19 Best Things to Do in San Francisco Right Now

When you have planned to visit for recreation and refreshment, you will find there several Best things to do in San Francisco right now. We’ve distilled the limitless treasure trove of the very best issues to do in San Francisco to a tidy checklist of necessities.

Get thin on iconic San Francisco attractions, the best restaurants in San Francisco (which burrito is the very best in the Mission, anyway?), world-renowned tradition, seasonally-spectacular bars, and under-the-radar gems.

Best things to do in San Francisco right now

Here is a list of the best things to do in San Francisco right now:

1. TreasureFest

What’s it? Each final full weekend of the month, Treasure Island turns into a vacation spot with greater than 400 distributors, 40 meals vans, bars, and dwell music, which is one of the best things to do in San Francisco right now.

Why go? The latest rebrand to TreasureFest from Treasure Island Flea is becoming improved for this kid- and dog-friendly outside extravaganza.

Anticipate handcrafted jewelry and ceramics, classic clothes, vintage artwork, and furnishings. Sip a sangria, exhibit your pooch, and hunt for that good pair of classic Levi’s.

Don’t miss: Deliver money for further haggling energy.

2. Castro Theatre

What’s it? The prospect to decorate up and belt out Hollywood hits en masse.

Why go? What began out as an excuse for Castro District denizens to don dirndl attire and do their finest Julie Andrews impressions has blossomed into common sing-along periods to a number of the greatest live-action and Disney musicals of the final 100 years, together with Grease, The Little Mermaid, West Facet Story, and Frozen.

Free goodie luggage crammed with related props and karaoke-style subtitles maintain the viewers on the level at each family-friendly matinee and alcohol-fueled night exhibit, which is one of the best things to do in San Francisco right now.

Don’t miss: Come dressed to impress—a raucous costume contest kicks off every displaying.

3. Tonga Room and Hurricane Bar

What’s it? The kitschy, island-themed Tiki Bar was born in the Bay Space and the town nonetheless boasts the nation’s finest.

Why go? On the metropolis’s oldest standing Tiki Bar, Trad’r Sam within the Richmond District, a tiki-dive adorned with picket palapas and a bamboo-adorned horseshoe bar, not a lot has modified since its opening in the 1930s, which is one of the best things to do in San Francisco right now.

The tiki kitsch is at its finest although, on the historic Tonga Room and Hurricane Bar, the place the partitions drip with tropical storms and an island band performs on a floating island in the course of what was as soon as the pool of the Fairmont Lodge.

Don’t miss: For an extra dramatic tackle the darkish aspect of Tiki, head to the Duboce Triangle’s Last Rites the place bar-goers sip refined rum-based cocktails from the stomach of a doomed passenger airplane.

4. City Lights Bookstore, Chinatown

What’s it? For greater than 60 years, Metropolis Lights bookstore has been a beacon of free speech and radical concepts.

Why go? Co-founded in 1953 by poet-artist Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Metropolis Lights is the place Allen Ginsberg’s Howl & Different Poems was first revealed, placing Beat Technology on the map, which is one of the best things to do in San Francisco right now.

The creaky picket store and publishing home remain to be the middle of progressive politics and indie-literary voices, which it shares alongside an enormous stock of latest and used fiction and nonfiction.

Don’t miss: You’ll discover the store on the nook of Jack Kerouac Alley (so named after being renovated and reopened to the general public in 2007) and throughout from Vesuvio Cafe, the bar the place Kerouac, Neal Cassady, and different Beat heavyweights as soon as the held courtroom.

5. San Francisco Symphony, Civic Middle

What’s it? Whether or not you’re a classical music connoisseur or can’t inform Bach from Beethoven, you’ll discover one thing to like concerning the San Francisco Symphony’s film nights.

Why go? Watching a Hollywood film on a massive display where a full orchestra performs the rating is the final word encompassing sound and a glimpse of film magic, which is one of the best things to do in San Francisco right now.

