What's a good 3-day itinerary for San Francisco?

Start at the Ferry Building by 8am. The fog will likely still be sitting over the Bay, thick enough that you can taste the salt on your lips at the waterfront arcade. Blue Bottle's original kiosk sits near the south entrance, and a coffee runs $5-6. Walk the Embarcadero north to Pier 33 for the 9:10am Alcatraz ferry. Book tickets 2-4 weeks ahead at $41 per adult through the NPS concessioner. The cellhouse audio tour is narrated by former inmates and guards who served at the prison between 1934 and 1963. Bring a wind layer. Alcatraz runs 5-8°C colder than downtown, and you'll feel it in your hands by the exercise yard. Back on the mainland by noon, walk Grant Avenue into North Beach for lunch at Tony's Pizza Napoletana on Stockton Street. A whole Margherita runs $25-30. After lunch, continue south on Grant through the Dragon Gate into Chinatown. Golden Gate Bakery at 1029 Grant Avenue sells egg tarts at about $1.50 each. If people are lining up, the tarts are still warm. Finish the afternoon at Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill for a full-circle view of the Bay.

Day 2 starts at the Golden Gate Bridge. Take the 28 bus from downtown to the south parking lot and aim to arrive by 8:30am. Morning fog tends to burn off by 10, so you might cross the 2.7-km span in thick cloud and step out on the Marin side into sunshine. The east pedestrian walkway is open 5am to 6:30pm, and the round trip is about 5.5 km. Your calves will notice the uphill return. From the south lot, drop down to Crissy Field along the waterfront trail. The sand is coarse and wind-packed, and you can smell the eucalyptus from the Presidio forest above. The Palace of Fine Arts is a 15-minute walk east. It was built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition, free to visit, and the lagoon is worth 20 minutes with a camera. Lunch at Greens Restaurant in Fort Mason, a vegetarian spot with Bay views that has been open since 1979. About $25 per person. After lunch, take the 30 bus west to Golden Gate Park. The California Academy of Sciences, founded in 1853, charges about $43 for adults but earns it with a four-story rainforest dome you can walk through in humid 27°C air.

Day 3 heads south. Start at Mission Dolores by 9am. The adobe chapel was completed in 1791 and is the oldest intact building in San Francisco. Admission is $7. The thick walls hold the cool even on warm days, and the painted ceiling still shows its original Ohlone-influenced designs. Walk south on Dolores Street to Tartine Manufactory on Alabama Street for brunch. The morning bun, rolled in orange sugar and still sticky, is the one to order. Expect a $20-25 tab. From there, walk west on 18th Street into the Castro. The rainbow crosswalks at Castro and 18th mark the center of the neighborhood. The GLBT Historical Society Museum at 4127 18th Street costs $5 and takes about 30 minutes. After the Castro, take the J-Church Muni line north to SFMOMA at 151 Third Street. The museum was founded in 1935 and reopened in 2016 after an expansion that nearly doubled its gallery space. General admission is $25. The Richard Serra sculptures fill entire rooms. They resist being photographed, which seems to be the point. Wind down at Yerba Buena Gardens across the street.

San Francisco is compact but steep. Expect 10-12 km of walking per day. The 3-Day Muni Visitor Passport costs $40 and covers buses, light rail, cable cars, and the F-line streetcar. Buy it at the Muni kiosk in Powell Street Station. Skip the cable car line at Powell and Market on weekends, where the wait often runs 45-60 minutes. Take the California Street cable car from Drumm Street instead. The wait is rarely more than 10 minutes, and the wooden bench seats are cold and smooth under your palms in the morning air. Layers matter year-round. A June afternoon in the Mission might reach 20°C while the Sunset District, 6 km west, sits in 13°C fog. A packable rain jacket and a fleece cover the swing. Fisherman's Wharf appears in every guidebook. The pier is loud, smells like frying oil, and the shops all sell Golden Gate fridge magnets. That said, the sourdough bread bowls at Boudin Bakery are decent fuel after Alcatraz, and the sea lions on Pier 39's K-Dock are worth 10 minutes. The best food is in the Mission and along Clement Street in the Richmond.