By J.C. Thomas
San Francisco is such an exceptional destination that crafting a weekend itinerary can pose a real challenge. There are so many iconic things to see, do and eat in the city, and a one-night stay can only be stretched so far. Embrace the challenge, though, and the reward will be two days of well-balanced exploration (conquer those steep hills!), cultural enrichment (admire the amazing art!) and thoroughly satisfied appetites for all things San Francisco.
This two-day, one-night itinerary is easy to customize and ideal for a broad range of getaways. It works for Bay Area locals and visitors from afar. For your first trip to San Francisco or your 100th. For romantic date weekends, family or friend-group getaways, and solo adventures as well. You’ll experience some high-brow art, a little local history, a major tourist hotspot, and the natural side of such a diversely appealing destination.
Day 1: SFMoma, Cable Car Museum, Fisherman’s Wharf & Sunset Cruise
Arrive in San Francisco and make your way to SFMoma, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. If you’re arriving by car, consider ditching it at your hotel for most of the weekend. The city is compact and walkable, and its public transport system is pretty easy to navigate. The museum does have its own parking garage, and is a few blocks from the Montgomery Street BART station.
Admire the art at SFMoma
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is one of the largest museums of modern and contemporary art in the United States, so schedule a visit of at least a few hours to do it justice. SFMoma’s exhibits cover seven gallery floors plus public open spaces filled with amazing art. Among them is the largest living wall in the US — 29 feet tall by 150 feet wide — with 26,000 plants creating a lush and verdant backdrop for the museum’s sculpture terrace.
SFMoma boasts more than 50,000 works in its collection, which covers a broad array of arts including painting and sculpture from 1900 to the present day, architecture, design, photography, and media arts through the lens of the Bay Area’s tech leadership. The Pritzker Center for Photography is notable as the largest space permanently dedicated to photography inside any US art museum. It’s a must-see for anyone interested in the art and science of photography, and a chance to see works by big names like Robert Mapplethorpe and Alfred Stieglitz.
Those hoping to see some world-famous paintings won’t be disappointed by SFMoma’s most popular galleries. The Doris and Donald Fisher Collection is considered to be one of the world’s greatest collections of postwar and contemporary art. It includes important works by Ellsworth Kelly, Roy Lichtenstein, Joan Mitchell, Cy Twombly and Andy Warhol, among others. Visitors also get to admire paintings by Matisse, Rivera, Kahlo, Magritte and Picasso. Find something new to admire in the familiar, and seek meaning, or perhaps no meaning at all, in the great works of art presented here just for your enjoyment.
Details:
SFMOMA
151 Third Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 357-4000
Stroll through Chinatown to the Cable Car Museum
From SFMoma, it’s a 1.1-mile walk, partially through Chinatown, to the Cable Car Museum. Take your time and soak up the atmosphere along with hilltop peekaboo views of the bay. Maybe pick up some Baoding balls or a bamboo back scratcher.
Two good reasons to visit the Cable Car Museum are that it’s free, and it’s pretty small so won’t take up a lot of your time. An even better reason to add this destination to your San Francisco weekend itinerary is that it reveals the inner workings of the city’s world-famous cable car system — the last of its kind in the world and a National Historic Landmark.
The museum occupies the San Francisco cable car system’s Washington-Mason powerhouse and car barn on Nob Hill. Enter the street-level deck and view the working mechanical operation below. See the massive winding wheels that continuously pull the mighty steel cable, which enters the building through a channel running under the street. Learn how the cars grip onto and release from the ever-moving cable to traverse the city’s steep hills, just as they have since the first line opened on Clay Street in 1873.
The museum also offers a collection of antique cable cars, detailed models, artifacts, and displays detailing the history, technologies and preservation of the cable car system.
Details:
Cable Car Museum
1201 Mason Street, San Francisco, CA 94108
Explore Fisherman’s Wharf
Stroll straight down Mason Street toward the bay, and in less than 30 minutes you’ll arrive at Fisherman’s Wharf. This part of San Francisco is busy, bustling tourist central, and for good reason. Spend the entire afternoon here at your leisure, turning left or right for a stroll down the flat and breezy Embarcadero. The views here are unrivaled, encompassing Alcatraz and the always-gorgeous Golden Gate Bridge, plus sailboats, the occasional entertaining kite surfer, and a cacophony of seabirds.
