San Francisco is one of the most beautiful cities in the United States.

In this article, I am sharing with you 10 Things that you absolutely must do in San Francisco during your first visit.

Bike through the Golden Gate Bridge

Rent a bike on your own or join a guided tour and bike across the Golden Gate Bridge.

Opened in 1973, the bridge is internationally recognized as a symbol of San Francisco, California, and the United States. Not only that, but it is one of the wonders of the modern world according to the American society of civil engineers.

The bike ride through the bridge is roughly 2.0 miles from side to side, which take from 15-20 minutes. However, I joined a guided tour which covered more areas in the city before getting to the bridge itself.

The company I choose for this adventure was https://baycitybike.com/ .

We were a group of four people plus the guide, we biked through the bridge as a team and then went on our own adventure after that. You are expected to return the bike to the rental location. I ended up taking a ferry to return the bike, which was a fun additional experience.

The guide allowed us some stops to enjoy monuments on the way to the bridge.  We stopped at the Palace of Fine Arts Theater in the Marina district which was absolutely gorgeous.

Take a ferry to Alcatraz Island

When I was a kid, I remember watching a movie with my mom that was inspired by the real story of some prisoners from Alcatraz who attempted to escape. The story never left my mind since then and visiting Alcatraz has always been on the top of my list.

I took a ferry to the island from Pier 33. Watching buildings in downtown fade in the background was absolutely gorgeous. The tours usually include the ferry ride to and from the island and a 45 minutes  self guided audio tour during which you plug your headphone and go back in history to learn more about what of the most notorious prisons in the history of the United States.

If you have not heard about Alcatraz before, it is basically an island in which was built a military then a federal prison only 1.25 miles offshore off San Francisco. It became a national recreation area in 1986.

Ride the trolley

You definitely don’t want to miss riding the trolley (Each single ride costs $7)!! I took a ride from downtown to Lombard street.

Visit Lombard street

Hope off the trolley and walk down hill to the bottom of lombard Street. The famous curcy section of the street is claimed to be “the crookedest street in the world”. You can either drive, walk on the side, or rent a “Go Car” which I wanted to do but did not have enough time. You can get more information on how and where to rent them from by checking their website www.GoCarTours.com

Eat crab meet in Fisherman’s Wharf

Don’t miss on eating some fresh crab meat! But here is the trick I tried couple of restaurant but they all serve some sort of fried  dungeness crab that I did not enjoy much. If you are looking for plaint boiled crab then the right place to look for is Fisherman’s Wharf.

Hike to Lands end

Take a short hike to Lands Ending where you will enjoy one of the most beautiful views in the city. Soak your feet in the waters of the pacific ocean and solve the puzzle at the end of the hike.

Visit the Japanese Tea Garden

In the heart of the wide Golden Gate Park is the Japanese Garden. It is probably a personal preference but I always enjoy Japanese gardens. The highlight of the visit was of course the tea and some tasty sweets.

Visit Chinatown

One of the oldest Chinatowns in the United States. Take a walk around the town, enjoy the Chinese culture and of course some of the Chinese authentic food. There are plenty of ethnic shops but make sure you have cash on you as a large number of them don’t take credit cards.

The red lamps make you truly feel like you are in China.

Watch sea lions in Pier 39

I very much enjoyed hanging out at Pier 39 to watch the sunset, watch ferries travel but most importantly watch sea lions.

Enjoy a 360 “View” of Downtown SFO 

The  View lounge at the top of the Marriott building right in the heart of SFO has an extraordinary 360 Degrees view of Downtown building. Absolutely gorgeous!

Looking for more beautiful places to visit in California?

Check this article written by my friend from “Peek At this”