Top 9 activities in San Francisco to do with children

San Francisco is one of the most important cities in the United States and, as such, one of the most visited.

Although it deserves a trip just to enjoy it, it is normal to visit it within a circuit along the West Coast of the country, and alternate the stay in this metropolis with places such as Yosemite National Park or Highway 1 of the United States, Big Sur. including.

If you are traveling with children, there are a series of

top

places to visit in the Californian city.

These are our favorites.

1. Visit Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39

Whether with or without children, visiting Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf—one of the most diverse neighborhoods—has already become a tradition when we set foot in San Francisco.

The sea lions that live here make this activity very endearing and fun.

Of course, be very careful and not because these animals are dangerous, but because it is inevitable that time will fly by while you watch them roam freely on the dock.

More information

SoCal: surf, beaches, vineyards and Hollywood stars on a trip along the roads of Southern California

In addition, on Pier 39 and its surroundings you will find a series of leisure activities, shops, merry-go-rounds, cafes, restaurants, the

USS Pampanito museum ship,

the wax museum... Wow, you will surely have a good time with the kids in that area of San Francisco.

Adrián Rodríguez and Gosi Bendrat, with their two children, watching sea lions at Pier 39 in San Francisco (California).ADRIÁN RODRÍGUEZ

2. A boat trip through San Francisco Bay and see the Golden Gate

The legendary Golden Gate Bridge makes San Francisco an unmistakable city.

Well, in addition to being able to enjoy it from various perspectives with the Golden Gate viewpoints, you can also see it from the water thanks to one of the boats that sail through the bay and take tourist tours or trips to places like Sausalito, also worthy visiting.

3. Walk through Golden Gate Park

Although it has nothing to do with the mythical bridge, Goden Gate Park is the most important park in San Francisco.

In addition to finding several play areas where the little ones have fun, it houses the California Academy of Sciences museum in its Japanese gardens, one of the coolest museums to enjoy with the little ones and which we also recommend as an alternative plan.

In addition to the playgrounds, there you can rent a bike or have a picnic, for example.

It all depends on how many days you want to spend in San Francisco during the trip.

4. Visit the city aboard the tourist bus

Taking into account that the terrain of San Francisco is not for everyone (those scenes of car chases going up and down hills are not a simple decoration) if you are traveling with children and you also want to enjoy a little of the city, the tourist bus always It is a good plan.

With an audio guide in the background, he passes through the most emblematic places while telling his story without getting tired of the walks that would be required to do everything on foot.

In addition, he does it in several languages, so you can always hear the voiceover in Spanish.

It's a great way for the whole family to have their space on the trip.

5. Visit Alcatraz

This point is recommended only for older children or those who, due to their age, are not yet aware of the visit... In any case, for all those who are not afraid to visit what remains of one of the best-known prisons in the world. world and in which they will be able to see inside the cells, the canteen, the patio... In it they will learn the data currently available about one of the most famous prisoner escapes of all time.

Although Alcatraz was once a terrifying place, it has now become a bit theatrical, but if your children are sensitive, it may be better to choose another plan.

On the contrary, if you are intrepid, you will enjoy this place.

And the extra point is that to get to the island where it is located you need to take a short boat trip across the bay.

6. Ride the tram

Although the tourist bus is a great way to move around the city to see the most iconic places, the tram has other attractions, such as seeing how it is the human being who helps you turn to change direction or how they navigate the streets of San Francisco in the open air, without glass in between.

It is a legendary city transportation that both children and adults enjoy.

A tram runs along California Street in San Francisco, with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. Niti Chuysakul Photography / Getty Images

7. 'Star Wars' fans?

If you are lovers of the

Star Wars

saga , you may want to make a pilgrimage to the Lucasfilm offices, at the Letterman Digital Arts Center, in the Presidio, to see a fountain that is crowned by a small statue of Yoda .

It all depends on your level of fanaticism and that of your children, since, unfortunately, the interior of the offices cannot be visited.

8. Visit one of the children's museums

From The Walt Disney Family Museum to those spaces related to science and nature, San Francisco has museums such as the Wax Museum, the Creativity Museum, the Exploratorium or the California Academy of Sciences.

They all have a reason to be visited by both adults and children.

9. Go see the Painted Ladies

There are many houses in San Francisco worth visiting from the outside, even though it is not allowed to do so inside.

So while the time comes, we will have to settle for one of the most iconic in the city, the Painted Ladies, who at the time became very famous for appearing in the title of the series

Full Parents

, a fiction from which they jumped to fame the now well-known Olsen twins.

Nowadays, dozens of tourists go to visit them to get a photo like the one in the images from that series.

The Pink Ladies, Victorian-style houses in San Francisco famous for their color and their appearance in the series 'Furious Parents'.ADRIÁN RODRÍGUEZ

These nine

top

points are just the beginning of a long list of many other plans that you can carry out with children during a stay in this Californian city.

A few more clues: visit the Muir Woods National Monument and its giant sequoias;

climb to the Twin Peaks viewpoint;

cross the Golden Gate by bike;

go up and down the famous Lombard Street… As you can see, San Francisco offers plans to fill a whole week!

If you are traveling along the West Coast of the United States and have time, don't miss this post with many routes and information about what to see in other cities and national parks in the United States (including Los Angeles, the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, Las Vegas or the so-called Valley of Death).

Subscribe here to the

El Viajero newsletter

and find inspiration for your next trips on our

Facebook

,

X

and

Instagram accounts

.