I’m a 4th generation San Franciscan and thought I knew every nook and cranny of my beloved City. I was wrong! Here is a compendium of new must-dos in Baghdad-by-the-Bay.
Memorable adventures await you in San Francisco in 2023, whether it’s the city’s most underrated hike, a forbidden burrito in North Beach or a history tour with a 204-year-old member of San Francisco royalty. This fabulous list was compiled by Peter Hartlaub and published in the San Francisco Chronicle
FREE
Enjoy the city’s most underappreciated views
Bayview Park is the best San Francisco hike that almost no one talks about — ascending a quarter mile and then looping through a forest, interesting rock formations, Works Project Administration ruins and spectacular 360-degree views.
Parking at the Key Avenue “trailhead” is very limited and the peak of the hill can be cold (think Candlestick Park weather, except with no stadium windbreak) but everything else on this short but steep hike is mystic and beautiful. We especially like the blend of old and new San Francisco on display, from the latest progress in San Francisco’s forthcoming superpark (India Basin Shoreline Park in Bayview scheduled to finish in 2026) to owl’s-eye views looking down on the stalwart Hunters Point Crane and Cow Palace.
Bayview Park, Key Avenue and Jennings Street; www.sfrecpark.org
AFFORDABLE
Watch a movie at the 4 Star Theater
The 4 Star Theater is one of San Francisco’s pandemic success stories. Not only did the Richmond District theater survive, the building was bought by an anonymous new owner in 2021 who put money into its restoration and reopened it in December 2022 with a bigger screen, better sound and beer sales.
The new management Cinema SF, which also runs the Vogue and Balboa theaters, has pledged to shape the programming of classic movies, cult favorites and Asian cinema for the neighborhood. They’re already selling coffee in the mornings and fresh bagels. Check out the calendar — there’s a movie for everyone — and make a date to celebrate San Francisco’s great new community space.
4 Star Theatre, 2200 Clement Street; www.cinemasf.com
AFFORDABLE
Wander through peak magnolia at Golden Gate Park
Since the first magnolia campbellii blossomed in 1940 to huge crowds, the San Francisco Botanical Garden has grown its magnolias collection like a compulsion, with more than 200 trees and 63 species of the ancient plant. Which makes “peak magnolia” — the blooming that usually starts in mid-January and hits a zenith in February — one of the great sights of Golden Gate Park.
The Botanical Garden site tracks which magnolias are blooming, created a magnolia map for this year’s event and has volunteers and staffers to explain the history of the plants which thrive in the Himalayas … and also San Francisco’s biggest park.
San Francisco Botanical Garden, 1199 Ninth Ave.; www.sfbg.org
FREE
Contemplate the future in the Bernal Heights swing
There are dozens of spectacular hilltop vistas in San Francisco. But only one allows hikers to sit in a giant tree swing, face the downtown skyline, and contemplate the past, present and future of San Francisco.
The trail to Bernal Peak is one of the steepest hikes in San Francisco, but worth the journey, with entrances from the Folsom and Cortland side of the park. Explore the entire area — there are staircases and wildlife to discover on all sides of the peak — but the swing on the northern side of the peak is the most photogenic spot in one of San Francisco’s most cinematic locations.
Bernal Peak, trailhead at 3400 Folsom St.; www.bernalheights.com
AFFORDABLE
Eat at the city’s throwback neon-fabulous burger joint
Tired of rapid changes in San Francisco? Pining for the good old days? Head to the city’s most frozen-in-time burger joint and feel like it’s 1962 again.
Beep’s Burgers is iconic for its neon rocket sign, which welcomes locals and visitors to the Ingleside neighborhood. The food keeps getting better — milkshakes and fries are solid, but nothing beats the A+ cheeseburger that might feel fancy (brioche bun!) if you weren’t eating it on a steel countertop along Ocean Avenue.
Beep’s is also very transit accessible — take the K Ingleside or J Church Muni lines, or Balboa Park BART.
