your San Francisco self guided tour, and start anywhere along the route whenever youre ready! After that, buckle your seatbelts because youre heading down Lombard Street, aka the most crooked street in the world! Our guide was extremely knowledgeable, having grown up in the area, and pointed out not only historical places, but beautiful murals, homes and fun nooks and crannies (like hidden stairways to streets) that we never would have seen on our own. Our Fave Spots, Zero Ads. Haight Ashbury has another kind of history. Parking, however, may cause problems, but we found good solutions for that which I will share. I could start and stop the tour whenever I wanted to break and resume. San Francisco Skyline Sightseeing, Gray Line, and Tower Tours lead combination tours that include tours of Sausalito, Sonoma, and/or highlights of San Francisco. We include a few details about each tour to give you an idea of what to expect on each outing. With the bonus tour, youll get up close and personal with that famous landmark and even drive across it for some killer views! From here, we can explore the wonders of the nearby Ferry Building or make our way to Fisherman's Wharf for a glimpse of the infamous Alcatraz! One of the key features of this expo was the launch of the 49-Mile scenic drive, which showed off both of the bridges and ended at the Treasure Island fairgrounds. +1 646 4611355. This app offers a fully-guided experience - just like a local giving you a personalized, turn-by-turn, fully-guided tour. Explore all that San Francisco has to offer, from the twists and turns of Lombard Street, through the bustling streets of Chinatown, and to the top of Telegraph Hill! If you come to San Francisco, you might join one of Britt's tours of the city. Transport by luxury air-conditioned coach with Wi-Fi and restroom. That way it will only take more time and you will have to examine San Francisco bus and cable car maps and timetables. Points of Interest along the San Francisco:-. It stops at the top of the curved block and you can walk down the stairs and see the cars. Wil and Erin at Ride Free organised our whole trip along route 66 then the coast road to San Francisco. Expedia and the Airplane Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Expedia, Inc. CST# 2029030-50. Charleston San Francisco has water on three sides so you can imagine how useful the bridges were and still are. Lombard Street was so steep that it needed eight turns to make it drivable: San Francisco by car: driving down the eight turns of Lombard Street. Subscribe to our newsletter below. If your time in San Francisco is limited, taking a driving tour of the city could be a good option for you. Visit its top attractions, see where the Beat Generation spent their days and nights and taste some of the best goodies in the district. Here is the breakdown of the cost involved in this self-guided Muir Woods tour: ADULT Roundtrip Discount Ferry Ticket: $18 Shuttle to . Each stop offers a little information about what happened at that location. Well worth the price and what I also liked about the tour was how easy it was. It's a totally weird and unique San Francisco thing ( here's a list of a bunch of other weird San Francisco quirks). To get to the end of the pier where the sea lions are you will need to walk all the way through the tourist zone, souvenir shops and carousels. Next, our SF tour brings us to the famous Lombard Street. You only need to book one tour per vehicle, not per person. You can spot some of San Franciscos most famous landmarks from here. HAWAII VOLCANOES NATIONAL . It started when wealthy families started building their houses up on the hill after the cable car line was opened. Interested in creating custom self-guided tours for your customers? The tour shouldnt take longer than 1 - 1 hours to finish. According to an article on the history of the drive, a few of the annoyances you may encounter during the drive include: If you do the drive from start to finish with just a few stops at the major attractions it should take you three to four hours to complete the drive. (C) Ghirardelli Square - a landmark public . Later the 1906 earthquake took much of Nob Hill after which the wealthy house owners moved west to Pacific Heights and built their homes there. This picturesque, winding road has been another Hollywood staple for ages, but experiencing it for yourself is a whole different ball game. This trail connects important historical sites throughout the streets of SF. During your walking tour, you will learn more about 20 of San Francisco's top attractions. We definitely came away with much more of an appreciation for Castro and the Mission (love Dolores Park!) Prague Since most of the locations on our self-guided tour of Fishermans Wharf are located alongside the water, you can expect this outing to take around 1 - 1 hours. Your tour will conclude here, but that isnt where the fun ends! Did a wonderful tour with these guys while I was in San Francisco on business. Join us for a walk along the streets . 