Things To Do
City Classics
Uber ride / public transit mostly required
Golden Gate Bridge
Non-negotiable. Best views from Crissy Field or Baker Beach. You should be able to see it peeking out from behind the fog during out reception...
Bay Bridge
Hotly debated (by at least one member of this couple) to be the superior bridge. At night the western span is lit up by The Bay Lights, 25,000 LEDs that make it worth stepping outside after dark.
Painted Ladies
The Victorian row houses at Alamo Square. Non-negotiable photo stop. Combine with a walk through Hayes Valley.
Lombard Street
The famously crooked block. Uber up and walk down.
Golden Gate Park
Massive and beautiful. The Japanese Tea Garden, de Young Museum, and California Academy of Sciences are all inside.
Cable Cars
Board the Powell-Hyde line for the most scenic route. Get a Clipper Card on your phone to skip the tourist ticket line.
North Beach Neighborhood
10-15 minute walk from The Jay Honestly, if we didn't live in Potrero Hill, this is probably where we'd live! SF's old Italian neighborhood and the birthplace of the American Beat Generation. Dense, walkable, historical, picturesque. Club Fugazi in North Beach has hosted live performance since the 1940s, most famously Beach Blanket Babylon, the satirical revue that ran for 45 years before closing in 2019. Dear San Francisco is its successor: a cirque-style acrobatics and aerial show built around a love letter to the city.
City Lights Bookstore
One of our favorite bookstores. Founded in 1953 by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, City Lights became the spiritual home of the Beat Generation. In 1956, Ferlinghetti published Ginsberg's Howl here; customs seized copies as obscene, he stood trial, and won a landmark First Amendment ruling. Still independently owned. Head upstairs to the Poetry Room and pick up Howl while you're there.
North Beach Bars & Restaurants
Every year since we started dating, we've done a bar crawl through these North Beach classics: The Boardroom, North Star Cafe, Gino & Carlo, and Vesuvio. It started as something to do on a random night and turned into one of our favorite annual traditions. If you only have time for one, make it Vesuvio. It opened in 1948, sits directly across Jack Kerouac Alley from City Lights, and was one of the central gathering spots of the Beat Generation: Kerouac, Ginsberg, and Dylan Thomas all drank here. There's a famous story that Kerouac stood up a planned meeting with Henry Miller to spend the night drinking there instead. The bar is largely unchanged from those days; step into history!
Embarcadero & Ferry Building
5 - 10 minute walk from The Jay SF's waterfront, running from the Bay Bridge south past the Ferry Building to the ballpark. One of our favorite walks in the city. The Ferry Building opened in 1898, was restored in 2003, and is now one of the better places to spend an hour in SF. While you're there, grab a burger at Gott's, one of our favorites, right inside the marketplace. We'll be hosting our farewell here on Sunday, so if you don't make it before then, no worries! On Sunday, the Ferry Building also hosts the Head West Market, a curated gathering of California makers, independent vendors, and artisan goods that takes over the waterfront outside the building. Local products, small brands, handmade goods.
Mission Rock
20-25 minute (scenic) walk from The Jay Home of the Giants, Oracle Park sits right on the water. Even without a game, the area is worth the walk down from the Ferry Building. Check out the canal, where people will sit in canoes during the games, listening on their radios and hoping for a home run ball to splash right next to them. Right next door, Arsicault Bakery was voted best bakery in America by Bon Appetit. Owned by friend of father of the groom, thoroughly enjoy the delicious croissants for all of our gluten free brethren, who are unfortunately not welcome here.
Chinatown
5 - 10 minute walk from The Jay San Francisco's Chinatown is the oldest in North America, established in 1848 just months after the Gold Rush began. At its peak it was one of the only places Chinese residents were legally permitted to live in the city. It survived the catastrophic 1906 earthquake and fire and was rebuilt almost immediately. Today it's one of the most densely populated urban neighborhoods in the US and one of the most visited in SF. Start at Dragon's Gate, the ornate arch at Grant and Bush; it's the front door to the neighborhood and worth the photo. Walk north up Grant Avenue, then head to Delicious Dim Sum on Jackson Street. There are an incredible number of fantastic dim sum spots in Chinatown but this one is our favorite. Before you leave, stop at Golden Gate Bakery for an egg custard tart. Friendly note, there's usually a line, but it's worth every minute!