Beep’s Burgers, 1051 Ocean Ave.; www.beepsburgers.com
CHEAP
Take a bus tour of Treasure Island
The 25 Treasure Island is one of the best deals in public transportation, costing just $2.50 (using a Clipper Card) for a tour of Treasure Island and some of the best views in the Bay Area.
Pick up the bus on the third deck of Salesforce Transit Center, a destination worth its own things-to-do-in-2023 entry. Take the bus through the rapidly developing island and jump out at Mersea (corner of Avenue of the Palms and 9th Street) to enjoy the casual food, drink and spectacular city skyline, followed by a stroll along the shore.
Soak in more great views on the ride back. Consider taking the new Treasure Island ferry or hop the bus back to San Francisco and get an elevated Muni-eyed view of downtown, Rincon Hill and Sutro Tower in the distance.
425 Mission St.; www.sfmta.com, www.mersea.restaurant
AFFORDABLE
See a concert in a converted mortuary
The Chapel was built in the 1910s as a low-cost alternative to downtown mortuaries. “$105 including cremation or grave in any cemetery,” one Chronicle advertisement read. Now it’s an excellent alternative to the more corporate rock venues in San Francisco.
The Chapel is independently owned and booked, and the calendar keeps getting better — with a plethora of standout acts from Luna to Bob Mould to the Flamin’ Groovies to the Tom Petty tribute band Petty Theft. (All coming in early 2023.) It’s the best Litquake and SF Sketchfest venue and gets some of the most quirky-cool local events — the Red Room Orchestra once played the music of “Twin Peaks” there, with series star Sherilyn Fenn in attendance.
It also has an A+ disco ball, which wards off any ghosts lingering in the building.
The Chapel, 777 Valencia St.; www.thechapelsf.com
FREE
Grab a selfie with Kiri the fire truck
There are few humans who have seen more of San Francisco than Kiri the tiny fire truck, a Japan-born micro vehicle that was imported to S.F. in summer 2020 and has been spreading joy across the city since.
Finding Kiri is like looking for a rare Pokemon. The truck is based in Bernal Heights and is especially likely to appear at street festivals, fire stations, major landmarks, minor landmarks and on the road back and forth to Sonoma County. Kiri’s caretaker Todd Lappin is often nearby, and happy to tell her story.
Various locations; www.instagram.com/teenytinyfiretruck
AFFORDABLE
Tour city history with Emperor Norton
There are few San Franciscans more beloved than Norton I., Emperor of the United States, who was born in 1818, lost a fortune in the rice trade and reinvented himself as a self-proclaimed ruler with his own currency and a series of predictions for the future.
(Which often came true.)
But better to hear the tale from the Emperor himself, portrayed by local actor Joseph Amster, who offers paid downtown and waterfront tours in character as Emperor Norton. Amster is joyful and entertaining, but also takes great care with historical detail and accuracy.
Tours aren’t just for tourists — every San Franciscan should get acquainted with the City Guides, Don Herron’s Dashiell Hammett tour and the good Emperor.
Emperor Norton history tour, 1 Ferry Plaza; www.empernortontour.com
CHEAP
Browse the aisles in the city’s oldest comic book shop
San Francisco has some of the most welcoming comic book purveyors in the world, including Isotope Comics in Hayes Valley and Amazing Fantasy in the Inner Sunset.
But if we’re sending a first-timer to a comic book shop, Comix Experience is the easy pick — and not just because it’s celebrating a third of a century in business. The bright and clean Lower Haight store, founded in 1989 by Brian Hibbs when he was still a teen, has flourished by encouraging newcomers — with a kids comic book club, artist events and a focus on graphic novels that gives the space more of a fresh bookstore vibe than stores that sell a lot of back issues.
Located in the geographical center of the city, it’s walking distance from just about everywhere. (And transit friendly. No fewer than eight bus and streetcar lines stop within five blocks of Comix Experience.)
Comix Experience, 305 Divisadero Street; www.comixexperience.com
AFFORDABLE
Strike warrior pose in a gothic cathedral
Grace Cathedral backs up its “You are welcome here” motto with a Tuesday night yoga class on the stone labyrinth, underneath the cathedral’s soaring stained glass windows and gothic columns.