Among your many options for things to do at or close to Fisherman’s Wharf, consider these highlights:
- Buy incredibly fresh and delicious seafood from one of the wharf vendors. A clam chowder bread bowl and fresh Dungeness crab are classic choices. Watch out for thieving gulls.
- Explore carnivalesque Pier 39 with its souvenir shops, street performers, rides and tempting treats galore. Follow the sounds of barking sea lions to the adjacent K-Dock, where the boisterous beasts hang out in the hundreds.
- Spend an hour or so at the compact, yet compelling Aquarium of the Bay, also at Pier 39. The aquarium is dedicated to the vast and diverse marine life of the San Francisco Bay. The shark tunnel is a major highlight, as is the river otter exhibit.
- Step back in time at the Musée Mécanique, where you’re welcome to drop a coin into one of hundreds of restored vintage arcade and boardwalk games, plus all kinds of turn-of-the-century mechanical curiosities.
- Stroll down to Ghirardelli Square for a drink, snack or some chocolate, and discover the San Francisco story of the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company.
- Be amazed at the wonders of science, art and human perception at the Exploratorium. It’s one of the best places to go with kids in San Francisco but its hands-on exhibits are equally fascinating for all ages.
Take a sunset cruise on the bay
Hang around Fisherman’s Wharf until it’s time to embark on the Red and White Fleet’s San Francisco Sunset and City Lights Bay Cruise. It’s best to book in advance for this popular excursion. Arrive at least 20 minutes before your departure time and check in at Pier 43 ½.
The two-hour early evening cruise is a casual affair, perfect for all ages with no dress code. Do heed the sound advice to dress in layers as the bay can be very windy and chilly year-round, and you’ll want to spend some time on the outdoor decks. Here, you’ll get the best views of the bay and its remarkable landmarks including Alcatraz, Angel Island, the rugged Marin Headlands, and the star attraction, the Golden Gate Bridge.
You’ll slowly make your way toward the bridge and continue underneath the deck for up-close views of elegant Art Deco towers. Even on the foggiest days, this passage reveals the majesty of the bridge and its stature as an engineering marvel. Rather than venturing all the way through the Golden Gate, the ship pivots for its return leg, timed perfectly for sunset. Snap those gorgeous sunset pics, then admire the city skyline’s almost-instant illumination.
Guests have access to indoor and outdoor seating, and there’s a full cash bar and snack bar. You’re also welcome to bring your own snacks. If you’d like to learn all kinds of interesting facts about the bay, ask for a personal audio set, available in 16 languages.
Details:
Red and White Fleet
Pier 43 ½ Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco, CA 94133
Where to eat: Se7enbuds Restaurant
A full day of hill-walking, sightseeing, bay-cruising and culturally enriching yourself is sure to generate a big appetite. The kind of appetite that pleads for a nourishing feast of novel flavors and deeply comforting textures, all in a friendly, unfussy setting. You’ll find all that along with the warmest of welcomes at Se7enbuds Restaurant, an independent neighborhood joint on Polk Street about midway between Chinatown and Nob Hill.
The restaurant specializes in traditional Afghani and Persian dishes. Rather than a fusion or either/or, the menu celebrates the shared culinary language of the neighboring nations with its root words of rice and lamb, herbs and yogurt, lemons and wheat doughs cooked in countless configurations. Look to the dishes described as traditional Afghani specialties to order something that’s probably new to you, no matter how worldly your tastes.
Ask for a recommendation and you’ll perhaps be steered toward mantu, a shareable dinner plate of steamed dumplings stuffed with spiced ground beef and onion, swimming in a sea of saucy red lentils and liberally doused with yogurt. Delicately seasoned and painted with their sauces, the dumplings are fine and slippery, a textural treat in every two-bite parcel. Do not skip the chance to order shorwa, if it’s among the day’s specials. Hunks of bone-in lamb, potatoes, carrots and turnips are served separately from the deeply flavorful broth in which they simmered for hours. Although it masquerades as a hearty meat-and-potatoes main, this traditional Afghani soup satisfies without over-stuffing.
A few more recommended components to complete your spread: an order of bolani, a thin, floppy wheat bread made sturdier with an inner layer of potatoes, served with a cilantro chutney; and a classic shirazi salad, simple perfection with its onion-cucumber-tomato jumble and bright, zingy dressing of lemon and mint. Refresh the palette with the salad and swipe the remnants of everything with the bread. Finally, finish with a pot of hot black or green tea and leave the charming venue abundantly satisfied.
