Wondering what to do in San Francisco on a budget? Here’s how we explored the city in one day using public transportation—cable cars, Muni trains, a driverless taxi, and the historic F line—while visiting iconic spots like the Ferry Building, Chinatown, North Beach, and the Castro.
Tour with a Local
I moved to San Francisco in 2006 and have had many visitors over the years. Sometimes friends and family just want to see what I like about San Francisco, sometimes there are special requests to visit a certain place. In June, my sister and her family visited with a new request I haven’t had before… they wanted to ride as many forms of public transportation as possible, all in one day. I love putting together a route, so I was up for the challenge.
I planned an itinerary to show them some of the well-known tourist sites and a few local places, trying to squeeze in the best of both worlds in a very short time. We planned to maximize the transportation tour in half a day so that we could still have a leisurely morning and get them to bed early enough to continue on their road trip the next morning.
What Transportation Pass Should I buy?
First, how to pay for public transportation in San Francisco? It depends what you ride, but if you are taking street cars, buses, and cable cars within the City limits, those all run on MUNI. They have different passes available, but unless you plan to ride the cable car more than once or plan on taking transportation all day, I recommend just paying per ride. A regular ride on street cars or buses is good for transfers for two hours, so you only have to pay once every two hours. This does not include cable cars. I had my sister and husband download the MuniMobile app to purchase their own passes. Muni is free for anyone under 18, so my niece only needed to buy a ticket for the cable car and not the other transportation.
What Route Did We Take?
We started in Noe Valley, since this is where I live, but also it is adorable and worth a visit if you want to see a non-touristy neighborhood also known as “Stroller Valley”. If you want a quick breakfast in Noe Valley, Happy Donuts on the corner of 24th Street and Church has great breakfast sandwiches. My favorite is the sausage egg and cheese on a croissant. If you have a little more time, the town square along 24th Street between Vicksburg and Sanchez is a great spot to sit outside and people watch before getting on a train. Martha’s Coffee is across the street if you need to fuel up on caffeine.
Noe Valley
First up, take the J train downtown. We boarded the J train at 24th and Church Street. If you have the MuniMobile app, purchase your pass before boarding and scan your phone on the readers inside the doors of the train. Make sure to look towards downtown when the train passes Delores Park, it is one of the best views in the City! The train goes underground once it turns onto Market Street. My niece had never been on a train that goes underground before so she was excited to exit the train below ground to see what a subway station was like and ride the escalator.
Financial District and the Ferry Building
We got off at Mongomery Station. My niece had never been in a downtown with tall buildings so we walked along Market Street to the Ferry Building to see a little bit of the Financial District. Once at the Ferry Building, we walked around inside to see and taste some of San Francisco. Many of the businesses inside have larger stores elsewhere in the City, but the Ferry Building is a great place to get a small taste of them all in one Building. Architecture lovers, don’t forget to look up at the skylights and steel trusses inside! This building is originally from 1898 and had a rehabilitation done in 2003. Some of my favorite places to show visitors inside the Ferry Building are Acme Bread company (I love the olive bread), Dandelion chocolate (you can taste little chocolate bits), and Fort Point Beer Company (the KSA is my favorite). If you want to take a break for a glass of wine the Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant is a great place to sit and people watch. Honestly, you can’t go wrong with any of the places inside the Ferry Building. On Saturdays the largest Farmer’s Market in San Francisco is here and is worth spending some time at if you visit on a Saturday. Before leaving, walk out to the waterfront to see views of the Bay Bridge and Treasure Island. You can also see ferries that are another form of public transportation here. If you have an extra day, taking a ferry to Tiburon or Sausalito is a great way to get out on the Bay.
Ride a Cable Car up to Nob Hill
Next up, we walked back across the Embarcadero to take the cable car. The start of the line is at the corner of California and Market Street. They have a kiosk where you can buy tickets, or just buy a ticket on the MuniMobile App. Each person needs their own ticket so if you have children that do not have a phone you can buy their ticket at the kiosk. We boarded the cable car and rode it up the hill and got off at the top of Nob Hill at the corner of California and Taylor. My first apartment in San Francisco was just a block from Grace Cathedral. At the top of Nob Hill, I recommend walking through Huntington Park. There are some interesting copies of Italian monuments here. The center fountain is a copy of Fontana delle Tartarughe (Fountain of the Turtles) in Rome and across the street the bronze doors at the entry to Grace Cathedral are a copy of the famous “Gates of Paradise” doors on the Baptistry in Florence, Italy. If you happen to be here at Christmas, the lobby of the Fairmont Hotel has an impressive gingerbread house and decorations in the lobby.
