San Francisco is a city that had been on my list for a long time, but I never had the right opportunity to visit. That is until a friend asked me to tag along with her to a wedding. On my first visit, I quickly learned that San Fransisco is larger than I imagined with many diverse neighborhoods and a lot to see, do, and eat (of course)!

Read on for some of my favorite activities in this weekend guide to San Francisco!

Catch the Best Views of the Golden Gate Bridge

The Golden Gate Bridge is the must-see iconic landmark of San Francisco. The best views come from the Marin Headlands in Sausalito. You can catch an uber across the bridge or rent a bike. Once in Sausalito, we hiked down to Kirby Cove to play on the beach and catch great views of the bridge and the bay.

To get to Kirby Cove, you can start at Battery Spencer. With Battery Spencer on your left, walk shortly past it looking for a sign with directions to Kirby Cove. It's about a mile walk downhill.

Enjoy the Colorful Mission District

With so much to see and eat in the Mission District, it's hard to tackle it all on your own. Booking an Avital Food Tour was the best idea. By taking the food tour, we were able to sample a few things from some of the best restaurants while also learning some of the neighborhood history. My favorites from the tour were the pork belly breakfast taco at West of Pecos and salted caramel ice cream from Bi-Rite Creamery.

I also enjoyed seeing Mission Street's famous street art and perusing the aisles of Bi-Rite Market after admiring the fresh bouquets out front. I highly reccomend making a stop at Mission Dolores Park to relax in the sunshine if you have time.

Visit the Must-See Sights

There are so many landmarks to see in San Fransisco that it's hard to hit them all in one weekend. On the way to the Marin Headlands, our Lyft driver made a quick stop at the famous Lombard Street: the “Crookedest Street in the World." We drove down it and then walked around at the bottom. You don't need to spend much time here, but it's definitely something to see.



San Fran is filled with beautiful Victorian houses. I loved wandering the streets and imagining who the people are who live in these homes. A must-visit is Alamo Square Park to see the Painted Ladies on Steiner Street. Walking further down Steiner Street you'll also find more Victorians as well as the house from Mrs. Doubtfire.
The 16th Avenue Tiled Steps are a community project in the San Francisco's Golden Gate Heights Neighborhood. The colorfully tiled steps are a fun stop to visit after grabbing at latte a Home Cafe (mentioned above). You can climb the 163 steps to Grandview Park for a nice view of the city.

Treat Yourself in Little Italy

Everyone mentions San Fran's Chinatown, the largest Chinatown outside of Asia, but Little Italy sits beside it and is also worth a visit. For dinner, try Sotto Mare for great Italian-style seafood. Order the sand dabs as an appetizer.

After dinner, treat yourself to a cappuccino and biscotti or gelato at one of the many nearby cafes. Cafe Grecco or Stella's.

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The Garden District was another must-see on our list. We grabbed a quick Uber to Magazine Street to look around the shops and admire the ornate houses in the area. If we weren't still so full from brunch, we would have definitely gotten treats from District Donuts.



Our final stop in The Garden District was the Pontchartrain Hotel on St. Charles Avenue. The lounge area looks like a setting for the perfect tea party of your childhood dreams. Brightly colored plush sofas and floor-to-ceiling artwork with ornate frames line the room, including a large portrait of Lil Wayne.

On the roof of the hotel, The Hot Tin has a Tennessee Williams theme with perfect sunset views of the city. Order the "Death in the LGD" cocktail to try Herbsaint, an anise-flavored liquor originally from New Orleans.






We ended our night with more crawfish - Bevi's Seafood Co. was our favorite place - and then the last food item on our must-try list: Banana's Foster at Brennan's. The caramelized banana dessert was created at Brennan's Restaurant in the 1950s.

Your server will bring out the ingredients and make the dish at your table. The atmosphere of the restaurant screams sophisticated southern and it was the perfect end to our weekend in The South. But when I go back to Nola, I'll be making reservations one night to dress in my southern best and eat a full meal at Brennan's.