As part of our 6-month trip with our two children, we also spent a day in San Francisco. Find out here what we did in those few hours and how we perceived this cosmopolitan city. Join us on a short trip to the legendary “Summer of Love”.
“City by the Bay”, ‘The City’, ‘Fog City’ or ‘San Fran’ for short is what the city in the middle of the west coast of the United States is also known as. For many, however, San Francisco will always be the capital of the hippie movement. The question we asked ourselves: What is or was so special about San Francisco to become the hotspot of the flower power movement? Nowadays, we hear all sorts of nasty things about the alleged decline of this former metropolis. Is it still worth a visit these days? We found out for you.
Before we talk about the sights of San Francisco, however, we need to expand a little on the subject.
„If you’re going to San Francisco,
be sure to wear some flowers in your hair.
If you come to San Francisco,
Summertime will be a love-in there.“
Scott McKenzie, San Francisco, 1967
The “Summer of Love” remains unforgotten
It was a kind of revolution. Heavily armed with incense sticks and thick joints, in bell-bottom pants, short skirts, garishly colored Indian tunic blouses or completely “topless”, a new era began for an entire generation in the 1960s. The music was new, somehow wilder and the lyrics conveyed a mixture of social criticism and joie de vivre around what felt like a shrinking globe. The horrors of the Vietnam War and the prevailing and hopelessly outdated sexual morals were the straw that broke the camel's back. A new counter-cultural youth movement began its colorful triumphal march - and it all started in a small neighborhood in San Francisco.
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As early as 1960, a new culture was growing up in the Bay Area that wanted to stand out from the fashion of the time - increasing LSD consumption did the rest. Bands such as “The Charlatans”, who not only attracted Janis Joplin to San Francisco, but also many thousands of young people who followed this new attitude to life, are regarded as particularly influential. In addition to a revival of anarchism, the modern civil rights movement, psychedelic art, consumer criticism and environmentalism emerged through a new affinity with nature. Ideals of prosperity that had grown up until then were suddenly called into question and an alternative form of self-realization came to the fore. The heterogeneous “flower power” became stronger and stronger. The fact that this also became big business was all too readily overlooked.
In the winter of 1965/1966, the first large, multi-day festivals were held in San Francisco - known as “Woodstock” - and more and more “hippies” flocked to the Haight-Ashbury district to take part. The years 1967 and 1968 are now regarded as the high point of this movement, even though the hippie era extended into the 1970s. Many of the Victorian houses in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood became open housing communities and the call for free love echoed through the streets, mingling with the smell of hemp and bergamot. Change was in the air - it was an unimaginably exciting era.
Times have changed
You don't see many real hippies in San Francisco today, but the echoes of days gone by can still be heard - especially in the Haight Ashbury district. Here, the charm of the “Summer of Love” has been preserved and packaged in handy portions for tourists. In the meantime, however, development has not stood still in San Francisco either - especially not there!
The establishment of the Stanford Industrial Park, a research and industrial area next to Stanford University, in 1951 marked the start of an economic boom that is second to none. Gradually, more and more companies from the electronics industry settled in the Santa Clara Valley and on the city's southern peninsula, becoming one of the most important creativity machines of our time and probably the most important location for the IT and high-tech industry worldwide. The term “Sillicon Valley” was first used in 1971 in a series of articles about the local semiconductor industry.
The entire area is now known as the birthplace of numerous global corporations. Among others, the following companies have been founded here or have settled here for a variety of reasons: Apple (currently the most valuable company in the world), Intel, Google, AMD, SanDisk, Adobe, Symantec, Yahoo, eBay, Nvidia, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle, Cisco and Meta Platforms (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp). This list speaks for itself. In this context, we can no longer talk about the general denial of performance of the hippie era.
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Negative developments on the rise
Despite, or perhaps because of, this rapid and unprecedented economic and technological development, the center of San Francisco in particular has fallen into a downward spiral. Similar processes can also be observed in other US cities on the West Coast - above all Portland - but for a business and tourism metropolis like San Francisco, something like this is extremely surprising. And there are several reasons for this.
Since the turn of the millennium, San Francisco has increasingly become a field of experimentation for the big tech companies. The employees of these huge business conglomerates have created a kind of alternative counterculture that no longer has anything to do with the hippie movement. Before the millennium, the streets were packed with people and the bars were full until the early hours of the morning, but today there is only a yawning emptiness. Especially since Corona, San Francisco has turned into a ghost town in some places, as residents report.
