San Francisco for first-time visitors
Golden Gate Bridge is the walk across the suspension bridge on the San Francisco Bay. The earliest of the picks for first-time visitors in San Francisco opens at 10:00 and the latest closes at 02:00.
San Francisco for first-timers, in numbers
- Picks on this page
- 24 places across 2 lists, led by Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island, Lombard Street
- Posted hours
- 10 picks post hours earliest 10:00, latest 02:00; 0 open by 09:00, 5 past 21:00
Questions first-timers ask about San Francisco
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Must-see
The Golden Gate Bridge on foot, from the south Presidio side. Walk the 2.7 km to the north tower and back in about 50 minutes. June fog currently sits at bridge-deck level most mornings, so aim for afternoon when the 13°C wind off the Pacific feels sharp but the towers stand clear. Book Alcatraz 2-3 weeks ahead. Everything else is walk-up.
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Best time to visit
September and October are San Francisco's real summer. The fog that blankets the city from June through August retreats, afternoon highs reach 70-75°F along the Embarcadero, and hotel rates sit 15-20% below peak. First-time visitors who arrive in July expecting California sunshine find 55°F grey skies and damp Pacific wind instead.
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Airport to city
Take BART from SFO's International Terminal directly to Powell Street in Union Square. The ride costs $10.20, takes 29 minutes, and runs every 15-20 minutes from roughly 5am to midnight. After midnight, Uber or Lyft costs $35-55 to downtown. Buy a Clipper card at the BART station for $3 to use on all San Francisco transit.
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How to get there
San Francisco International (SFO), 21 km south of downtown, handles most flights. United runs its Pacific hub here with transpacific and domestic nonstops. Oakland (OAK) is Southwest's cheaper alternative, 45 minutes by BART across the Bay. Round-trip fares from the US East Coast run $280-500. From London, £550-900 nonstop. BART from SFO to Powell Street costs $10.55 and takes 29 minutes.
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Getting around
Clipper card on Muni and BART for the backbone, Uber or Lyft to dodge the hills, and your legs for flat stretches in the Mission and Marina. BART runs from SFO to downtown Powell Street in 30 minutes for about $9.65. Cable cars are a ride, not transit. $8 each way, expect a 45-minute line at Powell and Market.
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Curated for first-timers
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Must-see attractions
San Francisco's essentials are not one kind of thing, and a list that pretends otherwise sells the city short. This one runs from a mission dating from 1776 to a Russian Orthodox cathedral dated 1965, and from a suspension bridge on the San Francisco Bay to a mini-park in the Castro District. The list is for travellers who want the postcard sights done properly and then want to see how the city prays, reads, remembers, and plays when nobody is selling it anything. Take the icons slowly, and give the quieter addresses the same respect.
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Best restaurants
Twelve places, and the sorting principle is the clock, not the cuisine. The addresses fall on Franklin, Market, Hayes, Gough, Grove and Folsom streets, with kitchens running from Japanese and Brazilian to Mexican, Indian and Mediterranean. What pulls them together is when the door is open. One runs Tuesday to Saturday, 17:00 to 20:00; another serves on weekdays from 09:00 to 17:00 and never at night; one goes until 02:00 on Fridays and Saturdays. Each entry is built on what the record supports: where the place is, what it cooks, and the hours it keeps. The opinions are ours, readable as such by their tone. We put this together for visitors who plan dinner by the hour and would rather have a closing time than another adjective. Phone numbers and websites are here throughout, and you should use them, because hours change faster than guides do.
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Browse experiences
Things to do in San Francisco, by interestOther traveler types
- For foodies
San Francisco for foodies
- For families with kids
San Francisco for families
- For digital nomads
San Francisco for digital nomads
- For solo travelers
San Francisco for solo travelers
- For couples
San Francisco for couples
- For budget travelers
San Francisco on a budget
- For luxury travelers
San Francisco for luxury travelers