Things to do in San Francisco are abundant and amazing. This beautiful, historic city has many hills, views of ocean and bay, incredible architecture, and an wide-ranging food scene. More on San Francisco in Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4! 
Lands End or Point Lobos on the western side of San Francisco has long been considered a beautiful area. With the building of the first Cliff House in the 1860s it became a resort or get away from downtown. Attractions included the Cliff House with lodging and restaurant, the Sutro Baths and gardens, a camera obscura, and a beautiful view of the Seal Rocks. Adolph Sutro, a German mining engineer, made a fortune at the Comstock silver mine and used his wealth as a benefactor to the city of San Francisco. The Sutro Baths once included an ocean pool aquarium and a 3-acre bathhouse of 7 swimming pools, each at a different temperature.
The Cliff House today is the 3rd structure on the site. It has a very nice gift shop and the Bistro and Sutro’s restaurants. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are available daily. We ate breakfast there at a nice table overlooking Seal Rocks. A specialty is their fresh popovers! The Zinc Bar also serves the full menu and feels like a little piece of Beaux Arts Paris with its zinc countertop and hand-carved back bar from the 1890 Paris World’s Fair.
- Cliff House https://www.nps.gov/goga/learn/historyculture/cliff-house.htm
- Lands End https://www.nps.gov/goga/learn/historyculture/lands-end.htm
- Sutro’s at the Cliff House https://www.opentable.com/sutros-at-the-cliff-house?ref=1068
The Legion of Honor Fine Arts Museum in Lincoln Park is open Tuesdays through Sundays. If you are an Alfred Hitchcock fan, this is the museum in Vertigo where Kim Novak goes to see the portrait of Carlotta. The museum was a gift of Alma Spreckels to the city in memory of the World War I soldiers of California. The museum has 70 sculptures by Rodin with The Thinker at center stage in the Court of Honor. The museum is known for its European and Ancient art collections. The views of the Golden Gate and the city from the outside are fabulous and the museum is a beautiful gem. http://legionofhonor.famsf.org/
The Golden Gate Bridge is an icon of San Francisco. The entrance to San Francisco Bay from the ocean is called the Golden Gate. I love the scenes in the Fred Astaire movie Follow the Fleet (1936) where the navy ships are entering the bay before the bridge was built. You can drive over the bridge to visit Sausalito or Muir Woods National Monument.
Muir Woods
There are walking tours of the bridge on Thursdays and Sundays. The Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Center has a large parking lot, a gift shop, and two places to eat so you can walk around and get some good views of the bridge. Fort Point is a Civil War-era fort at the base of the bridge that was saved by the chief engineer of the bridge because of its historic masonry work.
Map things to do in San Francisco
Resource links
- https://casabouquet.com/?s=city+by+the+bay
- My City By the Bay Film Festival: Lisa’s Home Bijou
- http://thisismyhappiness.com/2015/07/02/a-day-trip-to-san-francisco/
- Build a perfect day trip to San Francisco from This is My Happiness
- http://thisismyhappiness.com/2014/06/17/things-do-san-francisco/
- 30 things to do in San Francisco from This is My Happiness
- http://www.athoughtfulplaceblog.com/san-francisco-traveler-tips-and-day-two/
- San Francisco: Traveler tips and day two from A Thoughtful Place
- http://sf.eater.com/maps/best-san-francisco-restaurants-38
- 38 essential San Francisco restaurants from Eater San Francisco
- https://www.nps.gov/muwo/index.htm
- Muir Woods National Monument
More on San Francisco in Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4!
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