One Day in San Francisco
San Francisco is a city known for tech startups, diverse neighborhoods, melting pot cultures, and liberal citizens. I was glad we visited in September since their COVID cases were declining, and restaurants were beginning to reopen for diners to sit outside and eat. We were extra cautious as always, wearing our masks, using hand sanitizer, and not coming in to close proximity to others.
I will be the first to admit, I was not the most excited about visiting San Francisco. It’s not that I hate it, but I’m pretty indifferent to it, but I go everywhere with an open mind and zero expectations. After all, it is less than 90 minutes from Napa and 6 hours to L.A., so a stop here was needed on our road trip!
Parking can be a nightmare in San Francisco, but luckily the parking gods were on our side during our visit. Even during a pandemic, cars were parked on the street and a few people were out, but everywhere we went, we were able to find a street parking spot without too much hassle. I would not say this is always the case, so at your own comfort level, I’d recommend using public transit or ride share.
Depending on the time of year you visit, and the day, you can see and do so much in San Francisco in as little as one day! There were many restrictions businesses were following, and unfortunately a few places we wanted to see were closed. Here is my one day guide to San Francisco during COVID-19 of the places we saw, ate at, and things we did in under 36 hours.
Brunch in San Francisco
While many restaurants were open, most did not accept reservations, and had pretty long waits, but I should have known that, especially for a Sunday. I called Zazie because I saw such rave reviews about their brunch, but unfortunately at the time they were not taking reservations and there was a 2 hour wait for seating. We instead headed to Plain Jane. As of late October, their indoor seating is available, but during the early stages of shelter in place, guests who wanted to dine in were seated on the sidewalks of 22nd and Guerrero St. I wish I had more time in San Francisco, just so I would have the chance to eat my way across the city! Everything on Plain Jane’s menu looks delicious, from the red velvet pancakes, to the smoked duck breasts, to the custard French Toast and oyster mushroom scramble. They also serve mimosas in mason jars! How cute?
I ordered the coastal Benedict which is a Benedict on sourdough bread topped with crab, poached eggs and seasoned sautéed shrimp. The plate is also served with breakfast potatoes, which were literally the tastiest potatoes I’ve ever had!
There are no vegan breakfast or brunch options here since everything contains some form of dairy or meat, except for the breakfast potatoes and toast.
Another great option for breakfast or brunch is Sweet Maple. Sweet Maple’s claim to fame is their Millionaire Bacon. A serving of bacon is a whopping $10 for 2 slices, or you can order a bacon sampler for $20, trying 4 different flavors of bacon. If you don’t want to splurge solely on the bacon, their Millionaire’s Bacon is served as a side to several entrees on the menu such as eggs Benedict’s, scrambles, omelettes, and fried rice.They also have unique breakfast items on their menu such as Grand Marnier French Toast, which I ordered (see below), deep fried French Toast, and several breakfast pizzas. We were able to walk up and grab a table, without a wait, but for weekend brunch, I recommend making a reservation, and they only accept them through Yelp.
What Can You See in One Day in San Francisco?
We spent less than 36 hours in San Francisco, and while I saw the majority of things I wanted to see and do, I wouldn’t terribly mind another visit to Fog City. (Do locals actually call it that????)
You know what I WASN’T prepared for??? Those damn hills! Yes, I did know there are hills in San Fran, but I thought they were few and far in between or at least limited to one neighborhood. I got my feel of the city’s hills on day one when we drove down Scott Street, which was the steepest street I’d ever been on. As someone who has NEVER driven up or down a hill before, it was quite an experience. You definitely have to put the emergency break to use here.
Walk or Drive Down Lombard Street
I was excited to visit Lombard Street after seeing it on the TV show Monk. If you’re not familiar, Lombard Street is a winding, zig zag street that has 8 turns down 2 city blocks. The street is a brick-lined road with flowers and shrubbery on both sides of the street, but more importantly The Russian Hill street is lined with gorgeous Victorian homes. Cars drive down the hill, while pedestrians can use the stairs on either side to walk up or down the street. The street is naturally on a 27 degree angle, and in the 1920s, a property owner recommended adding the hairpin turns to increase pedestrian safety —before the thought of cars were an issue.
