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SF Highlights: Cable Cars, Gardens & Rooftops
4.7
107 Ratings
San Francisco
Experience the best of San Francisco in a day with our full-day tour. Ride the iconic cable cars, explore hidden gems, and enjoy breathtaking views. Avoid the crowds and immerse yourself in the culture and history of SF. Book now!
Experience the best of San Francisco in a day with our full-day tour. Ride the iconic cable cars, explore hidden gems, and enjoy breathtaking views. Avoid the crowds and immerse yourself in the culture and history of SF. Book now!
Duration:
8 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- The Embarcadero - The guide will assist in orienting visitors by sharing the history and background of the Ferry Building and downtown San Francisco.
- Nob Hill - Ride the cable car up the steep Nob Hill to admire the grand mansions of San Francisco’s first millionaires.
- Cable Car Museum - Enjoy this intriguing museum dedicated to San…
- The Embarcadero - The guide will assist in orienting visitors by sharing the history and background of the Ferry Building and downtown San Francisco.
- Nob Hill - Ride the cable car up the steep Nob Hill to admire the grand mansions of San Francisco’s first millionaires.
- Cable Car Museum - Enjoy this intriguing museum dedicated to San Francisco’s most famous mode of transport, which also houses the machinery that operates the system (weekends).
- San Francisco City Hall - Explore the beautiful City Hall and discover the significant events that occurred there (weekdays).
- Hayes Valley - Visit this charming new area near the San Francisco Civic Center, featuring a collection of impressive street art and cozy coffee shops.
- Mission Dolores Park - One of the most beautiful parks in San Francisco, offering stunning views of downtown.
- The Castro - Experience this historic neighborhood, a pivotal location in the LGBTQ movement, for which San Francisco is a global symbol.
- Haight-Ashbury - The birthplace of the hippie, anti-Vietnam War movement in the 1960s, this neighborhood retains much of its original charm and is a great spot for lunch.
- Painted Ladies - A San Francisco icon. No visit is complete without seeing these stunning Victorian houses with their breathtaking views of the city.
- Lombard Street - One of the city’s most famous landmarks, walk down this steep, winding street and capture some fantastic photos for Instagram.
- North Beach - Stroll through this historic neighborhood, known as San Francisco’s Little Italy.
- Chinatown - Conclude the tour in San Francisco’s renowned Chinatown with a visit to a hidden fortune cookie maker. A perfect way to end an incredible day in the city.
What's Included
- Contribution of $1 to Climate Cents for every guest.
- All Metro travel included (USD20 value).
- Insightful Tour Guide.
- 2 cable car rides and 1 historic streetcar journey included (subject to availability).
- Contribution of $1 to Climate Cents for every guest.
- All Metro travel included (USD20 value).
- Insightful Tour Guide.
- 2 cable car rides and 1 historic streetcar journey included (subject to availability).
What's Not Included
- Gratuities not included, because voluntary. If you enjoy tour please allow 15-20%.
- Lunch/Snacks are not included.
- Gratuities not included, because voluntary. If you enjoy tour please allow 15-20%.
- Lunch/Snacks are not included.
Additional Information
Experience a unique side of San Francisco in just one day with our tour. We navigate through the city using various forms of transportation such as a cable-car, tram, and bus, to discover hidden gardens, mysterious stairways, and breathtaking rooftop views. You’ll dodge the throngs of tourists at popular destinations while soaking up the local culture…
Experience a unique side of San Francisco in just one day with our tour. We navigate through the city using various forms of transportation such as a cable-car, tram, and bus, to discover hidden gardens, mysterious stairways, and breathtaking rooftop views. You’ll dodge the throngs of tourists at popular destinations while soaking up the local culture and history of SF.
Beginning your journey near the Embarcadero, we board a cable-car to reach Nob Hill. Following that, our next stops are either the City Hall or the Cable Car Museum, where we take a quick peek inside before grabbing a coffee in the charming Hayes Valley.
Subsequently, we proceed to the Castro and saunter through the picturesque Dolores Park. The first part of our tour wraps up in the iconic Haight neighborhood which offers great lunch spots.
Post lunch, we take you to see a classic representation of San Francisco, the Painted Ladies, which is then followed by a meander down another SF signature, the Lombard Street. Our tour concludes with a stroll through North Beach and Chinatown. By the end, you will have experienced an unforgettable slice of San Francisco and carry with you beautiful lasting memories.
- Aim to get to the meeting point 10-15 minutes early. If you’re late you will miss the tour.
- This tour is not recommended for children under 15 y.o.
- By making a booking for this tour you agree to be bound by Real San Francisco Tours terms of service.
- Please note cable car and streetcar operations can be affected by events and technical issues beyond our control.
- Please check dates/times carefully BEFORE making a booking.
- This is a walking tour and we move at a reasonable pace, climbing several hills and sets of steps. It’s not suitable for people with mobility issues.
