How to spend a week in San Francisco California

How To Spend A Week In San Francisco, California

8/15/2023

We have been to San Francisco, California twice in the span of two years! San Francisco is a central location to other beautiful destinations. Within an hour drive you can find yourself at a beach, a vineyard, or surround by towering woods. Here is how we spent a week in San Francisco.

Go Cars near Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California

Go cars and the city

Highlights: This was a great way to see the best of San Francisco in a few hours. We rented a couple of Gocars from GoCar Tours San Francisco. Each Go car had a GPS that guided you through the city while providing historical information. There are a variety of tours to choose from, depending on what you want to see and how long you want to rent. We opted for the early bird special to avoid traffic. Here are a few places we visited on our tour:

Golden Gate Bridge | Lombard Street | Fisherman’s Wharf | The Legion of Honor |The Presidio | Palace of Fine Arts | Crooked Street

Lowlights: We weren't prepared for how chilly San Francisco can be in late August. We left Boston with 80-degree weather to land in 50-degree weather. The Go cars are open, so we felt the chill of the air to our bones. So make sure you wear an extra layer of clothing.

Street Cars

Highlights: If you don't want to climb the famous steep hills of San Francisco but still want to experience them, take the street cars. You will catch some amazing views and get to your destination in style. There are two main branches, Powell & Hyde, and Powell & Mason.

Lowlights: The lines for the street cars can be very long. You can expect to wait 30 to 45 minutes to hop on. There is also no heating on the cars so make sure you bundle up against the chilly San Francisco air.

Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, California

Palace of Fine Arts

Highlights: I have to compare the Palace of Fine Arts to an open museum. It was built in the early 1900's for the Panama-Pacific Exhibition. Its arches, covered in carved faces and figurines tower above, creating a beautiful picturesque landscape. So have your camera's at ready to take the perfect vacation picture.

Golden Gate Park

Highlights The Golden Gate Park spans over 40 blocks! We recommend taking a Gocar or a leisurely drive if you would like to take a cruise through. Here's a tip: pick out a few spots you would like to spend some time before heading over. The deYoung Museum, Bison Paddock, and the Japanese Gardens were some of the places we visited.

Lowlights: Non-residents are charged a fee every time they enter another park attraction. For example, you will be charged a fee to enter the Japanese Garden and then again to enter the Botanical Gardens. This is not a major lowlight, but it's something I wish I knew before heading to the Golden Gate Park.

Japan Town

Highlights: Just a short ride away from Golden Gate Park is the Japan Center Malls. The Japan Center Malls are a combination of two smaller malls, the East and West Side. Here you will find souvenirs, clothing, and food from the Japanese culture. We enjoyed some Hibachi, and Tonkotsu Ramen from Marufuku Ramen (the best ramen I have had). We also visited other stores in the area to try out some Japanese candies, drinks, and snacks.

Fisherman Wharf

Highlights: Fisherman Wharf is one of San Francisco's biggest attractions. We recommend starting at Pier 39 for food, sweets, and other San Francisco-themed souvenirs. While at Pier 39, stop and say hello to the Sea Lions sunbathing on a rock or near the boat docks.

Don't forget to glance in the water to spot the infamous Alcatraz. If you have visited Alcatraz, tell us about your experience in the comments below. We then recommend heading to Ghirardelli Square to grab some chocolate desserts. We have actually traveled back to Ghirardelli Square on another day just to get our hands on their ice cream sundae!

Lowlights: There is a lot of people and sellers between the different piers. Sometimes we found it hard to appreciate the sites because the side walks were overflowing. However, this is to be expected when visiting such a popular tourist destination.

Oakland Bay Bridge, San Francisco, California

Ferry Building

The best time to visit the Ferry Building is when their farmers market is there. Not only will you get amazing goods and treats inside the market, you will get access to fresh fruits outside too! We also appreciated the diversity of food in such a small space. We had empanadas, Korean hotdogs, fresh oysters, and latkes! We then recommend taking a stroll down the boardwalk to appreciate the gorgeous view of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge.

Napa

We took an hour-and-a-half drive to visit Napa Valley, California. It surprised us how much the scenery and temperature shifted in a short period! It went from mid-50-degree weather to high-70-degree weather. The endless views of vineyards would make a wine lover's heart melt. While there, we grabbed some lunch, headed to a vineyard to do some wine tasting, and of course, grabbed a few bottles to go. Napa was one of my favorite parts of the trip because it was one of the few times that we were able to sit down and relax.

Lowlights: Don't be like us- book a wine tasting in advance! Bookings are hard to find on a last-minute basis, which takes the joy out of spur-of-the-moment trips.

Muir Woods

Muir Woods was my (T) personal favorite part of this trip. Living in the city makes you forget the beauty of nature at times. Towering trees and the quieting of nature refuels the soul in a way that I can't explain. That is why I highly suggest you take the time to visit Muir Woods when visiting San Francisco, California.

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