There are quite a few famous homes on the street to look out for, including The Real World House from season 3 in 1994 (who remembers Real World????), the (haunted) Montandon House, as well as Scottie’s apartment from the Alfred Hitchcock movie, Vertigo.
If you aren’t driving, or don’t want to drive down Lombard Street, you can take the 30 bus and get off on Columbus Ave. If tours are allowed in the near future, most tour companies in San Fran make a stop at Lombard Street. Or you can use the cable car, both the Hyde Street and Powell-Mason cable car has a stop at the top of Lombard Street. The cable cars weren’t in operation in early September, so I’m pretty sad I didn’t get a chance to experience a ride.
Lomabrd Street is within walking distance to Chinatown, Fisherman’s Wharf as well as North Beach.
Visit Chinatown
Finding street parking within Chinatown is truly a nightmare, but luckily we were able to find a paid garage on Market St. & Grant Ave. If you have a chance to venture over to Market Street, you can see the vast difference between Market Street and Chinatown. Chinatown is so traditional, old world compared to the modern stores and retailers along Market Street such as Banana Republic, Bloomingdale’s Trader Joe’s, and 4 and 5- star hotels. You’re welcomed into Chinatown via Dragon’s Gate on Bush and Grant Ave. San Francisco’s Chinatown is the oldest Chinatown in the U.S.
Chinatown boasts touristy souvenir shops, (where you are free to haggle), authentic Chinese restaurants, sidewalk produce vendors, and Chinese grocery stores.
I recommend heading to Chinatown early in the morning to see all of the shops as they open, or during mid day while it is bustling. We went in the evening on a Sunday while everything was closing up. Businesses began to close around 6-7pm.
Matcha Cafe Maiko is a must visit! There are 3 locations throughout San Fran: one in the Stonestown Galleria, one in Japantown, and their newest location in Chinatown on Grant and Clay Streets. They sell matcha infused sweet treats such as soft serve, floats, sundaes, matcha lattes, frappes, and teas. What’s great is that all of their matcha is imported from Japan.
Visit The Painted Ladies
“The Painted Ladies” are residential Victorian row homes on Steiner Street between Grove and Hayes Streets. The homes are a historic landmark, and one of the most photographed places in San Francisco. Their picture is often found on postcards, and most notably seen during the opening credits of the hit TV show, Full House.
Alamo Park is a city park that spans four square city blocks. To have the best view of The Painted Ladies, you’ll need to stand in Alamo Park across the street. You’ll know when you land in the picture perfect spot, because there’s a patch of grass missing that is now just dirt from all of the foot traffic it has seen. There’s street parking around the perimeter of Alamo Park, but you’ll be faced with steep inclines and declines. On Sundays street parking is free, but you’ll probably have to fight for a parking spot on the weekends since everyone flocks to the park to enjoy the outdoors and even have picnics.
Walk the Golden Gate Bridge — and mistakes to avoid
Jessica, wanted to walk the bridge in its entirety. But, at the time, the Welcome Center parking lot was closed to visitors, and after spending so much time in traffic, I was frazzled, and did not want to walk the bridge.
View from the parking area at Fort Baker.
It’s 1.7 miles, taking about 35 minutes to walk each way, and generally open to pedestrians from sun up to sun down, and bikers can ride until 3:30 pm . You definitely do not have to walk or bike the whole bridge. At any point, you can turn back around.
Coming from San Francisco, driving on Highway 101, you’ll take the last exit before the Golden Gate bridge, which is Exit 439. Don’t worry, there are highway signs indicating one exit before the last exit and finally the last exit before the bridge. I made the mistake of exiting too soon, and spent an extra 20 minutes in heavy traffic just to make a U-turn and drive 2 miles. Once you are at Exit 439, there is parking on both sides of the Highway.
