The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers

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Ghirardelli Square.

Overview

Since the gold rush, this waterfront has been the point of entry for new arrivals – and it remains a major attraction for sea lion antics and getaways to and from Alcatraz. To the west, the Marina has chic boutiques in a former cow pasture and organic dining along the waterfront. At the adjoining Presidio, you’ll encounter Shakespeare on the loose and public nudity on a former army base.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Alcatraz Island in San Francisco, USA.

    Alcatraz

    The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers

    Alcatraz: for over 150 years, the name has given the innocent chills and the guilty cold sweats. Over the decades, it’s been a military prison, a…

  • Exploratorium

    Exploratorium

    The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers

    Is there a science to skateboarding? Do toilets really flush counterclockwise in Australia? At San Francisco's hands-on science museum, you'll find out…

  • Golden Gate Bridge at the golden hour from Baker Beach.

    Golden Gate Bridge

    The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers

    Few cities boast a structure so iconic as the Golden Gate Bridge, commemorated in everything from films like The Maltese Falcon to not one but two emojis…

  • The well-known Pier 39 in San Francisco with sea lions. Animals are heated on wooden platforms

    Sea Lions at Pier 39

    The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers

    Sea lions took over San Francisco’s most coveted waterfront real estate in 1989 and have been making a public display of themselves ever since. Some…

  • Cycle race at Musee Mecanique, housing collections of mechanically operated musical instruments and antique arcade machines.

    Musée Mécanique

    The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers

    A flashback to penny arcades, the Musée Mécanique houses a mind-blowing collection of vintage mechanical amusements. Sinister, freckle-faced Laughing Sal…

  • Fountain in Ghirardelli Square.

    Ghirardelli Square

    The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers

    Willy Wonka would tip his hat to Domingo Ghirardelli (gear-ar-deli), whose business became the West’s largest chocolate factory in 1893. After the company…

  • Chain, Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, America

    Fort Point

    The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers

    This triple-decker, brick-walled US military fortress was completed in 1861, with 126 cannons, to protect the bay against certain invasion during the…

  • Fisherman's Wharf

    Fisherman's Wharf

    The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers

    Fisherman's Wharf – the Embarcadero and Jefferson St waterfront running from Pier 29 to Van Ness Ave – includes Pier 39, the Musée Mécanique, the Maritime…

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