Chinatown & North Beach Tour: Authentic San Francisco Exploration
4.8
556 Ratings
San Francisco
Immerse yourself in the vibrant cultures of Chinatown and North Beach on a walking tour through San Francisco. Discover new flavors, ancient traditions, and hidden secrets in these iconic neighborhoods.
Duration:
4 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Dragon’s Gate - Meet your guide and group at the gated entrance to Chinatown (Bush & Grant Streets) to start your exploration of some of San Francisco’s most dynamic neighborhoods. As you walk through Chinatown, you’ll learn about Chinese culture and mysticism as you taste dim sum from one of the oldest bakeries in the area. Stroll past some of the district’s interesting sculptures and listen as your guide points out some remarkable architecture.
- Chinatown - We’ll explore Chinatown through a tea tasting and enjoy some local foods
- North Beach - Next, head for North Beach, where you’ll learn about the history and culture of this historically Italian neighborhood. Follow your guide to some of the little-known hidden gems that serve authentic Italian coffee and other treats. Additionally, search out authentic Chinese and Italian crafts and pottery and uncover their hidden secrets only intrepid locals know.
Enjoy some local pastries, chocolate, and pizza along with a tour of the neighborhood from a local.
What's Included
- 5+ generous food and drink tastings
- Premium chocolate tasting at Z Cioccolato
- Traditional moon cakes in Chinatown
- Chinatown tea tastings
- Authentic cannoli from Stella Pastry
- Pizza at Mona Lisa Restaurant
- Sit-down traditional Chinese meal
- Expert local San Francisco guide
- Variety of Dim Sum experiences
- Food, wine, and soft drinks included
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
Additional Information
Immerse yourself in an afternoon journey through two of San Francisco’s lively hubs of food and nightlife, Chinatown and North Beach. Individually, these places tantalize your senses. Combined, they awaken you to unexplored tastes, ancient cultures, and a multifaceted lifestyle. On their own, Chinatown and North Beach are sensory feasts. Together, they evoke novel flavors, different cultures, and introspective experiences. We embark our trip with a twilight exploration of Chinatown, highlighted by sampling Moon Cakes from one of the area’s oldest bakeries. We’ll scout for genuine Chinese and Italian landmarks, revealing the concealed secrets only known to the bold locals. Prepare to be amazed by the new discoveries tucked away in hidden nooks. Experience everything from wine to Dim Sum, Peking Duck, fortune cookies, while delving into the origins of the Beat Generation and the Barbary Coast history that shaped San Francisco. After this adventure, you’ll feel as though you’ve genuinely immersed yourself in Chinatown, North Beach, and Little Italy.
- ATTENTION: Each Youth or Child registration requires an Adult registration
- We are not able to accommodate nut allergies
Location
400 Grant Ave
Grant Avenue
In front of the Chinatown Gate
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.8
(556 Ratings)
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Ysu3452xt
Apr 20, 2024
Amazing Memorable Tour - I truly enjoyed this tour. Brian the guide was personable, kind, informative, and a veteran of SF. He has a great relationship with the community and as a result we were able to enjoy and experience an amazing and memorable time. The tour you need to be on!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
M4372xljamies
Apr 19, 2024
Definitely do this! - Andre is AMAZING! So friendly and knowledgeable! Wasn’t a question he couldn’t answer. We absolutely LOVED this tour! So much food. A must do!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Veronica_m
Apr 19, 2024
Great combo tour of Chinatown and North Beach - Our guide Scott who was a wealth of info on SF history. I loved his enthusiasm and would love to take more of his tours! I really liked the way it was spaced with time for walking, Scott’s talking, eating here and there.
Review provided by Viator
Karanda_e
Apr 18, 2024
Eat off the beaten path - I had signed up for this tour and was contacted the day of to cancel because I was the only attendee. Tom really took the time and effort to make sure I was rebooked and still had a great time on a tour the following day. Scott is a fantastic tour guide who really knows his history about the city. The food tastings were fantastic and plentiful. Definitely a tour to book if you were looking for some culture and to try out great local tastes.
Review provided by Viator
Lindaoj6973nc
Apr 7, 2024
Culinary Class loved the tour! - Thank you Brian and Tom,
Our walking tour of Chinatown & North BeachLittle Italy was awesome! We had such a great time. Brian(tour guide) was full of great information and background of the city’s history and culinary delights. Since we were a small group he was able to add a few (2) extra stops. We were all full and really liked all the food we ate. From being greeted with onion rolls and BBq pork buns to chocolates from a couple places, excellent tea tastings, Anthony Bourdain's top 3 best hamburgers, then ending the night with Margarita pizza and cannoli. I can’t leave out the delicious baked potstickers, peking duck, spring rolls and shrimp dimsum, then the fortune cookie company, my students loved it all. To any and all contemplating which company to go with I vote for this company as I have been taking my culinary classes on Toms tours for well over 10 years. He is always changing up the restaurants to give us the taste of the town that is the best ever. Just a few tips – remind your group to bring a jacket, know where you can park especially if you have a tall van that might get stuck in the low garages. Thanks again Tom and Brian.
Linda
Review provided by Tripadvisor
David_n
Apr 6, 2024
Great tour. Highly recommended. - Scott was an excellent guide. Really enjoyed the tour. Fantastic food throughout. Very informative. Would recommend this tour to anyone.
Review provided by Viator
Chictravel101
Apr 2, 2024
The BEST way to eat through Chinatown and North Beach - If you want to really experience Chinatown and North Beach on a local level, you must do this tour. It is worth every penny and then some. Brian was our guide and he simply made the tour. He combined history with humor and stopped us at places that we would have never walked into on our own. From delicious dumplings, stopping in a world famous wok makers store, to an amazing Chinese sit down lunch, to a tea tasting, surprise stop at Anthony Bourdain’s favorite burger spot, fortune cookie making factory, best canoli, and yummy Sicilian pizza to end the night. Our teens and 8 year old rated this as their favorite San Francisco experience. Hands down. Thank you Brian for showing us your town and for introducing us to amazing cuisine.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nigelmy8702sa
Apr 1, 2024
Walking tour in China Town with Doug - Excellent tour with a great guide! His name is Doug, Hi I’m Doug, hey remember me I’m Doug! I’m sure he will tell you what his name is once or twice. Very informative and entertaining, great dad jokes! Loved it thanks Doug!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Brenda_t
Apr 1, 2024
Enjoyed the tour, did not feel rushed - My family and I enjoyed the tour very much. It's a good way to see and taste the city. Bring comfy shoes and a poncho in case it rains. Doug was our guide and was very knowledgeable. Some tours rush you in and out of places, I did not feel rushed during this tour. Thank you again.
Review provided by Viator
Grace_m
Apr 6, 2024
An informative and food filled tour - Isabella was a good guide very informative and engaging. We got to sample a fair amount of food around China town, but would have been nice to have more input into the choice / flavours that we were receiving. There was more emphasis on China town than north beach. We found it a little odd at the end when we reached our final stop (moana Lisa for pizza) and the guide left us straight away once we were seated. I did expect the guide to stay for the final location and explain the food etc. It left a bit of an odd atmosphere at the end to be honest. Other than that a good tour and well worth the money food-wise!
Review provided by Viator
