Golden Gate Bridge viewed from the Bayside

2 Days in San Francisco

By Robert Heaney

One of the most popular cultural hotspots in the US, San Francisco has a little bit of something for everyone. With its globally-recognized landmarks, stunning waterfront landscape and wealth of charming activities and venues, the Bay Area is a fantastic destination for a short city break.

Though two days in San Francisco is more than enough time to enjoy some of the city’s best sights and attractions, you’d be hard pushed to fit in absolutely everything. To help you make the most of your visit, we’ve outlined some of the most popular and worthwhile things to do, along with their average visit durations, to help you draw up your ideal two-day itinerary.

Top Sights

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Golden Gate Bridge

Recommended Visit: 10 minutes to see, 30 minutes each way to cross

Considered the world’s most recognizable bridge, nothing is quite so quintessential to the Bay Area’s brand as the towering crimson beams of the Golden Gate Bridge. Often sporting an impressive scarf of thick fog, the mile-and-a-half-long titan is truly a sight to behold, particularly if you can catch it illuminated against a clear night sky.

Alamo Square Park

Recommended Visit: 15 - 30 minutes

Aside from offering a pleasant space of open greenery on the edge of the city’s Western Addition, Alamo Square Park is most popular as the location of the iconic Painted Ladies. Standing vibrantly against the muted backdrop of the San Francisco skyline, this row of colorful Victorian- and Edwardian-style houses line the eastern side of the park and serve as one of the city’s most popular photo ops.

Golden Gate Park

Recommended Visit: 30 minutes - 2 hours

Should you find yourself with a couple hours to spare and some particularly pleasant weather, the colossal Golden Gate Park to the east of the city serves as a fantastic spot for a leisurely stroll or a lunchtime picnic. Housed within the park grounds are also the gorgeous displays of the San Francisco Botanical Garden and the serene landscape of the Japanese Tea Garden.

Alcatraz Island

Recommended Visit: 2 - 3 hours

History buffs visiting San Francisco will be no stranger to Alcatraz Island, home to the nation’s most infamous former high-security prison. Those with the stomach for it can take a boat tour out into the Bay to explore the hostile grounds and chilling cells that once held some of the most notorious criminals in history.

Popular Neighborhoods

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Fisherman’s Wharf

Recommended Visit: 1 - 3 hours

Easily one of the most popular areas of San Francisco is the charming Fisherman’s Wharf waterfront complex. Regular haunt to a colony of playful, barking sea lions, you can spend anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours exploring the various quaint stores, engaging activities and bayside eateries on offer here.

Take some time to discover the various retailers and restaurants of Pier 39, and awe at the striking wax models housed within Madame Tussauds. Rediscover your inner child among the exhibitions at the Cartoon Art Museum, before playing with the 300-plus coin-operated arcade games and amusements housed within the Musée Mécanique penny arcade.

Chinatown

Recommended Visit: 1 - 2 hours

Just beyond the iconic Dragon’s Gate at its entrance, Chinatown comprises a bustling maze of streets and alleys brimming with quirky stores and traditional Chinese eateries. Among the stunning ornate architecture, you’ll find everything from bakeries to souvenir shops to karaoke bars, alongside the famous Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory where you can catch one of the nation’s favorite after-dinner treats in the making.

Japantown

Recommended Visit: 30 minutes - 2 hours

Also known as Nihonmachi, San Francisco’s Japantown is a compact historic enclave in much the same vein as Chinatown. Built up around a central courtyard plaza housing the striking 5-tiered Peace Pagoda, Japantown comprises various large complexes housing a number of charming Japanese-style stores, restaurants, karaoke bars and day spas.

Galleries & Museums

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California Academy of Sciences

Recommended Visit: 2 - 3 hours

Found within Golden Gate Park, the multifaceted California Academy of Sciences is a true architectural and cultural marvel. The mighty 400,000-square-foot venue is home to a vast aquarium and a four-story indoor rainforest filled with all manner of exotic flora and fauna, not to mention the incredible natural history museum and digital planetarium to boot.

Exploratorium

Recommended Visit: 2 - 4 hours

Both families and curious adults alike sing the praises of the Exploratorium, whose incredible array of interactive exhibits offer visitors a hands-on learning experience at the intersection of science and art. Dance with your own shadow, touch a tornado, capture a wave and even stop time as you explore the hundreds of wonderful installations spread throughout the museum.

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

Recommended Visit: 2 - 4 hours

With a central focus on 20th and 21st century art in its various forms, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art comprises 10 floors of everchanging and innovative exhibits. Over 30,000 art pieces make up the museum’s permanent collection, covering everything from painting and photography to sculpture and architecture.