Whereas pedestrians used to have their eyes on the street, smartphones now rule the attention economy. In many respects, technological progress has become a social step backwards. The new self-driving cabs do not necessarily contribute positively to this. Most pubs are now empty, crime, homelessness and drug abuse have risen sharply and many businesses in the city have already closed. The media are already talking about a “doom loop” and the “great retreat”. Of course, this has also had a strong impact on the number of overnight stays and tourism - no wonder when you read in travel forums that you should never drive into the city by car or even motorhome, as the chance of finding it broken into and emptied out in broad daylight is higher than ever. This scares many travelers.
The liberalization of the justice system has allegedly also played its part. What used to be casually referred to as “shoplifting” has now led to a state of emergency in San Francisco. Proposition 47 was introduced in 2014 and, among other things, downgraded shoplifting from a “felony” to a “misdemeanor” if the value of the goods did not exceed USD 950. This means that anyone who steals goods worth less than 950 US dollars will not be prosecuted in California. You can imagine the consequences of this.
Of course, this news also gave us pause for thought and we thought long and hard about whether we should visit San Francisco at all. In the end, our curiosity and longing for “The City” won out and we decided to spend at least one day in San Francisco.
If you want to know whether we really thought it was that bad, you should definitely read our “Conclusion” at the bottom!
From Petaluma to San Francisco
With our motorhome rented from Cruise America, we drove from Moss Landing via or through San Francicso and the Golden Gate Bridge to Petaluma. There we had reserved a pitch at the San Francisco North / Petaluma KOA Resort for three nights. This spacious campsite overlooks the picturesque Californian hills under large shady trees and boasts good infrastructure such as a pool, hot tub, playground, outdoor cinema, trampoline (Jumping Pillow), petting zoo, dog zone, outdoor kitchen, tent pitches and small chalets. The selection of RV sites is also very extensive.
More information about the KOA Petaluma: https://koa.com/campgrounds/san-francisco/
The KOA Petaluma, in Sonoma County, is about an hour's drive from Fishermans Wharf in San Francisco. We were very lucky to meet some incredibly nice people who took us into town in their pick-up truck. We made new friends!
As always before a city trip, we had to prioritize. What should you see in San Francisco in around 8 hours?
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By bus through San Francisco
Without a car, we had to rely on alternative means of transportation in San Francisco and, as in other cities, we opted for one of the hop-on hop-off tours on offer. The Big Bus Tour starts at Fisherman's Wharf and is, according to the Internet, the best-selling city tour in San Fran. The open-top double-decker makes 17 stops and you can hop on and off as often as you like between 10.00 and 18.00 and explore the city on foot in between. Especially if, like us, you only have one day planned, this is the best way to get to know San Francisco without having to plan too much. With the multilingual audio guide, you can also learn lots of interesting facts about the city and its history.
The tickets for the Big Bus day tour cost the equivalent of around 214 euros for the four of us (two adults and two children) - these prices may of course have changed in the meantime.
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Big Bus stops San Francisco:
A day on the hop-on hop-off bus through San Francisco offers the perfect introduction to the city and the best photo opportunities of famous sights from the top deck. We've put the stops (plus addresses) in the right order for you, even though we didn't get off at all of them ourselves - which is hard to do in one day without having a heart attack.
Our tip: We did the tour twice and visited our favorites the first time and our second favorite stops the second time.
Big Bus Tours Visitors' Center
99 Jefferson Street, San Francisco, CA 94133 (Corner Jefferson and Mason Streets)
First Bus: 10:00
Last Bus: 18:00
Places of interest:
Blazing Saddles
Cartoon Art Museum
Red and White - 1-Hour Bay Cruise
Players Arcade and Luau Lounge Secret Tiki Bar
U.S.S. Pampanito Submarine
The S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien
Ripley’s Believe it or Not!
Aquarium of the Bay
Fishermen's Chapel
SkyStar Observation Wheel
Notes:
We bought our tickets here and started our tour. The station is located in the middle of the famous Fisherman's Wharf area and can be easily visited on foot - there are numerous restaurants, snack bars and souvenir stores.
