The San Francisco Kaleidoscope City Tour is your introduction to the incredible diversity of the ‘City by the Bay’. There is no hotel pick-up; you should meet your English-speaking guide at Market Street Visitor Information Center at 900 Market Street, on the lower level of Hallidie Plaza, next to the cable car turn-table at Powell and Market streets.
This environmentally friendly tour uses public transport only, and a full-day unlimited MUNI pass is included. You will ride a historic street car into the Mission District, one of San Francisco’s most vibrant and colorful neighborhoods. The group will then walk to Mission Dolores, site of San Francisco’s first European settlement. Founded in 1776, the Mission has the oldest intact building in San Francisco. There is also a cemetery and tranquil garden. Entrance to Mission is not included and costs around $5.
After spending up to 30 minutes at the Mission, you will take a walking tour (approx 1 hour) of the District’s brightly painted neighborhoods. Murals splash vibrant color on the façades of many buildings, expressing Latino culture, folklore, famous citizens, and history. If the group wishes you may stop for a coffee break in this area (payable direct).
Then, hop on the iconic cable car for a 15-minute ride up California Street through the financial district to the exotic labyrinth of Chinatown. Throughout this congested area are many traditional medicine shops, theatres, joss houses (temples), pagoda roofs, and well over 300 restaurants, making it a self-sustaining ‘city-within-a-city’.
You will spend around 1 hour exploring the influence and history of San Francisco’s Chinese immigrant population and visiting Portsmouth Square, Grant Avenue, historic side lanes, and local markets.
Portsmouth Square is located on the site of the first public square established in the early 1800s in the Mexican community of Yerba Buena. Grant Avenue is the main tourist street in Chinatown, full of kitschy plastic Buddhas but fun to see. More authentic shops are found down the side streets.
You will get the chance to visit a fortune cookie factoryLunch (approx 45 minutes) will be at a local dim sum house where you can sample a variety of specialty dishes.
After lunch, you will take a walk into North Beach, San Francisco’s ‘Little Italy’ to visit the legendaryCity Lights Book Store, a favourite hang-out of the Beat Generation. You will also see Washington Square with its cathedral and park.
You will then take a local city bus to Fisherman’s Wharf where you can spend around 30 minutes enjoying panoramic views of the bay. Boarding a catamaran, you will set sail past infamous Alcatraz Island and under the Golden Gate Bridge with the impressive San Fran skyline in view.
The Bay cruise takes up to 1 ½ hours. Upon return to the pier, your local guide will accompany the group back to the meeting point on a historic street car, or you can explore the waterfront area independently.
Your tour ends back at the starting point or at Fisherman’s Wharf, depending on your choice.