OpenTube

13 Things People Get Wrong About San Francisco

SFTourismTips

3,876 views

San Francisco has a reputation — and a lot of it is completely wrong.

Too dangerous to visit. Always foggy. Easy to see in a day. If you've been putting off a trip because of something you heard or read, or have concerns after you booked, this video is for you.

I'm Jill. I live right here in the heart of San Francisco, and I'm setting the record straight on 13 of the biggest myths and misconceptions visitors believe about this city — and how knowing the truth will make your trip so much better.

Written guide here: https://www.sftourismtips.com/biggest...

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
POPULAR ACTIVITIES TO BOOK BEFORE YOU ARRIVE

Muir Woods Day Tours: https://gyg.me/i5rW02Kw
San Francisco Bay Cruise: https://gyg.me/nj75wA1R
Hop On Hop Off Bus: https://gyg.me/FzINWDI2
Alcatraz Combo Tours: https://gyg.me/JDZqHhOc

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
MORE SAN FRANCISCO GUIDES

San Francisco: What It’s REALLY Like to St...
SFO to San Francisco: What Are the BEST Wa...
30 Things to Do in San Francisco (Better T...

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
CHAPTERS

0:00 Introduction
0:36 Lie #1 — The whole city is unsafe
1:30 Lie #2 — Summer is the best time to visit
3:47 Lie #3 — San Francisco is foggy all year long
5:16 Lie #4 — There are always sea lions at Pier 39
7:03 Lie #5 — The Golden Gate Bridge is just a photo stop
8:31 Lie #6 — Restaurants stay open late
9:19 Lie #7 — The airport is close, so downtown is quick
10:46 Lie #8 — You can see San Francisco in one day
12:08 Lie #9 — You can tack SF onto your LA trip
13:08 Lie #10 — Cable cars are how you get around
14:23 Lie #11 — Fisherman's Wharf isn't worth it
15:46 Lie #12 — Alcatraz is overrated
16:59 Lie #13 — Lies that won’t die

📍 MORE SAN FRANCISCO TRIP PLANNING
I'm Jill, a San Francisco local and travel expert helping visitors plan smarter trips to the city I love. You'll find full guides, itineraries, and local tips here:
🔗 https://www.sftourismtips.com.

#sanfrancisco #sanfrancsicotravel #sanfranciscotouristattractions

20 Comments

@CelticWarrior76 2 months ago

I've visited San Francisco 3 times this past year and I have 2 more visits before year-end. I've really enjoyed my time there on each trip!

@Strickalator 2 months ago

I've lived here since 2013 and I STILL haven't seen or done EVERYTHING 😮❤

@Jeff_Lichtman 2 months ago

You don't have to get on the cables cars at the turnarounds. The lines are much shorter a stop or two from the end, and the conductors always leave some room on the car when it leaves the turnaround. You may have to stand while riding, but that beats standing in line for over an hour. I do recommend watching them turn the cars around, as it's an interesting process that relies on muscle power.

@augustoveiga5152 1 month ago

I absolutely loved watching your video! It’s positive, truthful and inspiring about one of the most beautiful, fun, and geographically diverse places in the world. I subscribed to your channel. ❤️

@alexwallace6120 1 month ago

Thanks, you're a source of knowledge and useful travel. I enjoy your videos so keep up the good work!

@ralphacton 2 months ago

Just got back from my 3rd trip there. Each time was a different month. First September which was very hot, then February very rainy, and now July very foggy and cool. We had a wonderful time! Your videos were very helpful. Thanks

@psfca 3 weeks ago

Thanks for championing our incredible one of a kind City 😊😊😊

@millercgr 2 months ago (edited)

Hey Jill, regarding Fisherman's Wharf, kudos to you for saying something I always say - ignore the snobs and just go - it's fun and there's great food choices here! Regarding the weather: As an east coast guy who's been to SF many times in summer it is absolute heaven to us from NYC, Philadelphia and other very hot humid places in July and August to be in SF. Doesn't matter how foggy, gray or windy it's a wonderful relief to be in SF coming from NYC in July - absolutely.

