By SobeSavvy.com
San Francisco is one of my favorite cities in the USA. There is a song that goes 🎶 I left my heart in San Francisco 🎶 but I now say I found my heart there because I love visiting. Our fondness for San Fran started in 2010 when my husband and I were working there as consultants and discovered we were pregnant! Our daughter is the heart we found and it was with great pleasure to take her for her first time back to the city where she so amusingly says “was stirred in the pot” ! 😅 Our 3 day itinerary took place over the MLK JR. Weekend and we planned an itinerary based on places we have explored before along with some new places to discover. We flew non-stop from RDU to SFO on United Airlines and was ready to roll after getting a rental car from Avis.
STAY | Le Méridien San Francisco
My husband chose Le Méridien San Francisco hotel not only because he is a Marriott Gold member but because of its central location. It’s located in the Financial District, which is not too touristy or crowded, especially on the weekends. Our one bedroom ‘City By The Bay’ suite offered a spacious, modern room with floor to ceiling windows & balcony views of the Bay Bridge & TransAmerica building, a comfortable sofa bed for our child and a separate king size bedroom for us. We utilized room service and also enjoyed bar bites/ handrafted cocktails from their on-site lounge, Bar 333. We could walk to many shopping and dining options as well as places like Chinatown, SOMA, and the Ferry Building, which is where we started on Day 1 to get something to eat.
EAT | Harborview Restaurant & Bar + more!
San Francisco is a foodie paradise because of the vast variety of choices. There is truly something for everyone but if you don’t have dim sum while in San Francisco, were you really there? We decided to try a place that we could walk to from our hotel and came highly recommended for its service and authentic Chinese cuisine. Feast your eyes on our wonderful dining experience at Harborview Restaurant & Bar ⤵️
BRUNCH-LUNCH-DINNER-DESSERT
San Francisco is a place where you can let your foodie flag fly high and our tastebuds were ready for take off! Since we love seafood, we couldn’t help ourselves to have lots of it during our stay. Here are some of the places we enjoyed during our visit:
- Ferry Building
- Imperial Tea Court
- Hog Island Oyster Co.
- Good Luck Cafe & Deli
- Fog Harbor Fish House
- Biscoff Coffee Corner
- Ghirardelli Square
- Brioche Bakery & Cafe
- Réveille Coffee Co.
- The Lake Chalet Seafood Bar & Grill ( Oakland )
- House of NanKing
PLAY | California Academy of Sciences & Madame Tussauds + more!
Adventure awaits at the California Academy of Sciences ! Here is where you and your family can experience 4 exhibits in one place. There’s an Aquarium, Rainforest, Natural History Museum, Planetarium as well as a cool Geology collection and Naturalist Center. No matter where you start, getting ready to learn, explore and leave like our kid did..with this smile!
Madame Tussauds San Francisco, located in Fisherman’s Wharf, is the place to go to see life like icons in wax. It’s remarkable to learn about the process and get information about the figures. My favorite thing to do is sing and dance with the musicians while my husband challenges us to a pose off with the celebrities. Our daughter loves taking selfies there and it’s a fun time for all! There are so many reasons why Madame Tussauds is the #worldsgreatestwaxmuseum, but you can get a glimpse here via my video.
Sightseeing Must Do’s
San Francisco is a vibe and a feast for the eyes! So scenic, so artsy, so eclectic and unique. You can get a taste of city and coastal life all in one visit. My husband loves the architecture of the city, while my daughter enjoyed seeing the Pacific Ocean for the first time. We did so much on Day 2 & Day 3 of the trip but here are some of the sights we enjoyed during our visit:
- Ferry Building/Bay Bridge
- Chinatown
- Yerba Buena Gardens
- No Ceilings Mural
- Embarcadero Center #ArtofEC
- TransAmerica Building
- Golden Gate Park
- Pier 39/Sea Lions
- Fisherman’s Wharf
- Golden Gate Bridge
- Visit Sausalito
- Japantown
- Lombard St
- Hayes St
- Painted Ladies/Alamo Square
- Visit Oakland
- Ocean Beach/ Pacific Ocean
We had an amazing time during our 3 day stay. The weather was great and hugging family/friends was a bonus! San Francisco owes us nothing. Fond memories were mad and fun was had by all. Until next time, enjoy this recap video of our trip and I hope you are inspired San Francisco soon!
SobeSavvy 