Top-Rated Tourist Attractions in San Francisco

San Francisco is a beautiful city in the US which offers countless activities to indulge in and wonderful places to visit which would make your trip to the US a memorable one. San Francisco opens its arms to approximately 17 million visitors each year. Even the locals can’t stop admiring the iconic landmarks of the city like the gorgeous Golden Gate Bridge. Blessed with fine-dining restaurants, sidewalk cafes, artistic coffee shops, ancient museums, pocket gardens, eclectic shops, and hidden stairways are just waiting to meet your explorative eyes. The wonderful San Francisco events like the colorful Chinese New Year parade and zany Bay to Breakers race add the unique local flavor. With plenty of things to do in San Francisco and endless attractions to explore, we present you the top San Francisco attractions that would give you the best experience of the American culture.

We have curated a list of the marvelous things to do in San Francisco.

Explore the gorgeous Golden Gate Bridge

This should definitely be on top of your list of San Francisco sightseeing activities and enough reason to apply for your US visa online. No matter how many times you visit this place, the place looks fresh each time. Check out the beautiful city skyline from the 746 foot high towers and spectacular 1.7-mile bridge. One of the most clicked bridges in the world, this bridge will never fail to thrill you each time. Close to 120,000 automobiles cross the bridge each day and the pedestrian walkway on the bridge is the best way to stroll and browse through the city.

Visit the Alcatraz Island post sunset

This is definitely one of the places to visit in San Francisco. This place has a special place in the history of San Francisco as it housed several notorious inmates such as George Kelly, Robert Stroud, and Al Capone. This formidable fortress located in the center of San Francisco Bay gives you a special feeling when you visit this place late in the evening. Even though the prison closed down in the 1960s, visiting the place post sunset marks for an entertaining time for the visitors. The chilly, creepy, and foggy evenings coupled with the audio cell house tour account for the special effects.

Ride on the Cable Car

Cable cars are a popular means of transport in San Francisco since the late 19^th century. The cars are driven on top of the tracks which are moved by an underground cable over three routes. You will hear the familiar bells ringing from several blocks away as the train approaches. The tickets are reasonable (as low as US $7) and can be purchased at the cable car turnarounds at each route’s destination. As you move around in the cable car, explore the beautiful city of San Francisco with celebrated hills in the backdrop.

Check out the North Beach

This beach has an Italian flavor attached to it. Set on the banks of romantic European-style sidewalk cafes, restaurants, and shops that are surrounded near Washington Square along Grant and Columbus avenues. Saints Peter and Paul church are San Francisco points of interest for locals as well as for tourists. The Coit Tower atop Telegraph Hill is a perfect click spot and offers mesmerizing views of the bridge and the Bay. The floor-to-ceiling murals painted in the 1930s depicts scenes of San Francisco.

Watch the Sea Lions on the shores of PIER 39

The Fisherman’s Wharf is a celebrated waterfront marketplace which is one of the favorite destinations for tourists who come to check out the sea lions and their antics. The sea lions have taken the shores of PIER 39 Marina as their residence. With the San Francisco Dungeon and Madame Tussauds just a stone throw away, you have plenty to explore during your visit here. You can also catch a quick bite from the popular crab vendors who sell crabs and shrimp cocktails.

Stroll down the streets of the oldest Chinatown

The Grant Avenue and Bush Street entrance of Chinatown is popularly referred as the Dragon Gate. This is one of the oldest Chinatown known to man which still houses 24 blocks which marks vibrant and a bustling crowd. A walk through the streets would give you the best experience of this place. Browse through the renowned restaurants, delicious food markets, ancient temples, small museums, and exotic shops mark the boundary of this Chinatown. You can purchase herbs and relax and enjoy a mouth-watering dim sum lunch or check out as the locals prepare fortune cookies.

Fine dine at the world-class restaurants

A perfect chance to taste mouth-watering US food dishes during US holiday in several world-class restaurants in the city of San Francisco which is itself an attraction. San Francisco gives you a unique culinary taste which is prepared to combine fresh local ingredients, authentic international flavors along with creative geniuses at their very best. Choose among several international flavors such as the Moroccan, Italian, French, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Malaysian, Mexican, Indian, Russian, and Greek or a unique fusion of multiple flavors.

Fulfill your shopping cravings at the Union Square

A paradise for all shopping addicts. The Union Square is home to major departmental stores, exclusive designer boutiques like the Geary, Grant, Stockton, Post, Sutter and Powell. You will be stunned at the variety on display. The Westfield San Francisco Shopping Centre is home to the largest Bloomingdale’s on the outskirts of New York and the 2^nd largest Nordstrom in the United States of America.

[Also Read : USA shopping guide]