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2. North Beach / Chinatown
329 Columbus Ave (white zone near The Baked Bear, northwest of the corner of Broadway and Columbus)
First Bus: 10:07
Last Bus: 18:07
Places of interest:
Coit Tower
Notes:
The Coit Tower, a 64-metre-high observation tower on Telegraph Hill. It was built by Arthur Brown Jr. and Henry Howard in 1933 and was declared a National Historic Site. You can also book tours of this Little Italy landmark.
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3. Embarcadero Center
Clay Street (zwischen Battery & Front Street)
First Bus: 10:13
Last Bus: 18:13
Places of interest:
Embarcadero
Exploratorium
Notes:
The Embarcadero Center is a business center consisting of six interconnected, 30 to 45-storey skyscrapers (four office buildings and two Hyatt hotels) and another office building. The buildings, designed by architect John C. Portman, Jr., were completed between 1971 and 1989. Around 14,000 people work in them today.
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4. Ferry Building
30 Steuart Street (between Steuart & Market Street)
First Bus: 10:16
Last Bus: 18:16
Places of interest:
Railway Museum
Ferry Building
Ferry Plaza Farmers Market
Embarcadero
Notes:
The Ferry Building has been a landmark and gateway to San Francisco since 1898. It is visited by millions of people every year. The marketplace is home to almost 50 local grocers, restaurants and small eateries - all in an architectural gem with panoramic views of the bay.
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5. Union Square South
280 Geary Street (opposite from Macy's, near the stairs)
First Bus: 10:26
Last Bus: 18:26
Places of interest:
Union Square
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Notes:
The Union Square district is the central shopping, hotel and theater district of San Francisco. It is also the name given to the 10,500 square meter park located there. Nowhere in the west of the USA today is there a higher concentration of large department stores, boutiques, souvenir stores and restaurants than in the surrounding streets of the one-block park. Union Square is one of the main attractions for tourists and a lively, cosmopolitan square in downtown San Francisco.
We got off here and walked from there to a branch of Mel's Drive-In, where we had a very good meal. The chain is best known for the movie American Graffiti and has a very good Reuben sandwich on offer.
More information about Mel's Drive-In: https://melsdrive-in.com/
Afterwards we walked back to Union Square station.
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6. Hilton Hotel
Mason Street (between O'Farrell and Ellis Street, in front of the entrance to the Hilton Hotel)
First Bus: 10:30
Last Bus: 18:30
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7. Civic Center
350 McCallister Street (Weiße Zone vor dem Earl Warren Building)
First Bus: 10:40
Last Bus: 18:40
Places of interest:
Civic Center
Asian Art Museum
Notes:
Civic Center refers to the area in front of City Hall, where other administrative buildings and museums are also located. There are several large squares here, where markets are also held regularly. Some of the buildings, especially City Hall, are worth seeing, but we didn't get out here. There are quite a few homeless people and shady characters in this area, so watch out!
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8. Alamo Square
944 Fell Street (near the Mosaic Wall and the corner with Pierce Street)
First Bus: 10:50
Last Bus: 18:50
Places of interest:
African American Art & Culture Complex
Alamo Square Park
Painted Ladys
Notes:
Historic Alamo Square is a park and neighborhood in San Francisco. A row of Victorian houses called “Postcard Row” is one of the most photographed residential streets in America. Some of the colorfully painted houses are also called Painted Ladies. The magnificent row of houses on Steiner Street is the best-known example of the so-called “Queen Anne Style”.
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9. Haight Ashbury
1816 Haight Street (opposite the Cha Cha Cha Restaurant)
First Bus: 11:00
Last Bus: 19:00
Places of interest:
Haight Ashbury
Notes:
Of course, we stopped off in the most famous former hippie district in the world. It's a great place for a stroll and the charm of Haight Street is hard to shake off. This street is also home to the house where Jimi Hendrix lived (1524a Haight Street). An absolute must if you are ever in San Francisco. You should plan to spend at least half an hour here.
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10. Golden Gate Park (Monday - Saturday only)
55 Music Concourse Drive (vor der Kalifornischen Akademie der Wissenschaften)
First Bus: 11:07
Last Bus: 19:07
Places of interest:
Japanese Tea Garden
Botanical Gardens
De Young Museum
California Academy of Sciences
DeYoung Museum & Legion of Honor Museum
Notes:
Golden Gate Park alone would be worth a day trip, especially in good weather. It is one of the largest inner-city parks in the world. At 4.1 square kilometers (five kilometers long and 800 meters wide), it is larger than Central Park in New York. Stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the east, the park is located in the west of the city in the middle of extensive residential areas, around six kilometers from the city center.