The lessons, which start at $15 (email the cathedral if you’re unable to pay), are welcoming for newcomers and about as San Francisco as it gets. For the ultimate S.F. experience, you can ride the California cable car line to the cathedral, and have a drink at Top of the Mark afterward.
Yoga at Grace Cathedral, 1100 California Street; www.gracecathedral.org
CHEAP
Eat North Beach’s most controversial burrito
Mexican food in North Beach? What sounds like an impossibility or sacrilege makes a lot more sense when you read The Chronicle’s coverage of the El Farolito saga, where the city’s best local burrito franchise was nearly blocked from the neighborhood after city leaders initially tried to enforce a ban on chain restaurants.
El Farolito triumphantly prevailed, and it tastes like victory over bureaucracy. We recommend grabbing a carnitas or veggie burrito, taking the 39 Muni line up to Coit Tower and eating while enjoying the views and sounds of San Francisco.
El Farolito, 1230 Grant Ave.; www.elfarolitosf.com
PRICEY
Visit the oldest (captive) fish in the world
There’s a lot going on at the Cal Academy of Sciences, including a new baby penguin (not on display at press time) and the squirmy Bugs exhibit (open until January 22, 2023).
But one incredibly reliable Steinhart Aquarium exhibit is Methuselah, the Australian lungfish that was already a decade old upon arrival in the 1940s. Methuselah, at least 90 now, is spry, lives alone in the basement aquarium and likes belly rubs according to Steinhart biologists. Visit her while you can — although she may outlive all of us in the end.
Cal Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Dr.; www.calacademy.org
AFFORDABLE
Hear jazz in S.F.’s coziest and funkiest bookstore
Bird & Beckett Books & Records has been delighting Glen Park with music for more than 20 years on Friday nights, cramming several jazz musicians onto a makeshift stage (there’s a permanent piano) while the bookstore transforms into a nightclub. The jazz nights, founded by organizer and tenor sax player Chuck Peterson (who died last year), continued during the pandemic as streaming entertainment.
Now, jazz is back — scheduled for most Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays — see the schedule for times. There’s a $20-$30 suggested donation per adult. Bird & Beckett also has a great hyper-local selection of new and used books to browse while you bop.
Bird & Beckett Books & Records, 653 Chenery St.; www.birdbeckett.com
CHEAP
Ride the longest escalator west of the Mississippi
It’s hard to believe after more than four years of delays, but the Muni underground Central Subway is open, carrying riders from 4th and Brannan streets to Chinatown with daily service as of January 7.
And as a place to explore, at least, it was worth the wait.
The escalators in the Union Square Station, the longest in the Western United States, are particularly memorable. With Muni forced to bore beneath BART trains, the escalators descend 12 stories.
Pair those rides with a public art tour. The Union Square station is bathed in LED lights by the constantly morphing “Lucy in the Sky” display by Erwin Redi, while the Rose Pak Station in Chinatown features “Yangge: Dance of the Bride” by Yumei Hou, a striking red floor-to-ceiling piece inspired by Chinese paper cuts.
Union Square Station, 200 Geary St.; www.sfmta.com
FREE
Watch legends play at Kezar Pavilion
Kezar Pavilion’s history includes boxing, University of San Francisco men’s basketball and home floor for San Francisco Bay Bombers roller derby.
But the building’s greatest legacy is the San Francisco Bay Area Pro-Am summer basketball tournaments, legendary for the high-flying play and occasional appearances by NBA stars including Steph Curry, Jeremy Lin, Demian Lillard and Jason Kidd.
The tournament, which runs from June to August, is entering its 43rd year. Admission is free.
San Francisco Bay Area Pro-Am, 755 Stanyan Street; www.sanfranciscoproam.com
CHEAP
Take Tony Bravo’s tour of the Castro District
The Chronicle now has three walking tours of San Francisco on the VoiceMap app, including urban design critic John King’s architectural tour of the Financial District and a stroll through Golden Gate Park hosted by Total SF podcast’s Heather Knight and Peter Hartlaub.