It’s additionally a high-wire act for the musicians who’ve to remain in good sync scene to scene while channeling adrenaline and shmaltz.

Don’t miss The 2018-2019 season options classics like Jurassic Park and Mary Poppins and new hits like La La Land.

6. Buena Vista Cafe

What’s it? The birthplace of the famed drink, proper in Fisherman’s Wharf.

Why go? Though Buena Vista has been slinging drinks for seafaring people since 1916, it wasn’t till 1952 that the cafe acquired its massive break, which is one of the best things to do in San Francisco right now.

That yr Joe Sheridan, an Irish chef, invented the Irish Espresso. Nowadays, the restaurant’s white-jacketed bartenders serve as much as 2,000 of the frothy, whiskey concoctions every day from behind the lengthy, mahogany bar.

Don’t miss: Alongside their specialty, the Buena Vista has a menu full that includes a wide range of seafood choices like clam chowder and Dungeness crab truffles befitting of its Fisherman’s Wharf location.

7. El Rio LGBTQ bar, Bernal Heights

What’s it? The prospect to absorb the town’s wealthy LGBTQ tradition (and some drinks).

Why go? San Francisco—the house of the nation’s first overtly homosexual elected official (Harvey Milk), the birthplace of the rainbow flag, and the primary metropolis in the USA to legalize homosexual marriage—stays a serious LGBTQ epicenter.

Whereas the Castro serves because the group’s beloved house with loads of music-pumping gay-friendly bars (a lot of which have been favorites for many years like Moby Dick and Twin Peaks Tavern), SoMa is the place you may actually dance like no one’s watching or catch one of many metropolis’s finest drag exhibits at golf equipment just like The Stud or SF Eagle.

Don’t miss: For excellent dwell music, attempt Bernal Heights’ Latin-themed former Brazilian leather-cum-lesbian bar, El Rio, which is one of the best things to do in San Francisco right now.

8. Tony’s Pizza Napoletana, North Seaside

What’s it? Tony Gemignani, the primary American to win the World Champion Pizza Maker title in Naples, has made his namesake pizzeria one in every of North Seaside’s high vacation spot eating spots.

Why go? Do not come right here searching for New York–model pizza, which is one of the best things to do in San Francisco right now.

That is Gemingnani’s paean to Napoli, full of ten completely different sorts of pizza baked in seven completely different ovens, ranging in temperature from 550 to 1,000 levels.

Crowds line up generally hours to pattern one in every of these completely blistered creations. And there aren’t any reservations, so put in your identity and be ready to attend.

Don’t miss Heavenly Tomato Pie, with hand-crushed tomato sauce and cooked in a coal-fired oven, and the Margherita, with San Felice flour dough and San Marzano tomatoes.

9. Apothecarium dispensary

What’s it? A brand new “crop” of leisure hashish dispensaries with lounges for on-site smoking.
Why go?

Since leisure marijuana use grew to become authorized in 2018, San Francisco’s weed dispensaries have slowly ramped as much as supply not simply ever-wider sorts of edible and smokable strains but full-on Amsterdam-inspired weed cafes, which is one of the best things to do in San Francisco right now.

(Architectural Digest even named Apothecarium one of many best-designed dispensaries within the nation). On the Barbary Coast Dispensary, the brick-walled bud bar and damask wallpapered lounge channel Gold Rush-era San Francisco.

Strive the dabs “on faucet” or buy a pre-rolled joint to smoke within the lounge’s high-backed leather-based cubicles. Volcano vaporizers laid out on tables at SoMa’s Sparc can be found for a fast sit-and-hit or extended stays.

Don’t miss: In case you like a little bit of leisure once you smoke (or eat, or vape), try a comedy evening within the open-flamed licensed lounge at SoMa’s steampunk dispensary, Urban Pharm.

10. Church of 8 Wheels, Decrease Haight

What’s it? A previous church the place you may curler skate to funky beats.

