Like many other popular destination cities in the world, Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco is just as much of a staple to its tourist population as the Eiffel Tower is to Paris and the Pyramids to Egypt.
In fact, it’s almost a crime if you don’t at least crane your neck in the way of these great monuments and cultural locales when you’re in the area. Here’s how to get the best out of Fisherman’s Wharf when you’re visiting San Francisco – the most optimal times and best ways to see the spots.
The wharf stretches approximately from around Ghirardelli Square and Victorian Park on the west end and extends all the way over to Pier 33-35 to the east on Jefferson Street/The Embarcadero. It’s also nearby other attractions such as Chinatown, Lombard Street, North Beach, popular antique cable car and streetcar rides, and the Embarcadero waterfront.
Recommendation: work your way from west to east, taking your first picture at the well known circular “Fisherman’s Wharf of San Francisco” sign, depicting an orange crab in the middle, and likened to a ship’s wooden-spoked steering wheel. Then head towards the popular Pier 39.
On the west end.
- In the morning, you can watch the shop keepers, restaurant owners, and crab stand operators opening and setting up today’s fresh array of seafood and famous dungeness crab on Pier 45.
- Sit in Boudin Bakery’s outdoor seating patio while you watch locals and tourists coming and going while enjoying Boudin’s wide and scrumptious assortment of baked goods (croissants, bagels, breads) with a coffee.
- For a quick snack, try the assortment of sidewalk seafood trays, get a clam chower in a sourdough bread bowl, some fried shrimp and calamari while you walk eastward in the shadow of Alcatraz in the bay not too far away.
- Popular spots in this area include the many shops that line the south side of Jefferson Ave., Maritime National Historical Park, Del Monte Square and The Cannery, Ghirardelli Square, the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not store and museum, and the Wax Museum at Fisherman’s Wharf
- Great lunch/dinner joints include restaurants like Pompei’s and Alioto’s #8 which have been local favourites for decades and have arguably the best and the freshest seafood in the world.
Towards the east.
- Pier 39 is best experienced in its hustle and bustle busyness, and so come visit during the early or mid afternoon. As you walk towards the east, you’ll encounter progressively larger stores, crowds of tourists, and buskers and entertainers of all sorts trying to make a dollar. This is the center for family fun!
- Things to do in this area: activities, shops, dining options galore, arcades, the Marine Mammal Center, the Aquarium of the Bay, rides, and the popular sea lions who pose for you on their floating docks.
- Looking for a giant crab? You can find this statue in front of the Aquarium of the Bay here at Pier 39.
- Dock at Pier 33 to visit Alcatraz, a little farther to the east from Pier 39. Here, you can take a boat over to Alcatraz Island: the infamous and legendary prison in the middle of the San Francisco Bay, dubbed “The Rock.”
- Ride on the classic streetcars on the F Market & Wharves line on Embarcadero and Jefferson St. for fun or head a little to the south to try the cable cars on Powell & Mason or on Hyde Street. These will take you through closer to China Town and Lombard and back towards the west end of the strip.