Location
Market St & Drumm St
The guide will be checking in guests at the cable car station on the corner of Market and Drumm Street (by the Robert Frost marker), from 15 minutes before the tour is due to begin.
Be sure to allow extra time for traffic and finding parking. We CANNOT wait for latecomers, there are other guests.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.7
(107 Ratings)
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Odessa_s
Sep 26, 2024
ALL DAY TOUR!! - This walk provides a look at the various neighborhoods in San Francisco. Each area has a distinct origin story, architectural look, and history. It was a fabulous look at the development and diversity of the city. Our guide Mark provided historical information as well as personal anecdotal color commentary. It is billed as an all day tour, and that it definitely is.
Review provided by Viator
Y6281mbmichelleh
Sep 23, 2024
Perfect Intro to San Fran - My husband and I went on this tour on Aug 25th which was day 1 of our trip. Our guide was fantastic as she was born and raised there. She knew so much history and kept us on pace all day to ensure we saw everything listed in the itinerary. It was great to experience the different types of public transit using the MUNI system (cable cars, street cars and buses) which made us comfortable using all 3 for the rest of our stay. We loved learning about the history of the city, architecture styles, parks, murals and got great tips on where to eat! Our guide also took pictures of us at every site to make sure we had more than just selfies :)
We were so happy that we did this tour - I would definitely recommend it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kevin_p
Sep 22, 2024
All day San Francisco guided tour. - Greg gave us a very San Francisco insider
tour of the city. Would have taken us several days to see this much on our own! No parking to worry about or bus/taxi fees. Well worth it.
Review provided by Viator
Barbaraf3748
Sep 20, 2024
Fabulous way to see San Francisco in 1 day! - This tour is amazing we only had one and a half days to spend in San Francisco and we ticked pretty much everything off with this trip (we went to the golden gate bridge by ourselves beforehand) Our guide was awesome and knowledgeable and we had such a good day. Extremely pleased we choose this tour! We zipped around the city on so many different cable cars, tram and bus rides that would have been logistically a nightmare had we tried to navigate and organize all by ourselves.... consequently, we got to see so many different little suburbs and areas of the city that we absolutely would not have been able to see if we were doing it on our own. Definitely recommend. Greg was our tour guide and he was just the best very relaxed and cruisey :-)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Julie_g
Sep 20, 2024
Way better than a hop on/hop off!!! - We were fortunate enough to be the only two on the tour so got our fantastic guide all to ourselves.
It was great fun hopping on and off the different types of transport to explore the various districts, but we especially loved the cable car!
We learned so much about the history and character of SF - including it's transport systems - which we just couldn't have done on our own, and we were able to take some fantastic photos from locations we probably wouldn't have found on our own.
Dara (D) clearly loves her home town, and that shone through. It's also obvious that she cares about giving her guests a great tour experience, and you can't ask for much more than that!
If you don't have long in the city but want to make the most of your time beyond seeing the bridge and pier 39, then this tour is perfect.
NB We're in our early/mid 60s and managed the walking fine, but if you struggle with mobility then this tour may not be for you, so perhaps check with the operator first.
Review provided by Viator
Erika_l
Sep 16, 2024
Incredible experience. - This was the highlight of my time in San Francisco. We went all over the city. The guide has lived there for decades and was very knowledgeable about the different neighborhoods. It was also nice to use different modes of transport so I felt confident to use them by myself later. This was an incredible day. Highly recommend.
Review provided by Viator
Sheenar2014
Sep 10, 2024
Best day tour in San Fran! - Fantastic day with our tour guide Jamie Lasher. He knew everything about SF and took us on a cable car ride, a street car and several buses so we got to go all over SF and saw so much! He knew the best place for ice cream and for lunch! Jamie told us so much amazing information and took photos for us all over town. Highly recommend this tour with Jamie.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Keith_e
Aug 30, 2024
Mark was great! - I love the education vacation experience. Our tour guide, Mark, had us laughing all day. Another guy on the tour nicknamed him, "the Forrest Gump of San Francisco". One story after the next, he had been there and had personal experience with that historical moment. Amazing!
Here are some lessons we learned. Maybe, it will help someone else.
1. Our UBER driver dropped us two blocks away. There is no one to call. The instructions tell you to arrive 15 minutes early. We needed those 15 minutes to ask everyone until we figured it out and found our tour group.
2. We had ridden bikes across the bridge on Monday. My legs were feeling it near the end of the walking tour on Tuesday.
3. I forgot my sunscreen and hat.
This has to be the most informative way to discover and connect with the city, culture, history and places that define San Francisco. We made the right choice!
Review provided by Viator
Catrinpuw
Oct 4, 2024
Brilliant day - Excellent day! Saw so much of the city with an interesting and knowledgable guide. Riding public transport was a great way to get a feel for the city.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Maureen_p
Sep 11, 2024
A great way to see San Francisco - This was a full day tour taking in plenty of the main tourist attractions. Our guide, Mark was incredibly knowledgeable!
Review provided by Viator