We got out here and took a coffee break in the beautiful park. We would have loved to stay longer, but the park is clearly too big to cover on a bus tour.
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11. Golden Gate Park (Sundays and Public Holidays only)
Bus Stopp am Lincoln Way auf der 9th Avenue (only on Sundays and during vacation periods)
First Bus: 11:07
Last Bus: 18:07
Notes:
This is another way to get to Golden Gate Park.
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12. North Vista Point / Golden Gate Bridge
North Vista Point, Sausalito, CA 94965 (Viewpoint, parking possible)
First Bus: 11:22
Last Bus: 19:22
Places of interest:
Golden Gate Bridge
Notes:
Of course, we also got off here, because from here you have a great view of the world-famous Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco Bay. The best vantage points to enjoy the view of the Golden Gate Bridge are also Battery East Vista, Golden Gate Overlook and Pacific Overlook.
If you are traveling with your own rental car, a tip: During peak visitor times in summer and on public holidays, the parking lot at Golden Gate Bridge Vista Point is often closed to passenger vehicles from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm to avoid congestion on the bridge. When the parking lots are closed, only buses, shuttles, cabs, Uber and Lyft vehicles are allowed to go there to drop off and pick up passengers.
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13. Palace of Fine Arts
1105 Gorgas Avenue (southern corner of Richardson Ave and Gorgas Ave)
First Bus: 11:32
Last Bus: 19:32
Places of interest:
Golden Gate Bridge
Palace of Fine Arts
Presidio Park
Notes:
Presidio Park is a former military base in San Francisco. It is located directly on the Golden Gate, the entrance to San Francisco Bay, and is the longest-used military base in the United States. Today, this National Recreation Area boasts great hiking trails, entertaining events and unforgettable views of the Golden Gate Bridge. All of this makes the park extremely interesting for visitors. Unfortunately, we didn't manage to visit the Presidio. What a shame really ...
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14. Marina / Cow Hollow
2101 Lombard Street (Corner Lombard and Fillmore Street)
First Bus: 11:37
Last Bus: 19:37
Places of interest:
Marina District
Notes:
The Marina District is one of the northernmost districts of San Francisco. The Panama-Pacific International Exposition was held in this area in 1915, for which a lagoon was filled with sand and converted into usable land. The exposition allowed the city to show that it had recovered from the 1906 earthquake. The park has served as a meeting place for generations of San Francisco residents and has several sports fields and children's playgrounds. It can be seen in numerous historical films.
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15. Lombard Street
1599 Lombard Street San Francisco, CA 94123 (in front of the Buena Vista Motor Inn, near the corner of Gough Street)
First Bus: 11:39
Last Bus: 19:39
Places of interest:
Lombard Street
Notes:
Without exaggeration, Lombard Street is one of the most famous streets in the world - in particular the area between the intersections with Hyde Street and Leavenworth Street, as this is where you will find San Francisco's most iconic bends. At the top, you can get a good view of the passing cable cars or take a ride. Of course, we also got off here.
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16. Pier 35 / Cruise Terminal
1454 The Embarcadero (in front of Pier 35, entrance to the cruise terminal)
First Bus: 11:45
Last Bus: 19:57
Places of interest:
Alcatraz Island
Notes:
The first lighthouse on the US west coast was put into operation on the island in San Francisco Bay in 1854. The fort, which was built in the 19th century, was later used as a prisoner of war camp during the Civil War. In the early 1930s, it became probably the most famous prison island in the world. In 1963, the most notorious high-security prison in the USA was closed due to excessive operating costs. For many years, it has been one of the biggest tourist attractions and a popular movie set: “The Prisoner of Alcatraz”, “Escape from Alcatraz” or “The Rock”.
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In general, numerous films and series have been shot in San Francisco and film fans enjoy visiting the original locations - here are a few examples:
The streets of San Francisco
Vertigo
The Social Network
Monk
Dirty Harry
Planet of the Apes - Prevolution and Revolution Bullit
Ant-Man
What's up, Doc
Star Trek IV - Back to the Present
Friendship (german movie)
Mrs. Doubtfire
Full House
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17. Pier 39
The Embarcadero, bus stop outside the entrance to Pier 39, Fisherman’s Wharf
First Bus: 11:52
Last Bus: 19:52
Places of interest:
Players Arcade and Luau Lounge Secret Tiki Bar
Pier 39
Sea Lions
Aquarium of the Bay
SkyStar Observation Wheel
Notes:
Also a must: Pier 39, part of Fisherman's Wharf in the north of San Francisco, is a former jetty that is now home to a year-round hustle and bustle with souvenir stores, rides, restaurants and an aquarium. We got off here and walked along the street towards Station 1. You can also visit the Musee Mecanique here, where numerous old slot machines are on display, some of which you can even try out. If you're hungry, there's plenty of street food on offer here, especially crab sandwiches. The sea lion colony is also worth a visit - if it is on site.
