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SF Highlights: Cable Cars, Gardens & Rooftops
4.7
155 Ratings
San Francisco
Experience the best of San Francisco in a day with our full-day tour. Ride the iconic cable cars, explore hidden gems, and enjoy breathtaking views. Avoid the crowds and immerse yourself in the culture and history of SF. Book now!
Experience the best of San Francisco in a day with our full-day tour. Ride the iconic cable cars, explore hidden gems, and enjoy breathtaking views. Avoid the crowds and immerse yourself in the culture and history of SF. Book now!
Duration:
8 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- The Embarcadero - The guide will assist in orienting visitors by sharing the history and background of the Ferry Building and downtown San Francisco.
- Nob Hill - Ride the cable car up the steep Nob Hill to admire the grand mansions of San Francisco’s first millionaires.
- Cable Car Museum - Enjoy this intriguing museum dedicated to San…
- The Embarcadero - The guide will assist in orienting visitors by sharing the history and background of the Ferry Building and downtown San Francisco.
- Nob Hill - Ride the cable car up the steep Nob Hill to admire the grand mansions of San Francisco’s first millionaires.
- Cable Car Museum - Enjoy this intriguing museum dedicated to San Francisco’s most famous mode of transport, which also houses the machinery that operates the system (weekends).
- San Francisco City Hall - Explore the beautiful City Hall and discover the significant events that occurred there (weekdays).
- Hayes Valley - Visit this charming new area near the San Francisco Civic Center, featuring a collection of impressive street art and cozy coffee shops.
- Mission Dolores Park - One of the most beautiful parks in San Francisco, offering stunning views of downtown.
- The Castro - Experience this historic neighborhood, a pivotal location in the LGBTQ movement, for which San Francisco is a global symbol.
- Haight-Ashbury - The birthplace of the hippie, anti-Vietnam War movement in the 1960s, this neighborhood retains much of its original charm and is a great spot for lunch.
- Painted Ladies - A San Francisco icon. No visit is complete without seeing these stunning Victorian houses with their breathtaking views of the city.
- Lombard Street - One of the city’s most famous landmarks, walk down this steep, winding street and capture some fantastic photos for Instagram.
- North Beach - Stroll through this historic neighborhood, known as San Francisco’s Little Italy.
- Chinatown - Conclude the tour in San Francisco’s renowned Chinatown with a visit to a hidden fortune cookie maker. A perfect way to end an incredible day in the city.
What's Included
- Contribution of $1 to Climate Cents for every guest.
- All Metro travel included (USD20 value).
- Insightful Tour Guide.
- 2 cable car rides and 1 historic streetcar journey included (subject to availability).
- Contribution of $1 to Climate Cents for every guest.
- All Metro travel included (USD20 value).
- Insightful Tour Guide.
- 2 cable car rides and 1 historic streetcar journey included (subject to availability).
What's Not Included
- Gratuities not included, because voluntary. If you enjoy tour please allow 15-20%.
- Lunch/Snacks are not included.
- Gratuities not included, because voluntary. If you enjoy tour please allow 15-20%.
- Lunch/Snacks are not included.
Additional Information
Experience a unique side of San Francisco in just one day with our tour. We navigate through the city using various forms of transportation such as a cable-car, tram, and bus, to discover hidden gardens, mysterious stairways, and breathtaking rooftop views. You’ll dodge the throngs of tourists at popular destinations while soaking up the local culture…
Experience a unique side of San Francisco in just one day with our tour. We navigate through the city using various forms of transportation such as a cable-car, tram, and bus, to discover hidden gardens, mysterious stairways, and breathtaking rooftop views. You’ll dodge the throngs of tourists at popular destinations while soaking up the local culture and history of SF.
Beginning your journey near the Embarcadero, we board a cable-car to reach Nob Hill. Following that, our next stops are either the City Hall or the Cable Car Museum, where we take a quick peek inside before grabbing a coffee in the charming Hayes Valley.
Subsequently, we proceed to the Castro and saunter through the picturesque Dolores Park. The first part of our tour wraps up in the iconic Haight neighborhood which offers great lunch spots.
Post lunch, we take you to see a classic representation of San Francisco, the Painted Ladies, which is then followed by a meander down another SF signature, the Lombard Street. Our tour concludes with a stroll through North Beach and Chinatown. By the end, you will have experienced an unforgettable slice of San Francisco and carry with you beautiful lasting memories.
- Aim to get to the meeting point 10-15 minutes early. If you’re late you will miss the tour.
- This tour is not recommended for children under 15 y.o.
- By making a booking for this tour you agree to be bound by Real San Francisco Tours terms of service.
- Please note cable car and streetcar operations can be affected by events and technical issues beyond our control.
- Please check dates/times carefully BEFORE making a booking.
- This is a walking tour and we move at a reasonable pace, climbing several hills and sets of steps. It’s not suitable for people with mobility issues. Guests walk 4-5 miles. over the day.
