Things to do — San Francisco

In San Francisco over 4 days:

Day 1 — Golden Gate Bridge + Sausalito: morning Golden Gate Bridge on foot (1h45 round trip 5 km, free, depart from south Welcome Center, spectacular views over SF skyline and Marin Headlands, sadly the suicide site — 1,700+ since 1937, safety nets installed 2024). Bike alternative (Sports Basement Crissy Field rental $30-40/day). Battery Spencer panoramic view Marin County side (by car or Muni 76 bus). Lunch in Sausalito (Mediterranean charm, marina, waterfront restaurants Salito's Crab House). Sausalito-SF ferry return (30 min, $14 outbound, spectacular Golden Gate Bridge views from water and Alcatraz). Evening Fisherman's Wharf.

Day 2 — Alcatraz + Fisherman's Wharf + Cable Cars: Alcatraz Island morning ($45 Pier 33 ferry + multilingual audio guide including French, 8:30am or 9am departure to avoid crowds, 2h30-3h on site, essential fleece as cool and windy), mandatory 4-6 week-ahead booking on alcatrazcityferry.com. Lunch Boudin Bakery (1849 clam chowder in sourdough bread bowl). Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 (sea lions since 1989, tourist shops). Cable Car Powell-Hyde from Powell/Market terminus ($8/trip, most scenic line, descends to Russian Hill and Lombard Street then Ghirardelli Square chocolate) — 30-90 min queue in high season, early morning or late evening departure recommended. Evening Lombard Street (most winding street, descent between Hyde and Leavenworth), Ghirardelli Square (chocolate since 1893, ice cream).

Day 3 — SFMOMA + Mission + Castro: morning SFMOMA (Museum of Modern Art, $25, one of the US's finest modern art collections, 1995 Mario Botta architecture + 2016 Snøhetta extension, Pollock-Rothko-Warhol-Kahlo). Lunch Ferry Building Marketplace (food hall, Saturday farmers market). Afternoon Mission District — Balmy Alley and Clarion Alley Murals (engaged Latino street art), Mission Dolores (1791, oldest SF building), La Taqueria (reference Mission burrito, $12-18), Tartine Bakery (sourdough and morning bun, 30-60 min queue, $8-15), Dolores Park (Manhattan-style view of SF skyline). Castro — historic LGBTQ neighbourhood: Castro Theatre (1922, restored indie cinema), Harvey Milk Plaza (giant rainbow flag tribute to first elected gay official assassinated 1978), Cliff's Variety (historic queer shop), GLBT Historical Society Museum ($10).

Day 4 — Chinatown + North Beach + Painted Ladies + Golden Gate Park: morning Chinatown (largest outside Asia, 1848, Dragon Gate Grant Avenue entrance, Stockton Street authentic groceries, 1962 Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory Ross Street, dim sum at Yank Sing $50-80/person). North Beach (historic Italian neighbourhood, Coit Tower Telegraph Hill 1933 360° view, City Lights Bookstore 1953 Lawrence Ferlinghetti Beat Generation Allen Ginsberg Howl, restaurants Sotto Mare or Original Joe's). Italian sandwich lunch Molinari Deli. Afternoon Painted Ladies and Alamo Square (row of 6 Victorian houses 1894, view with skyline behind from Full House TV series). Golden Gate Park (4 km long, larger than NYC Central Park) — de Young Museum ($20, American art + free observation tower panoramic view), California Academy of Sciences ($45, aquarium + planetarium + rainforest dome + green roof), Japanese Tea Garden ($10, oldest public Japanese garden US 1894), Conservatory of Flowers ($10, Victorian 1879).

Optional excursions: Sausalito (30 min ferry, Mediterranean charm, day but included Day 1 if combined), Muir Woods (45 min north via Golden Gate Bridge, coastal sequoias among world's tallest 75-115 m, $15 mandatory 24h-ahead booking), Napa Valley vineyards (1h30 north, Becker-Robert Mondavi-Cakebread vineyards, $30-60/person tasting, gourmet lunch), Yosemite (4h east, minimum 2-3 days), Highway 1 Big Sur + Monterey + Carmel (2-3 days south).