Looking for a way to spend the perfect 24 hours in San Francisco, CA? Look no further, you've come to the right place! About two years ago we went to the San Francisco area for a football game and wanted to enjoy the city the next day by doing as much as we could in the extra day we had to spend there. Be advised, San Francisco is not a very budget friendly city... If some of the options we chose seem a bit pricey for you you can always substitute them with something that fits your budget. And, wear comfy shoes, you will be doing a lot of walking.
First off... coffee! We chose the ultra hip Blue Bottle Coffee based upon the recommendation of one of our hotel's employees (we stayed at Axiom Hotel). He was not wrong about how good their coffee was! But both the coffee and our breakfast sandwich were very pricey (we actually split the sandwich because we could not justify spending $24 on two breakfast sandwiches). The coffee was delicious but the star was the breakfast sandwich... best we've EVER had!
Next, what I think is one of the best deals out there for seeing any big city while on a time restraint: a hop-on-hop-off tour! What I really loved about the company that we used (City Sightseeing, which is no more, they are now SKYLINE Sightseeing Tours) was that they took us to places that aren't necessarily very well-known yet. We started the tour at their office, where we got into a large, comfy tour bus. First stop of the tour... the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. I don't know what it is about this bridge but it really is beautiful! We got about 20 minutes to take all the selfies our hearts desired. Doesn't sound like much but we found it was more than enough time. Next, our favorite stop of all, Muir Woods. We could not believe that this gorgeous, wooded area was just 20 minutes outside of the city! There are hundreds (if not thousands) of massive Redwood trees for miles! The weather could not have been more perfect the day we were there, it was very sunny but super cool underneath the canopy of glorious trees. We walked around for a couple of hours and then caught the next available bus to the final stop of the tour, Sausalito. Sausalito is a quirky little beach town. While we were there we enjoyed the ocean views and some ice cream to cool us off. We then took the ferry (which is not included in the price of the tour) back to the city and made our way to Pier 39.
Pier 39 is filled with restaurants and shops and we did both! We bought a few souvenirs and then had the best tasting crab sandwich at Pier Market Seafood Restaurant- we HIGHLY recommend you eat there if you have a chance, the food was so delicious! From there, we walked off the delicious calories by heading over to Ghirardelli Square to consume more delicious calories! (I told y'all, wear comfy shoes, you'll be doing a lot of walking!) We picked up some chocolates for my parents and then headed back to the hotel for a bit of rest and freshening up before heading out for dinner at Delfina. At the time of our visit, Delfina was one of the most happening restaurants in SF (not sure if that's still the case or not) and the only reason we were able to get a table was because I knew someone who knew someone, otherwise we would have had to test our luck by waiting hours for a seat at the bar. The meal was tasty and Richie discovered his favorite Italian soda there, Bubble Up. After our 3 course meal we headed back to the Golden Gate Bridge for one last look. The nice thing about visiting the bridge at night is that it is completely empty, we walked right onto it and looked out onto the bay. It was the perfect way to end the day.
Despite how expensive San Francisco is and the amount of homelessness you see in the city, it is one of my favorite cities in the U.S. and we both think its worth a visit if you ever have a chance. And, like I said, if anything we did is a bit out of your budget, you can always look for a less expensive choice (i.e. choose a Mickey D's coffee instead of Blue Bottle). We really hope you enjoyed this post and that it helped you plan your San Francisco adventure!
Xoxo- V