24 Hours in San Francisco: The Ultimate One-Day Itinerary (LGBTQ+)
We ended our California road trip in San Francisco, but we only had 24 hours there before heading back home. San Francisco is definitely a city you need more than a day to explore, but sometimes you only have limited time to see the city and you have to make the best of it! We definitely need to plan another trip back to SF to properly see the city, but if you are short on time like us, here are the best things to do and see in San Fran with only 24 hours.
Where to Stay in San Francisco
We stayed at The Fairmont San The Fairmont San Francisco for our one night stay. The hotel is definitely boujee, but in the best way possible. It’s also in the perfect location in downtown SF near Union Square and in walking distance to most things we wanted to do and see. If you can swing the price tag, we definitely recommend staying here — it’s for on night only after all. Treat yourself!
Browse other hotels in San Francisco here on Expedia!
How to get around San Francisco
Since we were coming from our California road trip, we had a rental car. But driving in a city like SF isn’t ideal, so we parked the car in our hotel’s garage and continued exploring in other ways. We walked to some things, but we mostly took a Waymo (the self driving rideshare) around the city. It was our first time trying the driver-less Waymo cars and it was really exciting for us to experience! The Waymos were comparable price-wise to Ubers or Lyfts anyway.
You can also take the iconic San Francisco trams to get around the city as well. We didn’t have time to try those out with only 24 hours to explore the city, but we saw a ton of them passing us on the street!
Best Things to do with 24 hours in San Francisco
The Castro District
Battery Spencer
Chinatown
Take a picture with the iconic Golden Gate Bridge - The best place with a view of the famous Golden Gate Bridge is Battery Spencer park. Such an amazing view of the bridge and the city!
Explore Chinatown - San Francisco's Chinatown is the oldest in North America and was established in 1848. Actually, fortune cookies are widely believed to have been invented in SF and Chinatown's Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory still makes them by hand!
Check out the Castro District - The Castro is Widely regarded as one of the most famous LGBTQ+ neighborhoods in the world. Here you’ll find tons of LGBTQ+ bars, businesses, cafes, shops & more.
Visit The Painted Ladies - the most famous row of houses in the city! The Painted Ladies are colorful, Victorian houses and are popular for being seen in movies, TV shows, & more and offer a great view of the city skyline.
Find other activities and tours to book in San Francisco here on Expedia!
Where to Eat & Drink with 24 Hours in San Francisco
Enjoy Vegetarian
Enjoy Vegetarian
Enjoy Vegetarian - vegetarian restaurant in Chinatown
The Detour - arcade bar located in the Castro
Lookout - gay bar with a balcony
The LGBTQ+ Scene in San Francisco
San Francisco is synonymous with LGBTQ+ history and has been a safe haven for the queer community since the 1960s. It remains one of the most LGBTQ+ friendly cities in the world and has a culture of visibility and pride woven into everyday life. The city has elected numerous openly LGBTQ+ officials throughout its history, including Harvey Milk who was one of the first openly gay elected officials in the USA in 1977. SF doesn't just have an LGBTQ+ scene, it helped create modern queer culture as we know it today.
If you want to see how we spent our 24 hours in San Francisco, then make sure you check out our California YouTube video! If you just want to see the SF part, skip to about 22:00 into the video!
Special thanks to Fairmont SF for hosting us on our trip. As always, all opinions are honest and our own. Some links on this post are affiliate links of which we receive a small commission, but the price is the same for you.