Asian Art Museum

Recommended Visit: 1 - 3 hours

Opened in the mid-1960s, the Asian Art Museum is widely considered one of the most important museums in San Francisco. The museum’s extensive collection comprises sculptures, paintings, ceramics, carvings and architectural fragments from various major Asiatic cultures and spanning multiple historical eras, with some pieces dating back over 6,000 years.

Walt Disney Family Museum

Recommended Visit: 2 - 4 hours

Whether you happen to be visiting with kids or not, the delightful exhibits of the Walt Disney Museum are sure to bring a smile to your face. Explore the life and work of history’s most famous cartoonist through over 40,000 square feet of engaging and interactive exhibitions detailing the evolution of the family-favorite media empire we know and love today.

Getting Around

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Big Bus Tour

With San Francisco as sprawling as it is and only two days to explore, you’ll likely want to find a comfortable and efficient way to get around. Operating a main route that passes by many of the city’s top sights, a Big Bus Tour offers passengers the chance to hop on and off more or less at their leisure, complemented by optional audio commentary in a number of major languages to boot.

Cable Cars

Originally introduced in the late 1800s to help locals combat the many challenging hills on which the city stands, San Francisco’s remaining cable cars serve as a great way to explore the city in historic fashion. The Powell-Hyde and Powell-Mason routes offer the most scenic journeys and pass by a number of major attractions, with tickets available to buy on-board.

Boat Tours

If you’re looking for a great way to sit back while admiring the stunning San Francisco landscape, nothing quite compares to a Cruise on the Bay. Most tour operators will have you sail beneath the Golden Gate Bridge and alongside Alcatraz Island, with a fly-by of the area’s best waterfront sights and landmarks such as Angel Island and Fisherman’s Wharf.

Robert Heaney
Go City Travel Expert

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Tip of the Golden Gate Bridge peaking out above a cloud of fog
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San Francisco in April

At the peak of spring, the increasingly more pleasant weather of San Francisco in April complements a host of hotly-anticipated cultural events. If you’re looking to experience the best of the Bay Area in the absence of the summertime crowds while also cashing in on everything the season has to offer, this is the trip to beat. Visiting San Francisco in April Average Temperature: 50 - 63°F • Average Rainfall: 6 days/mth • Average Sunshine: 10 hours/day Now in the penultimate month of its early-year shoulder season, San Francisco maintains a steady flow of traffic throughout April, though still in relatively small numbers. As with much of spring, this is an ideal time to experience the charms of the Golden City without too many crowds, while also cashing in on some off-peak hotel prices when booking sufficiently in advance. With spring now in full swing, it’s likely you’ll start to see San Francisco’s weather begin to chipper up. Temperatures throughout April tend to flirt somewhere between cool and pleasantly mild, bridging on some warm days if you’re really lucky. That being said, windchill by the Bay is still something to wrap up against, and you’ll want to pack an umbrella for the potential for at least one day of rain per week. Things to do in April No trip to San Francisco would be complete without an obligatory tour of some of its most iconic sights. Taking pride of place are the crimson beams of the world’s most recognizable bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge, followed swiftly by the attractive Painted Ladies lining Alamo Square Park. Though you can certainly explore many of the city’s sights and attractions on foot, you can save yourself some energy with a Hop-On, Hop-Off Bus Tour. Operating a central route via many of the Golden City’s most popular destinations, the tour allows visitors to board and alight at their leisure. To sweeten the pot, the tour also offers audio commentary in a selection of major languages, rich with valuable local insight into some of the city’s most interesting history and culture. Particularly popular around this time of year is Japantown where, alongside its usual charming architecture, restaurants and stores, many can enjoy the Cherry Blossom Festival. In a similar vein, San Francisco’s Chinatown stands as the largest and most popular in the country, where you can explore a host of traditional stores and restaurants and even stop in at the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory to watch employees hand-fold one of the nation’s favorite after-dinner treats. To make the most of the improving weather, why not take a particularly pleasant day to explore some of San Francisco’s fantastic green spaces? Golden Gate Park makes for a wonderful picnic spot if you can manage to find a free space, while Mission Dolores Park remains more of a serene experience and offers stellar views over the city skyline. If you’re keen to feed your inner history buff, few experiences match up to a visit to Alcatraz Island. Take a trip into the center of the Bay to explore the hostile remoteness of this former high-security military prison and breathe in the chilling atmosphere of its now empty halls and cell, once home to some of the nation’s most notorious criminals. Whether you’re visiting with kids or looking to embrace your inner child, the delightful exhibits of the Walt Disney Family Museum are bound to bring about a smile. Over 40,000 square feet of engaging and interactive exhibits explore the life and work of the world’s most famous cartoonist, documenting the evolution of his vision into the family-favorite media empire we know and love today. What’s On in April San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM) Now the longest-running and most hotly-anticipated film festival in the US, SFFILM champions the world’s finest films and filmmakers with a refreshingly intimate program of marquee premieres, international competitions, compelling documentaries, live music performances and star-studded red carpet events. For a little over a week each April, visitors to SFFILM can catch a stellar lineup of screenings across many of the Bay Area’s finest venues. Promoting the works of both established names and promising newcomers, the festival offers a wide range of genres and perspectives, bringing light to stories from around the world and helping raise upcoming filmmakers to the limelight. Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival For the last two weekends in April, San Francisco’s Japantown erupts in celebration of the humble cherry blossoms lighting up much of Northern California. Mirroring the globally-renowned tradition of Hanami in Japan, the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival typically draws in around a quarter of a million visitors each year. A rich schedule of cultural programs, live entertainment, art and crafts, traditional food and drink and a grand parade all come to a head in celebration of springtime. Having run each year since the late 1960s, the festival serves primarily to honor the rich heritage and diversity of the Japanese American community in sharing a cultural snapshot with visitors from both near and far. Earth Day Since its inception in 1970, Earth Day has grown exponentially as more and more each year into the globally recognized event we know today. San Francisco’s Earth Day brings together a host of environmentally-minded local and national artists, musicians, speakers and performers to frontline an electric, open-air celebration to promote climate-positive action. Throughout the event, visitors can enjoy an all-star lineup of psychedelic, funk, rock, and global beats while exploring the various different zones of the festival. Family-friendly workshops range from recycled art classes to making solar rockets to yoga and meditation demos, while representatives from a variety of major environmental organizations head talks on making a positive global impact. Art Market San Francisco Art aficionados visiting San Francisco in April should take a trip to the Bay Area’s principal contemporary and modern art fair. Over the course of a weekend, Art Market San Francisco hosts over 70 established galleries alongside innovative newcomers from across the country, exhibiting a stellar collection of contemporary and modern artworks in a variety of different forms.
Robert Heaney
San Francisco
Blog