1 Your California: San Francisco to Point Reyes tour begins. Haight-Ashbury. There are only really 7 stops on this self-guided tour of the Golden Gate Bridge, and you can expect the whole tour to take around 1 - 1 hours. Cross the Golden Gate Bridge and visit the Golden Gate Park, home to museums and attractions including the Academy of Sciences, the DeYoung Museum, and the friendly Bison. On especially foggy days you may not even be able to see key attractions like Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Transamerica Pyramid. This is Grant Avenue, the Chinatowns main street. This website uses cookies to improve your browsingexperience and analyze the use of the website. You definitely have to include Pier 39 in your San Francisco sightseeing program. We offer Escorted Motorcoach Tours, Self Drive Tours, Cruises and Vacation Packages in North America. Visit the top attractions, including: the Ferry Building, Coit Tower, Pier 39, Ghirardelli Square, Alcatraz, Palace of Fine Arts, Presidio, and the Golden Gate Bridge. Probably the most comprehensive tour of San Francisco is the 49-mile Scenic Drive . A San Francisco self-guided tour is a must-do on your . . I found the one in the picture on the left in the North Beach neighborhood. The app was super easy to use, and the content was really fun! The cable car ascends, passing Union Square and Nob Hill . Copyright with All Rights Reserved 1996-2017. Our San Francisco exploration begins at one of the city's most iconic stops: the Painted Ladies! Book your Alcatraz tickets to explore the infamous prison and enjoy two days of hop-on hop-off access to all of San Francisco. These handy tools helped us find where to park. These signs themselves are part of the history of the scenic drive. Most San Francisco seals travel south in summer to give birth to their pups and to be back here for winter. This is not at all like the typical guided tour. Expand All. You dont want to miss out on seeing the Grace Cathedral on Nob Hill. One important thing for you to note if youre taking this drive intentionally, however, is that the signs are often stolen and it takes awhile to replace them so youll want the map with you in addition to following the signage! The original hands-on paranormal investigation tour. Alamo Square is the home of the Painted Ladies: the beautiful Victorian-era homes of the 1870s. All individual tours come with lifetime validity. From there, head east along Haight Street . The person I travel with is my husband and photographer Clas: Come and join the trip! This comprehensive self-guided driving tour of San Francisco covers everything from the Painted Ladies to the Embarcadero. Simply download our app and enter your unique password. From tasting delicious food to feeling the hippy love, to exploring the haunted past of San Francisco, theres something there for everyone. There was a lot more to see than we had thought, coming from Europe and being fist time visitors. It is the perfect way to learn more about the history of San Francisco at a time and pace that works for you! Now we could get back to the hills, to Pacific Heights: From the harbor its an easy drive to our next San Francisco destination. In the 1960s the traditional middle-class residential area suddenly became the hotspot of the Flower Power generation. All rights reserved. We are a GPS-enabled app-based tour that narrates information based on your location right on your phone. Our tour continues to Carmel by the sea, where ample time is given to walk through this charming town dotted with lovely shops and beautiful architecture. Our next San Francisco sight: the hippie suburb Haight Ashbury. Damien was the best! This is where you come for some of the most gorgeous views of the city. Did you find apk for android? San Francisco sightseeing: driving down Lombard Street. Then take Washington Street towards the next park in the west, Alta Plaza. A San Francisco self-guided tour is a must-do on your tour of California, so be sure to visit our website for more information. Park and explore wherever you wish. Youll turn next onto Stockton Street and get a good look at something else you wont see every day: cable cars. >> Learn more about things to see and do in Japantown. Of course fog can obscure the views youre seeking from the drive. en,it,fr,es,ar,+5 de, pt, ru, ja, ko. Paris It is located about 20 miles (30 km) northeast of San Francisco , and approximately a half-hour drive (without traffic) from San Francisco. The trail is marked with gold medallions embedded within the sidewalks. Required fields are marked *. And I like the pretty flower beds in between. We provide a map with each stop listed on our self-guided tour