San Francisco Layover Guide

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San Francisco is a seven-mile square, which is the good news on a short layover: the sights sit close together and the transit works. The catch is the weather, which does its own thing per neighbourhood. Here is how to do a day off like a local.

Getting in from SFO

Downtown by BART: the station sits in the International Terminal, about 30 minutes to Powell Street or Montgomery Street. From the other terminals, ride the free AirTrain to the station first.
Down the Peninsula: take BART one stop south to Millbrae and change to Caltrain for San Mateo, Palo Alto, and San Jose.
Around town: Muni buses, the streetcars, and the cable cars all run on the same fare system, so load a Clipper card in your phone wallet before you land.
Fog warning: SFO can be clear while the city is grey, or the reverse. Pack a layer whatever the app says.

The must-sees (book ahead)

Golden Gate Bridge: free to walk or cycle. The east sidewalk is for pedestrians, and Fort Point underneath gives you the view the postcards use.
Alcatraz: book direct with Alcatraz City Cruises, the only authorized operator. There is a ticket booth at Pier 33, but sailings usually sell out a week or more ahead, so counting on a same-day ticket is a bad plan.
Cable cars: a working piece of 1870s machinery, not a ride. Board at a mid-route stop instead of queueing at the Powell Street turntable.
Golden Gate Park: the de Young, the Academy of Sciences, and the Japanese Tea Garden in one green strip that runs to the ocean. A half-day city tour covers the spread if your layover is short.

Where the cable cars do not go

Lands End and the Sutro Baths: a free cliff trail to the ruins of a Victorian swimming palace, with the bridge on one side and the Pacific on the other.
Balmy Alley and Clarion Alley: two blocks of Mission murals, free, and repainted often enough to be worth a repeat visit.
Alamo Square: the Painted Ladies row, free, and best in late afternoon light.
Musée Mécanique at Fisherman’s Wharf: a hall of working coin-operated arcade machines, free to walk in, a couple of quarters to play.
Ferry Building: a food hall in a 1898 terminal, with a farmers market outside on Saturday mornings.
Chinatown: the oldest in North America. Duck into Ross Alley for the fortune cookie factory.
Twin Peaks: the whole grid laid out below you, and the one view worth a rideshare if the fog is out.

Captain AL’s tip: two things this city will teach you the hard way. Leave nothing at all visible in a rental car, not even an empty bag. SFPD counts have break-ins down to their lowest level in about twenty years, which is real progress, and still not the same as zero. And July is not summer: the fog sits on the city all day, while September and October are the warm, clear months.

Eat like a local

A Mission burrito, foil-wrapped and the size of your forearm.
Sourdough, which genuinely tastes different here.
Dim sum in Chinatown or the Richmond.
Cioppino, the tomato-and-shellfish stew the wharf is famous for.

Best time to go

September and October: the warmest, clearest window of the year.
June to August: fog and wind, especially near the coast and in the Sunset.
Winter: the rainy season, mild but grey, and the quietest for the museums.

Stay sharp

Move anything you are carrying into the trunk before you arrive, not once you have parked. It is the transfer that gets watched.
The Tenderloin and parts of Mid-Market are rough after dark. Walk around them, not through them.
Hills are steeper than they look on a map. Check the elevation before you plan a walk in flight-crew shoes.