Itineraries for Your Trip to San Francisco
3 Days in San Francisco for Families
San Francisco might be known for sourdough bread and tech startups, but its best sights and activities are the ones designed for families. Before I moved here a decade ago, the thing that came to mind about San Francisco was my own childhood visit to the Exploratorium, where my siblings and I got to play with hands-on exhibits.
This diverse city is full of immersive museums designed specifically for kids as well as parks that are great year-round (especially since the weather doesn’t change much). It’s also small enough that you can hit a lot of the best spots in a fairly short time. Here’s how to spend three fun-filled days in the “Foggy City.”
The fog rolls in quickly; always carry a light jacket.
If you only have time for one thing, make it the immersive Exploratorium.
On your first day, explore the sights and historic neighborhoods on the bay side of the city. Start on the Embarcadero, where you can visit the Aquarium of the Bay or the Exploratorium for hands-on fun or hop on a ferry to Alcatraz. For lunch, head up the hill to Chinatown for dumplings and a peek into a fortune cookie factory.
Spend the afternoon at the Presidio, at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge. The reconstructed area boasts lots of parks and playgrounds, and you can also visit the Walt Disney Family Museum or play on the nearby beach.
This morning, head west (by car or Muni train) to Golden Gate Park. You and the family can ride the enormous Ferris wheel, visit the penguins at the California Academy of Sciences, have a snack in the Japanese Tea Garden, and run around on the enormous lawns.
If the weather’s hot, keep going west and spend the afternoon on the soft sand of Ocean Beach; you can pick up some banh mi sandwiches in the Sunset neighborhood on the way. Alternatively, drive down the coast a few minutes to the San Francisco Zoo. For dinner head to the Mission for enormous burritos and other Mexican-American specialties.
For a better sense of this part of Northern California, drive across the iconic Golden Gate Bridge and head into Marin for some outdoor fun. Spend the morning hiking through redwoods in Muir Woods National Monument, and then go to Sausalito for a bite and a visit to the Marine Mammal Center.
In the afternoon, drive the winding road to picturesque Muir Beach for some fun in the sand or head over to nearby Tiburon and take the ferry to Angel Island to do more hiking and enjoy views of the sailboats that glide across the bay.
