Tour 2
FISHERMAN'S WHARF
Fisherman’s Wharf
Four blocks from the Inn and you’re on Jefferson Street and the iconic Fisherman’s Wharf sign, right by Alioto’s restaurant and Cioppino’s.
Walk left from the Inn, cross on Francisco Street to Taylor, go left and continue for four blocks and you’re there.
Turn right on Lombard St, left on Laguna, right on Bay st, past fort mason. Left on polk and a Right on Beach.
At the Wharf, you can go honky tonk, and buy t-shirts, fleeces and hats with San Francisco emblazoned across them, fresh fish from the sea, candies and posters. You can walk around and look at the boats, see and listen to the sea lions at Pier 39, visit Madame Tussaud’s wax rouge gallery and catch a cruise in the Bay to Alcatraz or elsewhere. Many people like to stop at Boudin’s Bakery for the clam chowder bowls in fresh sour dough bread that is synonymous with San Francisco. Walk left from Boudin’s and go three blocks for famed Ghirardelli Square, a shopping area in an old chocolate factory building that is on National Historic Register.
Many people like to stop at Boudin’s Bakery for the clam chowder bowls in fresh sour dough bread that is synonymous with San Francisco. Walk left from Boudin’s and go three blocks for famed Ghirardelli Square, a shopping area in an old chocolate factory building that is on National Historic Register.
Walk to Golden Gate Bridge
Have an hour and half to spare? From the Inn, you can take a nice stroll to the bridge, passing through some of the greatest parks in the world, on mostly flat land, by basically turning left at Fisherman’s Wharf and following the water.
From the Wharf, continue left, past the little beach, on the paved walkway. You’ll go up hill a little bit through Fort Mason, an old military base that’s now a park, continue through the Marina, where people dock boats, jog, cycle and the like, with a killer view of the water.
Side trip: You’ll be walking down Mason Street. When you cross Lyon Street, you’ll be entering the Presidio, the national park that leads to the Golden Gate Bridge. On the left side of the street is the Palace of Fine Arts, with its Greco-Roman rotunda and colonnades, lagoon and beautiful grounds, a great place for a picnic and photo shoot. You won’t be able to go in–the building itself is only open for corporate events. But it’s a great visit.
As you continue up Mason, (you’ll see the Golden Gate Bridge, so you’ll know which direction to go) you will enter Crissy Field, a giant park that happens to have the Golden Gate Bridge as its backdrop, and Fort Point, another former military base that’s home to the best views of the Bridge in the city. From here, you’ll be busy taking dozens of photos of the bridge from the best vantage point in the city.
Finally, if you want to continue, you can walk across the bridge 1.7 miles to just outside Sausalito in Marin. This will add another hour to your walk. (From the northern end of the bridge, it’s another 2.5 miles to walk into Sausalito, so you’ll probably want to skip that.)
If you’re a little tired from here and want a ride home, you can always call for an Uber or Lyft to pick you up in Crissy Field and take you back to the Inn.