San Francisco City Guides - Free Walking Tours

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Anna H

via Google

If you’re a first-time visitor in San Francisco, or someone who wants to learn about landmarks, must-see places, and the history of this vibrant city, I highly recommend this free walking tour! I did this two-hour tour on a Friday afternoon, (it rained, so remember to dress for the weather!) and we began at the Ferry Building, worked our way through downtown, and ended in North Beach, all while going at a good pace. Tour guides Cathie and Paul are very engaging, friendly, and knowledgeable about San Francisco. They point out each landmark, district, establishment, etc. along the way, while providing historical context and sociocultural significance. Be sure to ask questions! I look forward to visiting SF again and doing another tour— hopefully with the same awesome guides!

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Francis Tanjuatco

via Google

Mary was a fantastic guide for our tour of the Palace of Fine Arts. She came prepared with raisins and Ghirardelli chocolate for right (or wrong!) answers to her questions. The palace itself was buzzing with tourists and presented many Instagram worthy photo-ops. A lot of interesting history involving the 1915 World Expo. If you are pressed for time, this is a shorter city tour that is around an hour with maybe a 1/2 mile of walking on level ground. We recommend this tour and really all the City Tours as the guides are all terrific and eager to share their passion for SF history.

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Noma Van Housen

via Google

My husband and I took the Civic Center Tour. So happy our tour fell on a Tuesday because that is the day Michael leads it. There is also an extra bonus on Tuesday which I will not reveal. We learned so much about the meaning of a “Civic Center” and the history of San Francisco's No in particular. The interior of City Hall is beautiful! Thank you Michael for a great experience! We have taken many SF City Guides tours over the years and have enjoyed them all. If you want to get to know San Francisco a City Guide tour is the best way. Book it!

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Jenny Vereschagin

via Google

I’ve been to the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco and it was lovely. This time, I scheduled a guide because I was bringing my grandchildren and I wanted them to experience more than admiring the beautiful garden. Marjory did a wonderful job bringing the Japanese culture and history alive without being overwhelming for my grandchildren ages 15 to 8. She was also very good at keeping the most spirited of the kids involved with the tour in creative ways. This tour really put SF city guides on the map for me and I’ll be scheduling future tours. I had no idea the tours offered were so varied. I highly recommend this tour and tour company.

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Simona R. Stefanescu

via Google

We just took our 4th tour with San Francisco City Guides and we have a long way to go until we take all 80 of them. We had Dennis W. telling us fascinating stories about the Russian Hill, while going up and down the stairs and hills. What I appreciate a lot, in addition to wonderful stories and views, is the passion the guides have for showing off the best of San Francisco. Dennis and all previous guides have that spark in the eyes while talking about a place they love and want to share it with the guests. Also, a plus for us, locals, is that all the money we donate goes directly to the nonprofit. Guides do this on a truly volunteer basis and they seem to enjoy sharing the history and some secret corners of the city as much as we enjoy learning about it.