of North Beach to ensure that you wont get lost and itll be easy to spot each attraction. We are a GPS-enabled app-based tour that narrates information based on your location right on your phone. It's a day of gorgeous art and tasty treats. The signs have a seagull featured on the top left corner. Id also done a tour with the sister company in Los Angeles several years ago. . Here's just a small sampling of what you'll see when you pilot your rental car around on my best damn driving tour of San Francisco: San Francisco as viewed from the East Bay. Spend more time at Twin Peaks, visit the Coit Tower, and take time to explore all the hilly, historical neighborhoods of SF. Along the way, your guide will share tidbits about SF's history and its landmarks. As we drive past, we'll admire these striking buildings and learn about how they came to be painted in such vivid colors. Alamo Square has nice sets of Victorian houses, one of which is the famous postcard row that probably is the most photographed spot in all San Francisco. Its like this, and will be. This post provides a list of free self-guided tours of San Francisco that you can enjoy anytime, day or night, every day of the week. You can buy these together or separately through Amazon. As we drive, we'll learn about another iconic San Francisco feature: the cable car! We'll learn all about this building's strange history as we pass. Learn more about both options on the museum's dedicated Barbary Coast Website. n audio guide, map, and tour book all in one app! Alcatraz tickets with 2-day hop-on hop-off San Francisco bus pass. Taking a self-guided walking tour around San Francisco is a great way to get to know our amazing city. It also has a map showing you where your next stop will be. you could eat at a different NYC spot once a day for 22.7 years and .Central Park Bike Tour. Send us your resume, All Rights Reserved 2023 Real San Francisco Tours | Sitemap. From the Powell Street cable car end stop you can take the cable car and travel to the Chinatown, Nob Hill and all the way to the other side of the hill where the Fishermans Wharf is. In addition to this outing, you can also take our free guided walking tour of The Castro. Simply put, Action Tour Guide is an audio guide, map, and tour book all in one app! HOLLYWOOD AND VINE TOUR. Take in the open space - and famous St Francis Hotel - before heading down Maiden Lane, SF's old red-light district (now full of designer boutiques). English. This is one of the most popular neighborhoods in San Francisco, and its not difficult to see why with all of its family-friendly attractions and activities. This trail connects important historical sites throughout the streets of SF. This tour is also available as a PDF that you can download onto your smartphone, allowing you to save some money on data or even avoid using data at all! Got a late start? Next, travel through the famous 17-Mile Drive and see Pebble Beach Golf Course. Take in the open space - and famous St Francis Hotel - before heading down Maiden Lane, SF's old red-light district (now full of designer boutiques). Scenery. You can take a ferry to Sausalito and Tiburon north ofthe bay, or to Oakland and Vallejo in the east. You can choose from either a self guided audio download or a printed map. After some years the movement faded and the area decayed, but Haight Ashbury still retains much of its hippie atmosphere. Read more. Its super easy, yet its best to visit on a Saturday or Sunday when there is less traffic. You just need to buy a day ticket at a kiosk (something like USD 20) and having that you are free to use buses, streetcars and old San Francisco cable cars for a day. Scenic 49 Mile Drive - San Francisco. Without a doubt, one of the most enchanting things about this magical city is the neighborhoods. It will let you visit a wide variety of tourist destinations in a short amount of time and without walking up a single hill! Table of contents. One of the major highlights in San Franciscos history was the Golden Gate International Exposition held at Treasure Island in 1939 to celebrate the building of both the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge, which had each only recently been completed at the time. . Are you ready to turn your phone into a personal tour guide? Receive a 100% refund if you cancel up to 24 hours before the experience begins. Travel down the West Side Greenway and over the Brooklyn Bridge. If you have ever watched Full House, you will know what we are talking about. In the evening when the sun shines on the painted ladies from the west it makes them shine. Haight-Ashbury: See the spots where the Summer of Love captured the nation, grab some vintage threads and check out some of this districts interesting murals. You will also find some of the best Mexican, Cuban and other cuisines from both South and Central America.