Start with Tony Bravo’s 2022 tour, Over the Rainbow in the Castro, a historic, entertaining and personal story of the district and its people — with local secrets and the neighborhood’s history of activism that continues to resonate.
Over the Rainbow in the Castro, various locations; www.sfchronicle.com/audiowalkingtours
AFFORDABLE
Visit the city’s most future-forward cocktail bar
The Interval in Fort Mason is one of the city’s coolest bars, and also the clubhouse for the Long Now Foundation, a non-profit that promotes long-term thinking for the human race. (Among other things, they want to put a 10,000-year clock in the desert to get people thinking about the long now.)
The bar, cafe and museum has floor-to-ceiling books, ancient clocks and other mechanical devices and one of San Francisco’s most creative drink menus shaped by bartender Ty Caudil. (We recommend the “International Orange,” a mix of gin, Italian vermouth and bitter apéritif.)
Look for The Interval’s regular salon talks as well.
The Interval at Long Now, 2 Marina Boulevard; www.theinterval.org
FREE
Party during the holidays with the Tree Twins
The Tree Twins are one of the great San Francisco holiday traditions, up there with puppies in the windows at Macy’s and the lighting of Uncle John’s Tree at McLaren Lodge.
Jingle and Tingle (husbands Michael Morris and David Sweeney) don light-up homemade Christmas tree costumes and fill their calendar with trips to diverse San Francisco neighborhoods, taking to the streets and inviting everyone to join the party. Follow them on Instagram to find the fun.
Tree Twins, various locations; www.instagram.com/treetwins
FREE
Hike to the Presidio’s other great new park
The opening of Presidio’s Tunnels Tops park made national news, justifiably, with its tiered wonders, huge playground and stunning views of the bay and the Golden Gate Bridge.
But the Battery Bluff, a trailside park with new landscaping and exposed military batteries, is arguably the more stunning draw. Battery Bluff, about a half mile each way, feels more private and has a series of views that catch the hiker by surprise. If you’re feeling ambitious and the weather is right, start at Tunnel Tops, head west to Battery Bluff, then keep walking across the Golden Gate Bridge for a 5-mile round trip hike.
Battery Bluff, 210 Lincoln Blvd.; www.presidio.gov/places/battery-bluff
AFFORDABLE
Tour the Blue Painted Lady
George Horsfall doesn’t resent the crowds of tourists who stare at his Painted Ladies house along Alamo Square every day. In fact, the charming and welcoming owner set up an Instagram page for his blue house and in 2021 began inviting people inside.
Horsfall has filled the house with San Francisco and Painted Ladies history and gives hour-long tours at 4 p.m. every day, asking for a $20 donation for house upkeep and charitable causes.
Tour the Blue Painted Lady, 712 Steiner St.; www.instagram.com/bluepaintedladyhousetour
CHEAP
Make recycled art in the Bayview
The SCRAP creative reuse center is a gem in the Southeastern corner of San Francisco, filled with affordable paint, clothing, scrapbook material and other random arts and crafts supplies — all set up to provide equitable access to students, teachers and artists.
Go and browse during SCRAP’s operating hours, set up a field trip for your class or corporate group or check out one of the center’s workshops and programs.
SCRAP creative reuse center, 2150 Newcomb Ave; www.scrap-sf.org
CHEAP
Learn the history of the Tenderloin District
The Tenderloin District has been in the local and national news in recent years, used by San Francisco’s detractors as a symbol of failure. But the district’s story — which includes welcoming immigrants, spurring artistic innovation and hosting some of the city’s greatest moments of activism — is far more interesting than the rhetoric.
The Tenderloin Museum makes a case for the neighborhood, and is an informative and enlightening place to visit — covering everything from Miles Davis and other jazz legends’ contributions to the district, to the Tenderloin’s role as a landing spot for Vietnamese and Laotian refugees and a 1917 revolt by sex workers who marched on a conservative church. Pair a visit with lunch at wonderful La Cocina a couple blocks away.
Tenderloin Museum, 398 Eddy St.; www.tenderloinmuseum.org
I like the variety of attractions–something for everyone.