During a tour of Fisherman's Wharf, you can also visit the two former warships USS Pampanito and SS Jeremiah O'Brian.
Conclusion
San Francisco has been one of our dream destinations for many years. No wonder the famous West Coast city exudes a special charm. However, the closer we got to the former hippie metropolis, the more negative reports we came across during our research. There was talk of a ghost town, a high crime rate and many homeless people and drug addicts roaming the streets of San Francisco - without the help of Michael Douglas and Karl Malden. So the best days of this city are obviously over.
Nevertheless, we were not deterred and went to the Fog City for a day and were lucky: it wasn't foggy at all! And it wasn't nearly as bad as we had feared. It's true that the city center and the financial center aren't exactly overcrowded and you can see a few homeless people in some places, but we've seen worse in other cities in the USA. The number of car break-ins has probably also increased significantly in recent years, but if you don't drive your own (rental) car into the city or treat yourself to a monitored parking lot, you don't run the risk of becoming a victim of a break-in.
All in all, San Francisco did not disappoint us. The city has highlights in every nook and cranny that are well worth a visit. It is impossible to get to know this extraordinary city sufficiently in one day. One thing is certain for us: we will be back and will stay longer next time. Our wish for San Francisco is that the crisis mode will soon be over and the city will return to its former greatness. We can promise that San Francisco is definitely worth a visit. If you have a different opinion, feel free to write to us.
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Until the next blog, best regards,
Steffi, Max and the kids
Our shopping tips for San Francisco
With the Lonely Planet on your own through one of the greatest metropolises in the world. Whether you live here or are coming to the city for the first time, San Francisco always has something new to offer. Famous arts and cultural institutions, a great dining scene, top shopping and 400 acres of green space in Golden Gate Park. On more than 350 pages, the authors provide tips and information for planning your trip, describe all the interesting sights with current opening times and prices and present their personal discoveries and tips. Interspersed information boxes entertain the reader with special features or useful recommendations, a color chapter with all the highlights whets the appetite for the country and its people and provides the necessary background on the city's history. Where to stay and eat? The authors have collected their information with attention to detail and brought together restaurants and accommodations for every taste and budget. The guide is rounded off with overview and detailed maps as well as a removable city map. The Lonely Planet San Francisco travel guide is honest, practical, funny and provides inspiring impressions and experiences. Whether you are a backpacker, a package traveler or a 5-star tourist – with the Lonely Planet in your pocket you are well prepared in the “City by the Bay”!
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In Michelle Chouinard’s clever mystery The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco, the granddaughter of a serial killer shows readers another side of the beloved city.
Welcome to San Francisco, a city with killer charm.
The chill of a San Francisco summer can be deadly. No one knows this better than Capri Sanzio, who makes her living giving serial killer tours of the city. Capri has been interested in the topic since she was a kid, when she discovered she’s the granddaughter of serial killer William ‘Overkill Bill’ Sanzio. She’s always believed in his innocence, though she's never taken the leap to fully dive into the case.
But now an Overkill Bill copycat has struck in San Francisco. And Capri’s former mother-in-law, Sylvia, just cut off Capri’s daughter’s tuition payments. Needing cash, Capri wonders if this is the time to exonerate her grandfather. The case is back in the news and the police will be looking to understand the past to catch a present-day killer. Capri could finally uncover the truth about Overkill Bill—documenting the process with a podcast and a book—and hopefully earn some money.
Before Capri can get very far, the cops discover the copycat’s latest victim: Sylvia. Capri soon finds herself at the heart of the police’s investigation for an entirely different reason. She and her daughter are prime suspects.
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All our trips and excursions are self-paid - we do not give paid recommendations! Exception: Affiliate links. Most of the links in our blog are affiliate links, i.e. advertising. We try to recoup some of the costs of our blog and ask for your understanding.
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