San Francisco
Ferry Building
At the Ferry Building, take ferries to Sausalito and Angel Island, pick up the tram to Fisherman's Wharf, walk along the waterfront, there are three farmers markets, and local eateries for ice cream, coffee, sushi, sandwiches, snacks, juices, hamburgers, bagels, breads, tacos, lots of food choices.
Farmers Markets
- Sample the abundance of California fruits and vegetables at the
Farmers' Market
. You'll find locally grown boysenberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, avocados, dried fruit, nuts, honey, melons, grapes. Pick up some local cheese, bread or foccacia, fruits, muffins, scones, pastries, cobbler, turnovers, cookies, or fruitbreads, and have a picnic.
Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Saturday is the largest market, crowded with food vendors, and food to eat al fresco, sitting out by the bay.
Ride the ferries
- From the
Ferry Building
, take the
Golden Gate Ferry
to Sausalito and Angel Island.
On the bay, you'll see the great container ships coming in through the Golden Gate Bridge, sail boats galore, tug boats pulling barges, pilot boats. On the ferry trip to Sausalito, the ferry goes right next to Alcatraz Island, with super views.
For a longer ferry ride, go to Angel Island - perfect for a picnic lunch and hike in good weather. Read our blog post:
Explore Angel Island
The ferries are a good deal (cheapest cruise around the bay), and one of our favorite things to do in San Francisco.
F Line to Fisherman's Wharf – In front of the Ferry Building is a stop for the F line. Historic streetcars go along the Embarcadero to Fishermans' Wharf (ends at Taylor St., then loops back along Embarcerdo and up Market St.
Here's the route map, use Clipper Card.
Walk along the Embarcadero
- The Embarcadero ("wharf") was once a busy port, stuffed with ships loading and unloading passengers and tons of cargo.
Today the Embarcadero is a wide tree-lined promenade. You can walk all the way from the Ferry Building to Fisherman's Wharf going north. Between Pier 5 and Pier 9, walk out onto the pier jutting out in the bay - it's a great place for kids to watch the boats go by.
Playground (Sue Bierman Park)
- Across from the Ferry Building, at the corner of Embarcadero and Washington St. is a nice big playground with climbing structures, and grass to run around. Bring your picnic lunch.
