What to see in San Francisco on a short trip?

I have visited the Californian metropolis of San Francisco several times, but the city is always worth a visit. Before my departure, I had concerns about the severe air pollution caused by the forest fires in the immediate vicinity (November 2018). You can find out in the following travel report whether my worries were justified and which sights in San Francisco I saw on the short trip.

Together with Robert from robisintheair.de I traveled to San Francisco with SAS Scandinavian Airlines in November 2018. You can find the Trip Report in SAS Economy Class here for reading.

What attractions in San Francisco? - Day 1

Our first day in San Francisco began with a view from the 14th floor window of the Hilton San Francisco Financial District. We were shocked to find that Coit Tower was not visible in the immediate area. However, this was not due to the air pollution caused by the forest fires, but simply to the fog that moved into the city from the Pacific. Nevertheless, after a great breakfast, we left the hotel for a full day sightseeing trip.

We walked down Grant Avenue, through the outskirts of Chinatown, until we hit Columbus Avenue. We followed this, past the National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi, until we reached the water or Bay Street.

The first sight we visited in San Francisco was the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company. I remembered that there used to be something to try when you walked into the store. Apparently that was abolished. A real shame! The clouds slowly moved away and so we decided to take a short break in the blue sky and sunshine.

After our break we continued west and entered Fort Mason. This former U.S. Army barracks is located in the Marina District along San Francisco Bay. For more than 100 years, Fort Mason was an armed forces position, initially for coastal defense and later as a military port. During World War II, most of the military cargo for the war in the Pacific was handled from here. In the upper part, the so-called Upper Fort Mason, we took some pictures of the large villas. We then looked for a geocache in a neighboring allotment before heading back to the bay. However, our hope of seeing one of San Francisco's most important sights, the Golden Gate Bridge, was dashed by the approaching clouds.

We walked along the promenade and watched the different sized yachts and ships. For professional reasons, I was fascinated by the historic streetcars squeaking down Jefferson Street on the worn tracks. We drifted along the colorful shops with souvenirs and tourist junk through Fischerman's Wharf to Pier 39.

We paid little attention to the restaurants, including Bubba Gump, known from the film “Forest Gump”, and the souvenir shops. Our first destination was the end of the pier where we had a great view of the ruined Alcatraz prison complex. Then we paid the famous sea lion colony an obligatory visit.

Since sightseeing in San Francisco also makes you hungry, we walked back from Pier 39 to Fischermans Wharf. There is a branch of the restaurant chain In-N-Out Burger. She is mine personal top 5 fast food restaurants in the USA. Because I was very hungry, I ordered a double-double burger with fries.

At the end of the day we went to the Municipal Pier. This pier was built in 1929 to provide San Francisco residents with a tranquil environment for swimming in Aquatic Cove. Today the pier is an endangered landmark in need of major repairs. Although it was elaborately constructed, decades of resistance to winter storms and wave action have significantly weakened this 1,400-foot (0.43 km) pier. However, it is still worth a walk for the great views of the city and the Golden Gate Bridge.

What attractions in San Francisco? - Day 2

We reserved a rental car for our second day in San Francisco, a Monday. Because of the affordable overall package, we decided to rent a silver Audi A4 from the Silvercar car rental company. I already have a look at what exactly Silvercar is Report from Chicago summarized.

We left San Francisco heading south and our first destination was the new Apple Campus. Unfortunately, once we got there we were only able to visit the visitor center including the Apple Store. The actual newly built complex, which resembles a landed UFO, can only be entered by employees or invited guests. But we still had a view of the unique architecture of the “mother ship” from the roof terrace of the visitor center.

Our tour through Silicon Valley took us to neighboring Mountain View. This is the center of the search engine giant Google. We were a little disappointed by the poor condition of the facility, especially the sculptures of the individual Android versions. The visitor center and the company store weren't really convincing either.

After a quick stop at a Tesla dealer and lunch at Carls Jr., we headed to the San Francisco Premium Outlets. We chose a few stores and bought one or two items of clothing at a significant discount.

Since it was already late afternoon and we wanted to use the remaining daylight for planespotting, we drove straight to San Francisco airport. From Bay Park we had a good view of part of the apron and the two parallel runways.

As it started to get dark, we packed up our camera gear and drove to a neighboring mall. There we ate a juicy burger at “Five Guys”, again one of our favorite restaurants. Then we wanted to take some night shots of the Golden Gate Bridge. So we drove to Fort Point below the famous bridge before having to return the rental car near Union Square.

The very next day we had to leave San Francisco and flew home with SAS. Nevertheless, we saw many sights in San Francisco over the two days. No matter how long or how often, San Francisco is always worth a trip for me!

Which travel guide can you recommend for a city trip to San Francisco?

Compact information, insider tips, adventure tours and digital extras: Experience the casual metropolis on the Pacific intensively with MARCO POLO, from breakfast to nightcap. With the MARCO POLO travel guide* Arrive in San Francisco immediately and are guaranteed to know where to go first. Find out which highlights you shouldn't miss besides the Golde Gate Bridge and Fisherman's Wharf, where the hipsters buy their hip Timbuk2 shoulder bags and why it's not just Star Wars fans who make a pilgrimage to the Yoda Fountain in front of George Lucas' media empire.

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