Location
Market St & Drumm St
The guide will be checking in guests at the cable car station on the corner of Market and Drumm Street (by the Robert Frost marker), from 15 minutes before the tour is due to begin.
Be sure to allow extra time for traffic and finding parking. We CANNOT wait for latecomers, there are other guests.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.7
(155 Ratings)
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Beccaa252
May 7, 2025
Perfect introduction to San Francisco!! - No matter how long you have in San Francisco, if you care to learn something about the city, the all day walking tour is 100% worth it.
In one day, we were able to see many of the sights and neighborhoods that have made San Francisco famous, with our guide Jamie providing outstanding insight to how and why they came to be. He has a wealth of knowledge about all things San Francisco and did a great job answering all our questions!
Thoughtful use of bus/cable car transit let us avoid the worst of the uphill treks without losing the best part of a walking tour—being able to see everything for more than just a quick drive-by.
If you’re visiting for only a short time (as we were), the full day tour is a great overview of as much of the city as can fit in a single day.
If you’re staying for longer, I’d recommend it to get a wide-ranging introduction to find places you’ll want to re-visit.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Scott_l
May 4, 2025
Great day to explore San Francisco - Amazing informative and memorable tour with Dara . Knowledgeable about history and local tips n tricks
Review provided by Viator
Jameshs4531hv
May 1, 2025
Excellent tour of San Francisco! - Jamie was an amazing tour guide! He was so, so knowledgeable and personable. Loved touring each of the neighborhoods. Would highly recommend!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Danfh1673ho
Apr 22, 2025
Outstanding Day For the Whole Family! - Jamie was absolutely outstanding! We had a group of 10 and he was a perfect host asking everyone about meal preferences (Italian, Chinese, Vietnamese), coffee/bobo breaks, restrooms, etc. He is great with his plan to limit the hills when walking, knows the best spots to take the memorable pictures with great backgrounds, and knows the city as well as anyone. From the cable car rides, explaining the districts, history, and managing to make the day entertaining from beginning to end was wonderful. The best recommendation is that we would absolutely recommend him to family and friends which is exactly what we will do.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Roxannespatzer
Apr 20, 2025
San fran cable cars, bus and street car tour - The tour guide Mark was excellent, very knowledgeable. Went thru all the neighborhoods and got to enjoy lunch at local restaurant.
Review provided by Viator
Sarahtf4292xb
May 8, 2025
Wisconsin takes on SF - Was a beautiful day. Weather 50-60s sunny windy. Our guide had a lot of knowledge and pride for the city to share. Favorite places were typical for tourists and getting to ride the trolley/ buses gave the full experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Elbee570
May 7, 2025
Left me underwhelmed - We did hit all of the promised sights. My main wish of this tour would have been to hear more about the history of the city itself, we got a lot of our tour guides history in the city. And more of a tour with less of our tour guides own opinions. Maybe I just expected more, but I was a little underwhelmed by the whole experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
William_h
Apr 30, 2025
The tour was a full 8... - The tour was a full 8 hour day with lots of walking. This is definitely not for those with any sort of mobility or stamina concerns. Mark, our guide, provided an almost nonstop torrent of historical information and personal opinions that eventually wore me down to where I finally stopped paying attention to what he was yammering on about. It was simply too much to listen to over such an extended period of time.
Review provided by Viator
Kathlyn_d
Apr 20, 2025
We had a larger group... - We had a larger group than this description lists which made it difficult to get on/off buses. We logged over 17,000 steps even though this was a cable car tour. Guide was nice enough but he was eager to share his personal opinions about things and we ended up spending more time in areas he felt passionate about while skipping about 1/3 of the items listed on the itinerary altogether. (Dolores Park is “just a big field” but I was really looking forward to going there to see the views of the city from.) Some of the skips may have been due to the size of our group too and the transportation challenges that brought. We started losing folks from our tour fairly quickly. There wasn’t a lot of reading the room so to speak. Public transportation passes were noted to be included in this tour but you end up dropped off in Chinatown - if you make it to the end - without a pass to get you back to your hotel, etc. because they were all on his phone and he wouldn’t transfer them to you at the end. He said to “just hop on in the back and no one would check.”
Review provided by Viator
Mike_t
May 6, 2025
San Francisco Full day Tour by (Cable Car?? not) and Foot (a lot of walking!) - This tour was very disapointing and I would not recommend it. Activity details were vague and we had to walk a mile from the cruise terminal to meet the guide. The cable cars were not running in the areas in our tour, but we did get to sit on one for a few blocks after taking a detour via public bus. Did not visit the cable car museum. Time waiting for the public buses (about 8) was a waste. Total time walking uphill and downhill was 6 1/2 hours and strenuous. The tour guide spent a lot of time talking about his wife's involvement in the community the past decades (AIDS, Gay communities, anti Vietnam demonstrations, etc.). I have nothing to complain about these but would have prefered hearing about San Francisco history. If details were more in detail, I would not have purchased this one. Even though this was a small group, he spoke mostly to those immediately around him. Those of us who walk slower were left out most of the time.
Review provided by Viator