@alwaysbearded1 1 month ago

Another reason the Sea Lions are back mid August and into fall is the Herring run. Lots of small fish fry abound in the Bay end of Summer into Autumn and everything up the food chain wants to eat them so the Pelicans come back, the Sea Lions come back. Yesterday, 8/30/26, I saw a lot of Terns feeding and flocks of Brown Pelicans. I see the small fry around my boat when docked. Autumn is the best time generally to see wildlife as SF Bay is part of the Great Pacific Flyway for migrating birds. On Sea Lions, if you see them on a beach like Aquatic Park, they are not cute and cuddly like Harbor Seals, they are dangerous wild animals keep clear of them. They usually don't haul out where people are but they have been known to attack swimmers in places like Aquatic Park.

@Con-Burnes 2 months ago

We've visited 3 times. The worse part is the 11 hour flight from the UK but the city more than makes up for it.

@LeoChiu229 2 months ago

Wow! Me & my cat enjoyed watching the scenery of San Francisco & it always keeps my cat's ears up like an owl 🦉LOL. With me, I usually travel to San Francisco from Long Beach, CA (L A County) once a year one week in advance before the LGBTQ Pride celebration. That's the time I visit my younger sister to dine out together. I usually stayed & spend a week at my favorite hotel in the Union Square area. There were some mayhem going on at random even during the day at some tourist spots such as there was one incident at the Union Square that 49er Ricky Pearsall who was shot during an armed robbery in broad daylight & besides there was another random attack in the Chinatown area that one man got stabbed. I was VERY UPSET 😡😡😠😠😾😾when I learned about it. It's so TERRIFYING! 😡😡😠😠😾😾Despite that, I still loved San Francisco which has its charms. I loved the food up there especially authentic Chinese food such as dim sum & certain American food as well.. In a way, I left my heart in San Francisco. LOL. 😀😀🌈🌈

@luislaplume8261 2 months ago

If they have not visited Seattle then they can’t say the coldest summer I ever felt was in San Francisco! 😮🤔🥴😵‍💫🙀😱🤷🏻

@Raloufen 2 months ago

I love it

@RaymondHng 2 months ago (edited)

Here are the best-known places that currently offer 24-hour service or are open 24 hours on at least some days:

Orphan Andy's (Castro)
Classic diner serving breakfast all day, burgers, sandwiches, and comfort food.
Open 24 hours Tuesday through Saturday, but not all day Sunday or Monday, according to current business listings.

Pinecrest Diner (Union Square)
Historic diner famous for pancakes, omelets, and turkey dinners.
Open 24 hours on Fridays and Saturdays; shorter hours during the rest of the week.

If you're looking for places where you can actually sit down, order from a full menu, and linger after midnight, these are among San Francisco's best options.

Restaurant Cuisine Typical kitchen hours
Grubstake Diner American & Portuguese Until 3–4 a.m.
Cocobang Korean Until 2 a.m. weekdays, 4 a.m. Fri/Sat
The Public Izakaya Japanese izakaya Until 2 a.m.
Rocco's Cafe Italian Until 3 a.m. Fri/Sat
Taishan Cuisine Cantonese Until 3 a.m. nightly
ZZAN Korean Restaurant Korean Until 1 a.m.
Tadka Indian Restaurant Indian Until 2 a.m.

@lettermines 2 months ago

Shouldn't we take hyde line of cable car for the better view?

@machone539 2 months ago

The sea lions may come and go, but the SMELL is ALWAYS there.

@timothyclark-sl4il 2 months ago

San Francisco is the most amazing city in America! Thank you for your videos!

@Brad88ford 2 months ago

I'll take gray and foggy over 110. So will enjoy the cool weather!

@snj956 2 months ago (edited)

Im visiting this holiday season plan on jogging the GGB rent a Slingshot I know it will be cold hope not rainy...i been watching your videos and made my itinerary