Underrated Things to Do in San Francisco: The Top 12
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links; more info here.
Fisherman’s Wharf, Union Square, Lombard Street, Alcatraz. Yeah, we’ve heard it all before. And all of those places, well, they’re getting old.
Actually, they’ve been old.
As they say, let’s stray off the beaten path. Let’s discover some of the awesome, totally underrated things to do in San Francisco! Shall we?
Here are 12 underrated things to do in San Francisco!
Wondering Where to Stay in SF?
We’ll get back to the top underrated things to do in San Francisco in one sec. Because I know it’s hard to know which neighborhood to stay in, I thought I’d throw in a quick tip.
If you’re unsure where to stay, the best and non-touristy neighborhoods are North Beach, The Marina, Alamo Square (near Hayes Valley), and The Castro.
CLICK HERE to find the best accommodations in San Francisco for the lowest prices!
1. Peruse the Ferry Building
On any given day, the Ferry Building Marketplace brims with busy food stalls, restaurants, and markets, selling the finest specialty goods the city has to offer. Favorites here include Blue Bottle Coffee for the city’s best brews; Hog Island Oyster Company for mouthwatering clam chowder, scallops, and oysters; Cowgirl Creamery Artisan Cheese Shop for a delectable selection of cheeses; and Heath Ceramics for beautiful handcrafted pottery.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) and Saturdays (8 a.m. to 2 p.m.), the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market is held outside of the Ferry Building, featuring the freshest of produce, artisanal cheeses and breads, handmade pastas, and everything else in between.
2. Check out the street art in Clarion Alley
Even people who live in San Francisco haven’t heard about this alley in the Mission, decked out in beautifully colorful, and often politically-charged, street art. If you’re a fan of murals, make sure to stroll through Clarion Alley with some friends and take lots of photos.
3. Take a Food Tour
San Francisco is home to some of the best food in the States, so eating should be a focal point of your trip.
Book a food tour with a local foodie guide who will take you to some of the best places to eat in the city. From Mexican to Burmese, Indian to Japanese, there are so many cuisines to experience, all with their unique SF twist.
Consider booking one of these food tours – and you can’t go wrong, because they all have amazing reviews.
- Secret Food Tour of San Francisco’s Mission District
- Hayes Valley Gourmet Food Tour
- Food Crawl! Chinatown and Little Italy
- Food and Culinary Walking Tour of North Beach
4. Spend a night out in North Beach
North Beach is a neighborhood that most tourists don’t venture into, and that’s a real shame! This area is known as San Francisco’s “Little Italy,” but it’s much more than that.
While there are plenty of great Italian restaurants and gelato shops, North Beach is also the home to loads of local boutiques, bakeries, coffee shops, restaurants, and bars.
Day or night, you can’t go wrong exploring North Beach.
5. Relax in Dolores Park
Infamous Dolores Park is a place where locals gather to relax, have picnics, play games of soccer and hacky sack, among other activities – if you know what I mean. It’s all your preference. And from what I’ve heard and seen, the cops just choose to turn a blind eye.
On a sunny day, bring a blanket, have a little picnic, and people watch!
6. Practice Yoga at Grace Cathedral on Tuesday Nights
Here’s a quirky one! Every Tuesday night, donation-based yoga classes are held in the Grace Cathedral on Nob Hill. Feel a part of the community as you gather together in church… to practice yoga!
“16th Avenue Tiled Stair Project,”Ed Bierman, CC BY 2.0
7. Climb the 16th Ave Tiled Steps
We’re not sure what’s more beautiful, the intricately designed mosaics on this 163-step flight of stairs, or the views of San Francisco and the ocean from the top!
Those are two good reasons to visit the 16th Avenue Tiled Steps, and a good workout might be a third.
8. Visit the Academy of Sciences on Thursday Nights
Every Thursday from 6-10 pm, the Academy of Sciences turns into a nightlife hotspot for those over 21. Discover the depths of the sea and far-away galaxies, over live music and cocktails with friends!
NightLife at the Academy of Sciences is a favorite among locals, and you’re sure to love it, too!
9. Eat Mexican food in the Mission
The Mission District is a mix of seedy people, cool street art, hipsters, and even more so, awesome Mexican food. If you leave San Francisco without eating Mexican food in the Mission, and particularly at La Taqueria, then you’re doing it wrong! Never in your life – not even in Mexico – will you have better tacos or burritos!
10. Visit Breweries in Oakland
Oakland isn’t exactly in San Francisco, but it is just a short BART ride away. One afternoon, why not venture out of the city to experience the awesome biergartens located in the up-and-coming, hipster neighborhood of Oakland?
Drake’s Brewing and Lost & Found both feature outdoor spaces to eat, play games, chill with friends, and of course, drink lots of beer. Bring on the good times and good beer!
11. Take a Trip to Napa or Sonoma
Taking a day trip to California’s wine country (home to the best wine in the world) is totally feasible from San Francisco. If you have a car, the one-way journey takes an hour.
If you don’t have a car, then you can book this Napa and Sonoma Wine Country Full-Day Tour from San Francisco. It has amazing reviews and includes tastings at a variety of the best wineries in the region.
And if you’d prefer a private tour of the wineries (I don’t blame you!), then book this Private Sonoma and Napa Wine Tour from San Francisco.
“Fiery,” Chris James, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
12. Hike or Drive up Hawk Hill
Hawk Hill is located in the Marin Headlands, directly across from San Francisco, lending the most beautiful views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the city that you’ll ever see. You can either hike or drive to the top of Hawk Hill; the choice is yours. But one thing is for sure: you should not miss this breathtaking view!
