Things to Do in San Francisco
• Alcatraz Island, once home to America's most notorious criminals such as Al Capone and "Machine Gun" Kelly, is open to touring, either during the day or at night.
• On the day tour, explore the prison cell blocks, outdoor spaces such as the Recreation Yard & Eagle Plaza, the historic Gardens, and permanent exhibits.
• On the night tour, listen to live narration on the ferry ride to the island, meet a ranger at the dock for a guided tour of the island, explore the prison cell blocks, and enjoy exclusive access to closed off areas like the hospital and kitchen.
• On both tours, explore the prison areas on your own with the award-winning *Doing Time: The Alcatraz Cellhouse Tour*, available in 11 languages with narratives by former inmates and prison guards.
San Francisco on wheels 🚗🌁
Can you imagine exploring San Francisco's most iconic spots from the comfort of your vehicle, without worrying about endless hills or maps?
This tour is for you!!
On this tour, we'll explore places you've probably seen in movies, postcards, or on social media: the majestic City Hall , the charming Painted Ladies , the vibrant Castro neighborhood , and the incredible views from Twin Peaks that will leave you breathless.
But that's not all... we'll also stroll through the legendary Haight-Ashbury , the birthplace of the hippie movement, and cross the greenery of Presidio Park toward the iconic Golden Gate Bridge . And yes, we'll cross it! To reach Battery Spencer , one of the best viewpoints in the entire city. 🌉✨
We continue through the elegant Palace of Fine Arts , the charming Marina district , the delightful and cultural North Beach (the Italian neighborhood) and the colorful and unmissable Chinatown .
💫 A special touch: San Francisco has something magical about it when you drive through: the climbs, the descents, the changing landscape in minutes, and that fresh Pacific air that drifts through the window. It's not just a ride, it's a sensory experience.
This tour is ideal for curious people who want to explore beyond the typical , with facts, stories, and good vibes.
⏰ In approximately 4 hours , we'll discover the best of the city, with strategic stops for photos, short walks, and unique moments.
📍 A vehicle maintenance fee of $100 per person is charged, and at the end of the tour, you can add any amount you wish for the work performed by the guide.
Includes transportation in a comfortable vehicle, a Spanish-speaking guide, and a desire to have a good time.
Join us! San Francisco is waiting for you, and you'll experience it like never before. 🤗🌆
‼️🚨IF THE TOUR HAS LESS THAN 2 PEOPLE IT MAY BE CANCELED BECAUSE IT DOES NOT COVER THE MINIMUM PROFITABLE FOR THE GUIDE'S WORK... PLEASE KEEP THIS IN MIND.🚨‼️
We are waiting for you walkers!!
• No strict schedules here! The buses run every 15 mins at all 17 stops, so you can hop off to snap that perfect pic, and then hop back on when you're ready.
• Upgrade for entry to the San Francisco Aquarium By The Bay, 60-minute sunset or Historic Chinatown digital walking tours – take your pick and unlock extra fun.
• Curious about the city's culture and history? Tune into the multilingual audio guide while you cruise on the open-top double-decker buses.
• From the impressive City Hall to the dreamy Palace of Fine Arts and the unmissable Golden Gate Bridge, you'll see the city's coolest spots.
Up through 1882 it was relatively easy to enter California without a passport. Come along on a tour exploring ten 1804-1898 stories depicting the land-grubbing mystique of California. From the czar-crossed romance of Rezanov and Concepcion to the wild gold-lust rush of 1849 to the Chinese railroad labor coolies to Frederick Jackson Turner's 1893 "The Significance of the Frontier in American History" thesis, this walk demands an explanation for the need for passports to inhabit planet Earth. From the delusional but generous Emperor Norton to the clear-eyed Henry George, San Francisco has provided a rebuke to the scandalous notion of limited world citizenship. Spend two hours to join Thomas Paine in declaring, "My attachment is to all the world, and not to any particular part." Along the way we'll track buried ships, Mark Twain's San Francisco neighborhood, the Pony Express (the early forbear of the internet!), and heaps of other true and truly relevant stories demonstrating you didn't need a passport!
• Discover the city on an open-top bus with audio in 7 languages, covering landmarks like Chinatown, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Fisherman’s Wharf.
• Hop off and explore at your own pace, with buses running every 15 minutes and a free app to track live arrivals for smooth sightseeing.
• Your pass throws in extras! Visit the Aquarium By The Bay, set off on a sunset tour, explore Chinatown on a digital walking tour & rent a bike to see the sights.
• Ferry to Alcatraz and explore the infamous former prison with an immersive audio guide featuring gripping tales by former inmates and officers.
I'm Greg, also host of the top-rated Hidden Stairways of San Francisco experience. I'm a world traveler and former music radio host who grew up in Ireland. I fell in love with this city and its music scene the moment I arrived more than 30 years ago. My work in radio brought me in contact with San Francisco rock legends like Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead's Phil Lesh and Bob Weir.
The Haight-Ashbury neighborhood was the center of the counter-culture movement and the Summer of Love. I'll bring its bohemian history to life and even share some dark secrets from its distant past. I'll bring you to the homes of the musicians that lived here and you'll marvel at the colorful murals and beautiful Victorian houses along the way. Oh, I'll also introduce you to the world's greatest record store!
• Discover over 33,000 artworks across 7 floors, including sculptures, paintings, and immersive installations from globally recognized artists.
• Experience the largest ‘living wall’ in the U.S., a stunning vertical garden that showcases sustainable design and green architecture.
• Browse the Museum Store for a curated collection of art books, unique home décor, exclusive merchandise, and creative jewelry inspired by the museum’s exhibits.
