Reflections on World Travel

10 Cool Things You Can Do During a 24-Hour Layover in San Francisco

And most of them won’t cost you much money!

Make the most of a long layover in San Francisco while you clock your 10,000 steps and take in the sights

We’re headed to Thailand — departing from New York with stopovers in San Francisco and Singapore. Maybe not the most direct routing, but the one that works well as a member of the Star Alliance.

That next flight to Asia is going to be about 17 hours, so a 24-hour stopover in San Francisco really helps break up the trip, and didn’t cost extra when booking a ticket.

Bonus city for FREE!

Having done this a number of times over the years, we’ve gotten pretty good at getting the most bang for our buck out of a brief visit to the City by the Bay.

Start off by searching for and buying a Clipper Card for your phone. You can use it on BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) to get you from the airport to downtown San Francisco as well as for all public transportation in the city. Even the Cable Cars. You just keep recharging it from Apple Pay or your credit card when the balance runs low.

We take BART to Union Square (Powell at Market) where we can almost always find a good deal on a hotel. Start with Booking.com if you don’t already have a favorite spot. We usually find good deals on something in the Marriott chain as well. The retro Hotel Adagio was a great stay on this trip.

Now you’re ready to go!

1. Union Square

One of the main shopping districts in San Francisco, and really spectacular when the Christmas decorations are up. Besides window shopping, there are plenty of local coffee houses in the neighborhood, besides a Starbucks on every corner

2. Nob Hill and Grace Cathedral

It’s only a 16 minute walk from Union Square to the top of Nob Hill. There’s a beautiful square up there, a couple bougie hotels, and the stunning Grace Cathedral, which I’ve always thought to be a knock-off of Notre Dame — without the spire or the flying buttresses. Always worth ducking in for a few moments of quiet reflection. Bear in mind that when Google says it’s a 16-minute walk, it’s all uphill!

3. Down the other side into Chinatown

It’s only a 12-minute walk down the other side of Nob Hill into Chinatown. I’ve read someplace that this is the largest Chinatown of any city outside of China. Lots of great restaurants, and wandering past the shops is always really interesting.

4. Stop for lunch in North Beach

On this trip, we met a friend for lunch at Mo’s Grill in the quirky neighborhood of North Beach. (A 9-minute walk from Chinatown) In addition to lots of great little bistros, there’s a nice art scene developing in this neighborhood — not too mention some great stores with records and books.

5. Photo Op at Coit Tower

That puts you in a nice position for the 10 minute walk up to Coit Tower — uphill again! This is a serious San Francisco landmark and once at the top, you’ll find an amazing 360° view of the city and the bay, including both the Bay and Golden Gate Bridges.

6. Pier 39

It’s 15-minutes on foot down to Pier 39, but almost all downhill this time. As touristy goes, this is about as commercial as it gets, but you’ll find any SF souvenir you could ever possible want for there. And you’ll almost always catch a street performer on the pier with the same magic and juggling gags they were doing 25 years ago when our kids were little. Don’t forget to walk around the back of the pier to watch the sea lions bellow. Just listen for the barking and look for the crowd.

7. Fisherman’s Wharf

If you didn’t take time out to stop for Happy Hour on Pier 39, you can certainly do that while wandering along Fisherman’s Wharf. There’s a good bit of kitsch there as well, from video arcades to the Ripley’s Wax Museum. We walk right on past until we find a nice seaside restaurant with sourdough bread and clam chowder for dinner.

8. Desert at Ghirardelli Square

Another amazing San Francisco tradition is Ghirardelli Chocolate. There are a couple places there where you can stuff your backpack with chocolate goodies, and odds are better than not that a cup of hot chocolate will be just what you’re needing in the moist evening air. Inside trader tip: The “Chocolate Experience Store” is usually mayhem and feels like a Disney attraction. Choose the smaller one near the entrance and you may be the only one there.

9. Take the Cable Car Back to Union Square

The Fisherman’s Wharf Cable Car terminus is just a block from Ghirardelli Square. It’s pretty pricey at $8 a ride, but you can use your Clipper Card for that as well. That Powell & Hyde line takes you right from the Wharf, over several of those steep hills that are making your calves ache, and right back down to Powell & Market near Union Square. Most likely, just a short walk from your boutique hotel.

10. Have a Night Cap at a Local Whiskey Bar

Since we have a deep appreciation for wine and whiskey, we opted to walk a few blocks to check out Rickhouse on Kearny at Bush St. They have a huge wall of various whiskeys that can offset all the money you saved walking around town in a single pour! There’s no shortage of cocktail and wine bars all around Union Square to finish your day with a nightcap.

And yes, we really did all that in 24 hours with plenty of time to make our 11:00 am flight the next morning. Add another day and you can walk across the Golden Gate Bridge or take the ferry to Sausalito.

I guess that’s another post.

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