Fog City Streets made great maps with directories of free and paid parking spots on their website. Please visit them here for detailed instructions.
Driving in to San Francisco, cars must pay a $7.75 toll. However, bikers, pedestrians and those taking public city or tour buses don’t have to pay the fee.
I was able to drop Jessica off at the Welcome Center, and she walked across the bridge. Myself on the other hand, was stuck in traffic for the full 35 minutes+ !!! The real reason for the traffic jam crossing from San Francisco is because the first exit, Vista Point was closed. The second exit, Alexander Ave leading to Fort Baker, which has parking and great views of the bay and bridge was delayed by traffic to those exiting to the Baker-Barry tunnel. The Baker-Barry tunnel, is a one lane tunnel that is wide enough to accommodate only one lane of traffic. So, every 5 minutes, cars at either end are allowed to travel through the tunnel, while traffic on the other side of the tunnel piles up and waits for their turn to enter. I missed my exit again, and this is how we found out.
Reasonably, I thought that since Jessica entered the bridge on the right side, she’d exit on the right side as well. WRONG! Pedestrians exit on the left side of the bridge, and if they need to exit to the right side of the bridge, they must take the walkway under the bridge and will arrive at the Vista Point parking lot. Luckily Jessica found me, parked in the Fort Baker area. In Fort Baker, there is free (?) parking right on the bay, and since you’re on the cliff, you can take beautiful unobstructed pictures and videos.
If you end up going through the Baker-Barry tunnel, towards Marin, you’ll drive up the winding Conzelman Road which is a 2 lane road, and in some parts one lane — often with traffic guards directing traffic especially around the traffic circle. There is parallel parking along the ridge with great views of the bay and bridge! The road is heavily trafficked by cyclists, so please be mindful when driving up this road. There are a few rocky paths and trails leading from Conzelman Road down to Kirby Cove Beach, where I’m sure you’ve seen the Instagram pictures of vacationers taking pictures on the makeshift swing. Unfortunately, the city removes the swings ever so often, so it’s a gamble if you’ll be able to see the swing up at any given time.
To head back to San Francisco, you can follow Conzelman Road back to the Golden Gate Bridge.
View from the parking area along Conzelman Road on the Marin side in Sausalito.
Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 39
I’m not a fan of prison tourism, but from Fisherman’s Wharf, you can see Alcatrez Island. There are a few tour companies that visit the now inhabited prison island.
Fisherman’s Wharf, located on the waterfront is lined with souvenir shops, restaurants, and docked boats.
As early as 10 am, you can see some stalls and restaurants begin to open, serving chowder and fresh caught seafood to hungry tourists.
Ghirardelli Square, located four blocks west of the Fisherman’s Wharf sign is home to shops, restaurants, a 5-star hotel, and The Original Ghirardelli Chocolate & Ice Cream Shop. At the famous shop, you can order from a limited menu including ice cream scoops, sundaes, and milkshakes. There is paid street parking around Fisherman’s Wharf as well as garage parking in Ghirardelli Square.
From July to May, you can expect to see hundreds of sea lions perched along K dock at Pier 39, less than 3 blocks north from the Fisherman’s Wharf sign.
During our time in San Fran, we stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott San Francisco on Van Ness Ave., and it is by far one of the chicest hotels I’ve ever stayed at! It is a few blocks up from the San Francisco City Hall — which is a must visit. The hotel is decorated so beautifully, and the style is so posh. Customer service was great, and one of the main reasons I cannot wait to go back to San Francisco is to stay at this hotel again. The only downside is obviously parking. I think it’s $39 per night to park here, but luckily there are a few public garages within a block or two of the hotel where you can park overnight for cheaper.
View my hotel and room tour below!
I would love to know of anyone who primarily walks or bikes throughout San Francisco! I don’t think I’m being dramatic, but send me some videos or first hand accounts in the comments of people who enjoy the hilly treks!
