San Francisco

Fog rolls in most summer mornings from the Pacific through the Golden Gate and sits over the Bay until late morning, when it burns off. This is not a design flaw in the city – it’s the specific atmospheric phenomenon, the California Current bringing cold water up from the deep Pacific close to shore, that Carl Sandburg and countless photographers have documented and that residents have a complicated relationship with. The fog is why summer in San Francisco is cooler than most American visitors expect. Pack layers regardless of the month.

San Francisco occupies a 49-square-mile peninsula with a grid imposed on hills that didn’t agree with it, producing some of the steepest drivable and walkable streets in any American city. The neighbourhoods on and between those hills each have distinct characters – Mission and the Castro, Haight-Ashbury, the Richmond, the Sunset – and the city rewards walking between them rather than treating it as a transit problem.

Alcatraz

The former federal penitentiary on the island in the bay operated from 1934 to 1963 and held Al Capone, Robert Stroud (“The Birdman”), and other notable prisoners. It is now a National Historic Site accessible by authorised ferry from Pier 33. The audio tour includes ranger narration and inmate testimonials and is among the better audio guide experiences in the US national park system.

Book timed tickets in advance – ferries sell out, particularly in summer. Allow 2-3 hours. The views back toward San Francisco from the island are as much the experience as the prison itself.

Neighbourhoods Over Landmarks

The Mission District has the best burritos in California at taquerias like La Taqueria (cash only, 2889 Mission Street) and El Farolito. The neighbourhood’s Mexican and Central American food culture is the honest argument for spending an afternoon there rather than Fisherman’s Wharf.

The Ferry Building on the Embarcadero has a farmers market on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays and houses several good food producers permanently. Better for lunch than Pier 39.

The de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park holds a strong American art collection including a survey of western American painting that most people overlook in favour of the more famous institutions. The tower observation platform is free.

Getting Around

Muni (the city’s transit system) is reasonably functional and covers most of the peninsula. The Powell-Mason and Powell-Hyde cable car lines run from Powell and Market up to Nob Hill and down to Fisherman’s Wharf – they are slower than any other option and pack with tourists, but they are genuinely historical and worth riding once in each direction. Buy a Clipper card for Muni rather than cash fares.

Muir Woods, 20 kilometres north across the Golden Gate Bridge, has old-growth coast redwoods accessible on day trips. Book the shuttle from Sausalito (required to manage traffic) in advance through recreation.gov.

The city’s hills make cycling significantly harder than flat cities. Rental bikes exist but know what you’re getting into before heading uphill on a bicycle in July fog.