Details:
Se7evbuds Restaurant
1426 Polk Street, San Francisco, CA 94109
Where to stay: The Holiday Inn Golden Gateway
The Holiday Inn Golden Gateway hits the hotel sweet spot for a casual San Francisco weekend getaway — a trip not defined by luxe accommodations but still warranting a trusted name and some pleasing perks. The 26-floor, 496-room property is near downtown San Francisco, giving you close and easy access to virtually all the top attractions of the city. Most rooms offer views of the city skyline and the bay; ask for a corner room for premium views through two walls of windows.
Standard amenities include all the essentials as well as nice-to-have perks, among them an in-room coffee maker, mini fridge, complimentary WiFi and black-out shades for a thoroughly restful stay. Guests also have access to a 24-hour fitness center as well as a heated outdoor pool and deck. The hotel lobby hosts the R.O.H Bar & Restaurant, where kids eat free. Self-parking with in/out privileges is available on site.
Details:
Holiday Inn Golden Gateway
1500 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94109
(415) 441-4000
www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/san-francisco/sfogg/hoteldetail
Day 2: San Francisco Botanical Garden & De Young Museum
You might be packing up and checking out after a one-night stay, but there’s still plenty more to see and do in San Francisco before you head home. Consider a more leisurely approach to Day 2 of your weekend getaway. Start with a morning walk outdoors at one of the city’s most nature-rich destinations — the San Francisco Botanical Garden — then squeeze in one more world-class art gallery before it’s time to go. You’ll depart having experienced multiple facets of this fascinating destination, with plenty more ideas to save for your next visit.
Stroll the San Francisco Botanical Garden
Even if rising early goes totally against your vacationing style, do consider getting to the San Francisco Botanical Garden first thing. The gardens, located in Golden Gate Park, open daily at 7:30 am and entrance is free until 9 am. Picnics are allowed, so bring your breakfast and sip your coffee in one of the loveliest spots in all of San Francisco.
The botanical garden covers 55 acres of open spaces and landscaped gardens that include more than 20 distinct collections of plant species from all over the world. These include an ancient plant garden, moon-viewing garden, succulent garden and collections from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Chile, the Andean cloud forest and temperate Asia. Take your time to wander, explore and take tons of photos.
The San Francisco Botanical Garden is a beautiful destination year-round, with each season offering select highlights. The magnolia collection is renowned and at its peak from January to March. Springtime treasures include the wildflowers of the Californian and Mediterranean gardens, rhododendrons and South African proteas. Summer is prime time in the redwood grove, with lush ferns and huckleberries under the towering giants. Spy glorious fall foliage in the temperate Asian gardens, as the cloud forest species thrive in San Francisco’s famously foggy weather.
Details:
San Francisco Botanical Garden
Golden Gate Park
1199 9th Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94122
gggp.org/san-francisco-botanical-garden
Related: 12 Beautiful Botanical Gardens in California
Visit the de Young Museum
Art lovers should end their weekend visit on a high note with a final stop in San Francisco at the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park. Its sister museum, the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park, is also a great choice. The de Young Museum specializes in American art from the 17th century to today, plus works from Africa and Oceania, textile arts and costumes, and contemporary art from all over the world.
Many famous works are on display at the de Young, including Georgia O’Keeffe’s bountiful purple “Petunias,” Diego Rivera’s “Two Women and a Child,” and Edward Hopper’s “Portrait of Orleans.” Sculptures, masks, textiles and other art from Oceania dating from the 15th to 20th centuries are especially intriguing. See remarkable arts from the Americas ranging from Hopi baskets to painted Maya vessels.
Tip: General admission is free on the first Tuesday of the month, and on Saturdays for Bay Area residents.
Details:
De Young
Golden Gate Park
50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, San Francisco, CA 94118
Want more things to do in San Francisco?
Whether you head home or stick around a little longer, this fully customizable itinerary should have satisfied your appetite for a weekend of memorable art, food and fun in San Francisco.
Still need more ideas? Maybe pop over to Sausalito for a sunset sail, or read up on how to be the savviest tourist in San Francisco.
Disclaimer: California News Press and its contributors received goods, services and/or other professional courtesies to facilitate this review. All opinions are those of the author.