Why go? Every weekend the Godfather of skate, D. Miles, Jr., holds the “rolliest” of companies on the Church of Eight Wheels, which is one of the best things to do in San Francisco right now.

Strap on some skates (obtainable for hire for $5) and be part of the Holy Rollers, the groovy costume-wearing regulars, beneath the twinkling mirror ball. It is essentially the most nonsecular of skating experiences.

Don’t miss: Need to take the social gathering exterior? On Fridays, the Rollers host an alfresco 12-mile skate that kicks off at Ferry Plaza.

11. Musée Mécanique, Fisherman’s Wharf

What’s it? An homage to turn-of-the-century mechanization, with greater than 200 coin-operated video games.

Why go? A museum in identity solely, the whole lot of the Musée Mécanique can, and will, be performed with, which is one of the best things to do in San Francisco right now.

A lot of those amusements have been salvaged from San Francisco’s now-defunct seaside amusement park, Playland on the Seaside. Gypsy fortune tellers, big shifting dioramas, can-can woman stereoscopes, carnival energy testers, participant pianos, and a looming Laughing Sal (the cackling Playland greeter) are simply as amusing for adults as they’re for teenagers.

Don’t miss: Once you’ve had your fill of enjoyment, try the earthquake memorabilia and early photographs of San Francisco alongside the partitions of the arcade.

12. Tartine Bakery, Mission Dolores

What’s it? A Mission bakery is the place you may munch on tried-and-true pie varieties baked to perfection, from the creamy pumpkin to the oat-walnut crumble-topped apple.

Why go? Tartine’s grasp bakers, husband and spouse workforce Chad Robertson and Liz Prueitt, have taken house quite a few native and nationwide awards for their rustic strategy to pastry and bread, which is one of the best things to do in San Francisco right now.

The road across the block of meal lovers searching for heavenly Croque monsieurs, recent fruit bread puddings, frangipane tarts, and their well-known crusty nation bread hasn’t budged because the bakery opened in 2002. And it’s nonetheless well worth the wait.

Don’t miss: Haven’t got time to queue? At Tartine Manufactory, you’ll discover Robertson and Prueitt’s beloved baked items together with a number of the metropolis’s finest artisan ice cream, espresso, and extra.

13. Angel Island, Tiburon

What’s it? The Ellis Island of the West.

Why go? The lesser-known cousin of Alcatraz, Angel Island is a hidden gem that serves up an ideal mixture of historical past and nature for a simple day trip from town, which is one of the best things to do in San Francisco right now.

Tour the U.S. Immigration Station, the place over one million Chinese language immigrants have been processed from 1910 to 1940 and generally detained for years. (Chinese language poetry can nonetheless be seen carved into the partitions of the barracks.)

Don’t miss: Afterwards, hike to the summit of Mt. Livermore, bike the 5-mile Perimeter Path, or take a break at a number of picnic websites.

14. The Audium

What’s it? A one-of-a-kind theater for blowing your sonic thoughts.

Why go? All through a two-hour efficiency, theater-goers are left in darkness to be bathed in “sound sculptures” from the 176 audio system surrounding the round 49-seat theater, which is one of the best things to do in San Francisco right now.

The sound calls consideration to its pace and motion however any greater than that’s arduous to elucidate; you’ll simply must expertise it yourself.

Don’t miss Stress-free, opening your ears and embarking on one hell of a visit.

15. Divisadero Street

What’s it? What Valencia Road was to the Mission 10 years in the past, Divisadero Road is to the Alamo Sq./NoPa—a hall crammed with a number of the metropolis’s finest eateries and bars with extra on the way in which.

Why go? There are such a lot of incredible eating places and bars packed into these six blocks of Divisadero Road, you may have to bother selecting your favorites, which is one of the best things to do in San Francisco right now.

For brunch or a light-weight snack, attempt Brenda’s Meat and Three, which serves a number of the metropolis’s finest soul meals, or The Mill for freshly baked toast and 4 Barrell espresso.