Best shopping in San Francisco - Boutiques, outlet malls & more

Where are the best places to shop in San Francisco? Well, to answer that question, we've made a list of the top 12 places and areas to shop in San Francisco, including popular outlet malls, shopping centers, hip boutiques and more.
Casey Makovich
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10+ Things to Do in San Francisco in Spring 2020

Shake off the winter blues with a trip to lovely San Francisco this spring. The cherry trees are blossoming, the city streets are re-awakening, and there are loads of fun and exciting special events going on. If you’re thinking about heading to the City by the Bay this season but are stuck on ideas, check out our list of the best things to do in San Francisco this spring for some inspiration, including... San Francisco Museum of Modern Art California Academy of Sciences Napa + Sonoma Wine Country Tour AT&T Park Tour and more! Save on Springtime Activities in San Francisco Regular admission to a number of these attractions is available on the Go San Francisco pass. Choose as you go from popular attractions and save up to 55% on combined admission vs paying at the gate. Check out all available San Francisco attractions, passes, and prices. Please note, some of these special spring events may be separately ticketed and not available on the Go San Francisco pass. Local EventsSFUSD Arts Festival Bay Area Craft Beer Festival Martinez Waterfront April 18, 2020, 12:00 noon - 4:00 pm This is one for the beer lovers. The Bay Area Craft Beer Festival is back and it’s better than ever. With dozens of international and domestic beers for sampling, plus the city’s best food trucks offering up their wares, you’ll have an amazing afternoon of food and drink to look forward to. Breweries include big names like Ballast Point, Founders, Lagunitas, Sierra Nevada, Firestone Walker, and more. You'll also find smaller local breweries that are sure to wow with flavor. Getting In: Admission to the Bay Area Craft Beer Festival is separately ticketed and is not included with the Go San Francisco pass. Cherry Blossom Festival Remember to Save on Admission Did we miss anything? A few things to do in San Francisco in the spring, including some special events, other seasonal activities in March - June. Please note, the spring events taking place at some of these attractions may be separately ticketed and not available with the Go San Francisco pass. We hope you consider adding some of these fun ideas to your spring vacation itinerary.
Katie Sagal

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