The next part of the itinerary we did a bit of walking, so if you want to keep going on public transportation, I recommend taking the Hyde Street cable car from Powell and California to the end of the line near Ghirardelli Square.
Chinatown and North Beach
If you are walking, we walked from Nob Hill to Chinatown. Make a quick stop into the Cable Car Museum. It is free and you can see the actual cables that run under the street! In Chinatown, Stockton Street will give you a view into the more local side of Chinatown, and Grant has more of the touristy shops and decorations. I love the decorative streetlights and paper lanterns in Chinatown! We stopped into the Fortune Cookie Factory for a quick view of cookie making and picked up some dim sum for lunch at Good Mong Kok Bakery. I love the BBQ pork buns.
From Chinatown we walked along Columbus Avenue to see some of North Beach (the Italian neighborhood). To round out our picnic lunch, we stopped into Luke’s Local Grocery for some more snacks and beverages. My other favorite quick lunch options in North Beach are picking up a sandwich at Molinari’s or a slice of pizza at Golden Boy Pizza (get the clam garlic!). For lunch, we sat on a bench in Washington Square Park to eat and people watch.
Aquatic Park and Ghirardelli Square
We walked along Columbus towards Aquatic Park, but you could take an Uber or the 30 bus for this stretch if you need a break from walking. Beware that bus is locally known as the “dirty 30”. If you really want to get more steps in (plus a hill), you can detour up Lombard Street to walk up the famous curvy street and then down the hill on Hyde Street for amazing views of the Bay.
We went to Ghirardelli Square to buy some chocolate and walked down to the beach at Aquatic Park. Make sure to check out the swimmers swimming laps in Aquatic Cove. Sometimes you can see seals pop their heads up in the cove. If you need a pick me up, The Buena Vista Cafe at Hyde and Beach is known for their Irish Coffee. Just watching them line up the glasses on the bar and make the drinks is a show!
Ride the F car
Next up, we walked to the corner of Jones and Beach to ride the F car on its full line. San Francisco has some historic street cars they refurbished, and they run along the Embarcadero and Market Street. We took the train the entire line all the way to the end at Market and Castro. This is a great way to see the piers along the Embarcadero and ride down Market Street on a cute train to see more of the City and rest your legs. If you’ve seen the news in the past few years, you have probably heard that parts of San Francisco are overrun with homeless people. You will see some of that from F car along Market Street near Civic Center. It is perfectly safe on the train, just a warning that you may see some of that along this route.
The Castro
Get off at the end of the line in the famous Castro. This is the gay neighborhood in San Francisco. Make sure to walk past the famous Castro Theater and check out the rainbow crosswalks. I love the decorations and the energy in this neighborhood. It is also a fun place to people watch and it is not uncommon to see almost naked men walking around.
Driverless Cars
We wandered around briefly before getting in a Waymo, a driverless taxi! To take one, you need to download the Waymo app on your phone and you get a car the same way that you call an Uber. We took a Waymo from the Castro back to Noe Valley. Honestly, this was one of the best routes because it went up and over the Dolores Heights hill, which is a beautiful neighborhood and also a fun experience in a car with no driver. My family went nuts over the ride, even more so than the cable car! If you are nervous about the concept, just know that they drive like a very cautious safe driver and they are Jaguars so you will be in a comfortable safe car.
Back to Noe Valley
Back in Noe Valley, we walked along 24th Street to check out the local shops. We got a snack at Banan, which is banana-based ice cream. I have introduced a few friends to this place and everyone loves it! One of my favorite weeknight dates in the neighborhood is to go to Billingsgate for happy hour (3-5 Monday-Thursday) for half off oysters and cava. I recommend getting in line across the street at Saru Sushi before they open at 5:30. It is a small sushi restaurant that doesn’t take reservations. Get your name on the list and grab a beer at the Dubliner while you wait.
A Note About Bathrooms…
Many businesses in San Francisco will not allow non-customers to come in and use the bathroom so here are some toilets that are along this route for reference.
Noe Valley Town Square has a single bathroom
The Ferry Building has public bathrooms
Washington Square Park has bathrooms and one of the single self-cleaning bathrooms (that is an experience in itself)
Ghirardelli Square has public bathrooms
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