At dinner, head to the brand new Italian favorite Che Fico or the unique neighborhood eating powerhouse, NoPa.

For drinks, attempt Indian Paradox, a vibrant wine bar with a South Asian menu, the cocktail bar Horsefeather, or Club Waziema, an Ethiopian restaurant with a beloved dive bar up front.

Don’t miss Theoria, the fledgling bakery, and dinette from the house owners of Che Fico the place pie is on the menu at any hour of the day.

16. Lincoln Park Steps

What’s it? Practically 400 completely different stairways, a few of them constructed greater than a century in the past, join San Francisco’s 42 hills.

Why go? These steep passageways do not solely get you off the grid but supply a number of the metropolis’s finest views, from the 290-step Lyon Road stairway (between Inexperienced Road and Broadway) to the pleasant, garden-accented Pemberton Steps (beginning at Corbett and Clay Streets).

On Moraga Road within the Interior Sundown, 163 mosaic-tiled steps join the 15th and 16th Avenues, which is one of the best things to do in San Francisco right now.

Macondray Lane (off Leavenworth St between Union and Inexperienced Sts) impressed Armistead Maupin’s secretive, leafy inexperienced Barbary Lane in his Tales of the Metropolis collection.

Don’t miss: The Filbert Road Steps, arguably essentially the most spectacular of all of them, climb by tropical gardens from the underside of Sansome Road to Coit Tower in North Seaside.

17. Anchor Public Taps, Potrero Hill

What’s it? The Bay Space has a bevy of intoxicating choices for suds savants.

Why go? Sipping your means by San Fran’s famed breweries is likely to be the very best (or no less than buzziest) method to spend a day, which is one of the best things to do in San Francisco right now.

There’s Almanac Beer Co. (recognized for its farm-to-barrel brewing strategies), Anchor Brewing Firm (a pioneering relationship again to 1896), the Uncommon Barrel (for sour-beer lovers), Fort Level Beer (a professional in low-ABV brews), and many other great breweries that may maintain any hops-head pleased.

Don’t miss: Anchor nonetheless provides their famed everyday excursions ($25 for 90 minutes with beer tastings) by reservation.

However, Anchor Public Taps, which opened in late 2017, enables you to feast on food-truck goodies and nurse a pint and not use a tour.

18. Dogpatch neighborhood, Mission Dolores

What’s it? As soon as an industrial neighborhood, the Dogpatch is reinventing itself as a go-to for craft brewers, wine bars, and cocktail experimentation.

Why go? The place ought to begin? Breweries? Certain, the Dogpatch has these. Strive Triple Voodoo Brewery and Tap Room, which is one of the best things to do in San Francisco right now.

Cocktails are on order on the drinks-and-jerky bar Third Rail and the Latin American lounge, School Night, a collaboration with movie star chef Traci Des Jardins.

It’s also possible to sip wine at the playful, unassuming Yield Wine Bar, take a deep dive into the traditional Victorian stylings of The Sea Star, or ogle views of the town from the rooftop deck of the occasion house, The Pearl.

Don’t miss: Ungrafted, one of many latest additions to the Dogpatch, is an industrial-cool, family-friendly wine bar with a menu of grown-up consolation meals.

19. Sausalito & Tiburon, Tenderloin

What’s it? Quaint waterside cities simply throughout the bay from San Francisco.

Why go? The side-by-side villages simply north of San Francisco make for a day trip to recollect, which is one of the best things to do in San Francisco right now.

Tour Sausalito’s floating homes, store Tiburon’s cute Primary Road, and gorge on a number of the Bay Space’s most lauded Japanese meals at Sushi Ran.

Add an aquatic aspect to your day by taking the ferry from Pier 41 through the glowing water.

Don’t miss: The Century-old Sam’s Anchor Cafe reopens this month after a hiatus for renovations.

This seafood restaurant on a Tiburon pier is ideal for a day of oysters, grownup drinks, and solar worship.