The Most Underrated Things to do in San Francisco
Well, there you have it, friends! Those are the top ten underrated things to do in San Francisco! Next time you visit, make sure to swap some of San Fran’s touristy icons out for some of these underrated places and sights. If you do that, you’re guaranteed to have an unforgettable trip!
Did you know…
When you book travel or purchase something through our links, we receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you? Your support enables Maddy’s Avenue to keep producing helpful travel content. Thank you!
What do you think the most underrated things to do in San Francisco are? How many of these have you done? Which items haven’t you heard of? Let us know in the comments below!
YAY! So happy for this! Trying to plan a trip up to San Fran / Napa before summer rolls around >:) The Academy of Sciences bar sounds the such an interesting time. Also had no idea those iconic steps were in San Fran! So insta/pinsta famous…
You learn something new everyday, eh? Oooh im excited to see your posts about Napa! We are planning on going up there toward the end of the year for my birthday! And I bet you’ll be a fan of the Academy of Sciences NightLife! :)
Nailed it ;) best trip ever! And p.s. the taco picture makes my mouth water
I want La Taqueria SO badly right now!
I haven’t been to San Francisco since I was little, but I really, really need to get back! These are exactly the types of things that we love to do when we’re traveling somewhere new. Those tiled stairs are AMAZING!
Aren’t those stairs incredible?! If you haven’t been to SF in a while, you should definitely go back soon! There’s so much to discover… and eat! ;)
Love your list of things to do in San Francisco – especially the hike up Hawk Hill, the view from there must be breathtaking!
Thank you for stopping by! :)
I went there quite recently at the end of a West Coast road trip and I don’t think I did a single one of these things..I’ll have to go back, thanks for the detailed tips!
Oh, no! If only you’d come across this post sooner! You’ll definitely have to go back.
Ahhh I love this!!! San Fran is one of my favorite places!! I was albe to climb the 16th Ave Tiled steps and it was exhausting haha but such a cool thing to do!! Great post!
xx Olivia
http://www.hellooliviablog.com
San Fran is one of our favorites, too! Thanks for stopping by! :)
Thanks for sharing this! I last visited SF back in college, and mostly remember visiting art galleries and walking up steep streets!;-) Look forward to using this list next time I’m on the West Coast!
Happy to share! Hahaha, the hills are insane in SF so I see why that’s something you remember. Thanks for stopping by!
Awesome post and I have to agree – those tired places get old fast. Though I still enjoy driving to Marin up Battery to view the whole city and Golden Gate from the viewpoint – I could go there ALL the time and not be sick of it. Is it one of your “tired” places? If not, I think it would an excellent add to this list :)
Hmmm, well I have a viewpoint in #10, so didn’t want to add in more than one of the same thing; but that’s a good tip! I’m planning on going back to SF and will have to check that out! :)
Love your blog! Great post, there’s always so many new things to discover in San Francisco!
<3
https://messyhairandpinkpajamas.com/
So true! Thank you! :)
Great article !
I did everything on your list except climb the amazing stairs :( Sadly I heard about those one after I came back in Europe but I will definitely save them for the next time I go there (hopefuly) :)
Kenza from https://travelwithkenza.blogspot.fr/
Wow, that’s awesome! You really tackled SF if you managed to do all these and all of the tourist icons! Thanks for stopping by! :)
LOVE this list! I went to school in North Beach, so it’s definitely one of my favourite spots in SF. They have the best bakeries in that area. Have a nice weekend! :)
https://www.mintnotion.com
What an awesome place to get to hang out in all the time! Have a great weekend, Eden. :)
San Fran is definitely on the bucket list! I always enjoy doing those typical landmarks and sights when travelling, but lately I’ve been more into doing things off the beaten track for the typical tourist. May I also say how much I enjoy your inclusion of food into your posts, especially when it’s Mexican food ;)
I think some tourist sites can be worth seeing, but for the most part we like to get off the beaten track! Food, to us, is the best part of traveling, so we can’t not incorporate it! ;)
I’m actually considering a trip to San Francisco in May, so if it works out, I’m definitely going to be using your guide!
xo
Siffat
https://icingandglitter.com
You should definitely do it! This – and our other – San Francisco guide(s) will be helpful for sure!
Oooh, good to know! I’ve never been to San Francisco, so I’ll probs do all the regular touristy stuff whenever I go, but I’ll definitely keep these all on my list as well. Weirdly enough, I really want to hunt down those tiled stairs–so beautiful! I seriously need to get out to the West Coast one of these days…
-Claire
tallgirlbigworld.com
Some of the touristy things are worth seeing, but others really aren’t! But I guess that’s something for every person to decide for themselves!
That’s not weird at all, though – the stairs are gorgeous!
This is a great list guys! I’ve been to San Francisco once before but I have a feeling it’s a ‘do-over’ city for me after reading your post. Thanks for sharing these underrated things to do :)
Definitely! We’ve both visited SF 4 times each and would still love to go back again and again. There’s just so much good food to eat. Some of the best in the country, if not the best. Its only rivals would be New Orleans and NYC.
Oh I love this! Thanks for this tips.
Good vibes, FOX
check out my latest VLOG and my blog
http://www.rochellefox.com.au
Thanks for stopping by!
Great post Maddy! Love your photos. I’m hoping to go back to San Francisco this September, so great tips!
Hopefully these tips will help you when you go! Thanks for stopping by! :)
We live in AL and are planning a trip to San Fran in late April. Do you know where I can find more tips like these? And thank you for these!
Awesome tips, thanks for sharing! We are headed to San Fran in November jotted down some of these to check out!