Welcome to San Francisco!
This breathtaking 1.5 mile (2.5k) walking tour of San Francisco's beautiful hidden stairways is top rated in the Bay Area and loved by both locals and tourists alike.
See gorgeous mosaic tiled steps and hear the stories behind them, then take in stunning 360° views of the Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park and downtown San Francisco. You'll also discover beautiful neighborhoods and gardens that many locals are not aware of and that tourists rarely see.
Oh, and you might even go home with a succulent!
I'll provide commentary, context and some history along the way.
For thousands of years humans have got a living by the waters of Mission Creek in San Francisco. The First People, the Ohlone, dug shellfish in the bayland muck. Along came the Spanish, and Russians, and English, and then US citizens. Each successive wave of people used the land along the creek as the center of their livelihood-getting.
Come on a tour taking a close look at land contour, street and building names, and the diversity of ethnic shops and restaurants of the western Mission District as these tell the story of how land turned into real estate reveals the transit of humanity.
This walk abounds with philosophical observations on the evolution of humanity's use of land. You'll visit San Francisco's Mission Dolores, trace the course of Mission Creek, play-act fishing for wealth, learn to "read" a city, and stop by a community garden for a bite of greens! All in the heart of a vibrant urban neighborhood!
NOTE: As part of the tour I guide you through the Ohlone Indian museum at the Mission. There is a $7/person admission charge to enter. This charge is not mine, it's the museum's, but well worth this introduction to Ohlone/Spanish era San Francisco.
• Glide beneath the majestic Golden Gate Bridge, circle the infamous Alcatraz Island, and soak in sweeping views of the iconic city skyline.
• Choose your moment: If you’re on a summer cruise, toast to the golden hour as the sky bursts into vivid orange hues; if you’re on a winter cruise, embrace the twilight hour as the skylines light up and the nightlife comes alive.
• Purchase a light bite and a beverage from the bar, as the background music sets the perfect laid-back vibe.
If you're up for a thought-provoking two and three-quarters hours that's about ideas as much as fascinating historical figures, you'll be thrilled by the intellectual panorama presented!
In 1879 a San Francisco newspaperman and social philosopher proposed a revolutionary piece of public policy to fix the glaring wealth divide in the United States. Treat land values as community property. Within 10 years he had sold 3 million copies of his book, upset the British Empire, run for mayor of New York City as organized labor's champion, and engaged the Pope in public discourse on the rights of humanity. I refer to Henry George, today buried in the index of economic texts, but nevertheless deserving a hearing.
Come along on a walking tour surveying San Francisco social movement history on the way to introducing you to America's most important social thinker, Henry George . . . with the twist that he disputed Karl Marx's binary thinking, maintaining that the Earth constituted a distinct third leg in diagnosing the problem of the wealth divide.
On this fast-paced walk, you'll meet the Black Panthers, the American Indian Movement, the LGBTQ quest for full citizenship, the money reform dilemma, Sun Yat-sen and China's democracy movement, and many more stories of those seeking liberation in the distinctive San Francisco spirit that outrages complacency.
Along the way we'll discover a way to honor labor, humanity, and the quest for civic life.
• Cruise directly beneath the Golden Gate Bridge, offering exceptional vantage points for photography.
• Navigate around the historic Alcatraz Island while engaging with detailed narration about its storied past.
• Observe the occasional local marine wildlife such as sea lions, dolphins, pelicans, and, if you're lucky, a humpback whale!
• Did you know? You can sail close enough to Alcatraz Island to spot the old prison buildings that once held Al Capone!
Welcome to San Francisco!
Sign up with us to take a trip through San Francisco to get a great introduction to this wonderful city!
We’ll visit all the main highlights, from the earliest history of the 1700s to the Wild West of the 1800s, the growth (and destruction) of the city in the 1900s, to the skyscrapers of today. Walking through Chinatown, North Beach/Little Italy, and the Financial District, we will show you the best of the city!
We start at the bustling Union Square, near the corner of Geary Street & Powell Street in the heart of the city. We'll wander through the streets and hidden alleyways of downtown history, and you'll hear all the fascinating tales along the way until we finish at the modern Transamerica Pyramid, at the intersection of Washington Street & Sansome Street.
Don't miss this tour for a memorable experience!
• Celebrate ‘Tis the Season for Science with adorable baby reindeer, live performances, snowy fun, and festive holiday programming for all ages.
• Meet over 60,000 incredible creatures, from colorful coral reefs and playful penguins to exotic rainforest birds and the iconic albino alligator Claude.
• Immerse yourself in California’s biodiversity at California: State of Nature, an interactive exhibit exploring the state’s bold and beautiful ecosystems.
San Francisco features the USA's most architecturally unified Civic Center. The devastating 1906 earthquake and fire meant the city had to rebuild, and it did, choosing a Beaux Arts theme.
Come along on a thematic tour exploring the significance of culture and public policy in feeding a population. On this hour and a half walk we'll start at United Nations Plaza (bet you didn't know the UN came into existence in San Francisco!), then recount the story of cities and food as we amble through a farmers market, identify the statues and named buildings ringing Civic Center Plaza, and conclude by picnicking with our farmers market purchases near City Hall.
The statues and named buildings carry such stories as of liberation (Simon Bolivar), of colonization (the Pioneer Monument), while the Earl Warren Federal Office Building speaks of the USA's racially-sculpted history. There's plenty more, and all of it lends itself to addressing the food and dignity question, "Whose land is this?"
Your guide, David, a high school history teacher, invites you to feed body and mind, giving names and stories to the granite forms of Civic Center.


































