San Francisco is one of the most beautiful urban cities in America. With hilly terrains and the Bay surrounding the city, mind blowing architecture, as well as a rich history and culture, San Francisco is amongst the top pick for tourists from all around. You can also check out the list of Top 10 things to do in San Francisco to help you with your itinerary.
With such great surroundings and a pleasant weather all throughout the year, one of the best ways to explore the city is on foot. It does not only allow you to enjoy the lovely nature around you in a better way but also provides you with a chance to explore the various neighbourhoods and other places to visit in San Francisco in the best way possible. We have shortlisted some of the best San Francisco city tours for you which you can pick from for your next visit to the city.
1) Golden Gate Bridge Coastal Walking Tour: The very first attraction that comes to mind while talking about San Francisco is the Golden Gate Bridge. And what else could be a better way to witness the same with a bunch of like-minded people along with a local guide to explain to you the history of this iconic bridge! Moreover, in this walking tour, along with mapping the Golden Gate, you will also get a chance to explore San Francisco’s coastal line, the way locals do it!
- Price: $60/person
- Tour Duration & Timings: 4 Hours/ 1:30 P.M.
- Areas Covered: The Golden Gate Bridge, Baker Beach, Sea Cliff, and neighbouring coast.
- Booking Link: Click Here
2) The All in One Walking Tour: If you wish to explore the true essence of the San Francisco city, apart from the flashy popular tourist spots, this is the tour for you! This is the best sightseeing tour of SF and covers witnessing all the major buildings of the city, visiting the hidden streets of Chinatown, and several other important places to visit in San Francisco of the city. This tour also includes a ride on the historic cable car. Moreover, in this tour, you can pay as per your wish, apart from the $7 for the cable car ride. Experience the tour and pay as much as you consider it was worth!
- Price: Pay as you wish ($7 to be paid in advance for the cable car)
- Tour Duration: 5 Hours
- Areas Covered: Chinatown, Nob Hill, Downtown San Francisco, North Beach
- Booking Link: https://freetoursbyfoot.com/one-day-in-san-francisco/#all
3) Urban Trek 4 Walking City Tour: This city tour takes you to a journey of evolution of San Francisco as a city that it is today! This tour will help you explore the history of this beautiful city in the best way possible. You will get to visit the place where its first cable car was located, explore the old time Chinatown and visit the exciting alleys near the Union Square with endless stories to tell from history. This tour also takes you to some of the oldest commercial buildings of the city, the red light area, and some of the oldest businesses of the city that still exist! You will also get to visit the Ferry Building, the Telegraph Hill Tower, and learn the journey of evolution of “Levi’s”.
- Price: $39
- Tour Duration & Timings: 5 Hours, 9:00 A.M. (Wednesday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday)
- Areas Covered: Union Square, Jackson Square Historic District, Telegraph Hill, Levi’s Plaza, Chinatown, North Beach, and Ferry Building marketplace
- Booking Link: https://www.urbantrekusa.com/urban-trek-4.html
4) Food Crawl! Chinatown & Little Italy Food Walk: Best of the San Francisco city tours for food lovers! If you are also into food and wish to enjoy the best of the food served in San Francisco, wait no more, and sign up for this amazing food walk. This walking tour takes you to two of the most sought after food destinations in the city, Chinatown, and Little Italy (North Beach). What else can be better than following the footsteps of a local food expert to locate the best of the eateries? Some of the most sought after food items that you will get to savour would include dim sums, pizza, and the locally famous handmade fresh fortune cookies! Moreover, the cost of food tastings and drinks inclusive of the tour price.
- Price: $70
- Tour Duration: 2.5 Hours
- Areas Covered: Chinatown, Little Italy
- Booking Link: Click Here
5) Haunted SF: Ghost, Murder & Mystery: San Francisco has its own set of Haunted stories to send down chills through your spine. This tour takes you to the haunted alleys and mysterious buildings of the city after dark hours of the day. If you love listening to murder mysteries and haunted stories, this tour is a must for you. Listen to the story of how the Black Plague destroyed the city twice, unsolved crime mysteries, and suicides. Walking down the dark alleys of SF and visiting those mysterious places will surely be an adventurous roller-coaster for all those thrill seekers. The tour is not recommended for children below 10 years of age, however, it is completely safe to walk even during odd hours of the day in the city.
- Price: $27.5
- Tour Duration: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
- Areas Covered: Unison Square, St. Francis Hotel & the Hilton Hotel, Mysterious Alleys and Graveyards
- Booking Link: Click Here
6) The Free San Francisco Tour: This is one of the best free tours of the city and has been designed to make the guests aware of San Francisco’s History as well as the current Scenario. The tour includes more of imparting information about the glorious history from its past as well as the current development. This walking tour lets you know about interesting facts related to the history of the city, the Gold Rush, hidden ships beneath some important buildings of SF, and some of the most influential women who emerged from the city. Also, you will get to know some amazing tips through the tour that will help you explore the city in a better way.
- Price: Free Walking Tour
- Tour Duration & Timings: 10 A.M. – 2 P.M. (Everyday)
- Areas Covered: Downtown Union Square, Chinatown, Financial District
- Booking Link: https://www.freesftour.com/
7) SF Architecture & Walking Tour: One of the best ways to explore the unique architecture of SF for all the architecture and history enthusiasts out there. This walking tour will take you to some of the architecturally unique buildings of San Francisco which shape up the skyline of the city. It will also introduce you to some of the hidden spaces and terrace gardens of Downtown, which otherwise are impossible to be located by a tourist. Moreover, you would be escorted by a local guide who would take you to a unique wall of the city to soak in SF’s unique planning and architecture.
- Price: $40
- Tour Duration: 2 Hours 30 Minutes (Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat)
- Areas Covered: Downtown San Francisco, Financial District
- Booking Link: http://www.architecturesf.com/
8) San Francisco Urban Hike: Most of the tourists to San Francisco seek to travel around and explore only the urban aspects of the city. However, San Francisco has much more than that to offer. You can take up this unique walking tour to indulge in an adventurous outdoor tour of San Francisco. It takes you through the scenic natural landscape of the city including a trek to the Twin Peaks to admire the beautiful view of the whole city. It will also take you to an adventure ride of the lesser known Steward Street Slides.
- Price: $58
- Tour Duration & Timings: 3 Hours
- Areas Covered: Castro Theatre, Steward Street Slides, Sutro Tower, and Twin Peaks.
- Booking Link: Click Here
However you may try, it is impartible to explore the true colours of the city without the help of locals. Moreover, the little details and the local stories can only be known if you sought to explore a city on your food, taking more halts on your way than walking. Moreover, what better if you are being escorted by a local tour guide!
Your San Francisco city trip will become even more exciting by taking up a few of the above mentioned famous walking, paid and free tours of the city, and you can thank us later! Also, taking a walking tour in SF is amongst one of the 10 tips to save money and travel cheap in San Francisco. If this list turns out to be helpful to you, you can also check out the list of the best walking tours in New York to help you with your New York City exploration.
