48 hours in San Francisco

If good food and incredible views are your jam, then San Francisco is the place to be. Every time I visit I’m blown away and captivated by the beauty and diversity of this city.

Whether you’re into architecture, fine cuisine or quality night life, San Francisco has so much to offer for any type of traveler.

This trip was a quick one for me, but I managed to squeeze in all the good stuff in 48 hours. If you only have 2 days in the city, here are my top tips.

Where to stay:

Staypineapple

I’ve heard about this pineapple infused, quirky, bright hotel for YEARS so I had to check it out to see for myself. Y’all. It definitely lived up to the hype.

The hotel is located right in the heart of downtown San Francisco making it the perfect place to stay for easy walking and accessibility to other parts of the city.

I’m pretty sure they have connections to the sky gods because the blankets are like clouds. It was pretty cold when we were there, so I wrapped up like a fluffy burrito and was so cozy all day.

Every room comes with cute pineapple mugs to make your coffee and soap and lotion that smell like pina coladas!

I have to say, other than the fact everything was my favorite color yellow, my favorite part was the friendly staff and FREE cupcakes every day from 3:30-6:30pm!

Would highly recommend staying in this fun hotel during your visit.

Where to eat:

Breakfast

Sweet Maple

Rated #1 Breakfast spot in SF, Sweet Maple is a must do. Everything on their menu will make you drool, but the showstopper is their famous millionaire’s bacon. I ordered the Frisco omelet which comes with veggies, avocado, gouda cheese, roasted sweet potatoes that melt in your mouth and the yummiest piece of toast on the side.

Brenda’s Soul Food

Brenda’s usually has a wait, and for good reason! This french inspired cafe is home to tasty beignets, french toast and eggs anyway you can image. I had the Grillades and grits and it was to DIE FOR. Honestly the best part for me was the biscuit. It was the softest, fluffiest biscuit my tongue has ever touched.

Also pictured is the pulled pork benedict.

Lunch

Lapisara is a quaint little restaurant, with BIG flavor. I had an omelet there but had a hard time deciding when they also offer a breakfast burrito, tacos, french toast, chicken and waffles AND benedicts. It may have been the toughest choice I made the whole trip.

What’s cool about this place is that in the evening it turns into a Thai restaurant!

We didn’t really eat lunch on this trip because we always had such a big breakfast that kept us full and the food is more expensive so we tried to just limit it to 2 meals each day and then snack in between.

Dinner

Miller’s Rest

I loved the vibes in this restaurant. They have good quality food, friendly staff and super fun cocktails. We started with mac and cheese (YUM) and then I got one of the salads with chicken. The salads were a little smaller than I was hoping but we had eaten so much food on this trip that it didn’t really bother me.

Matador

If you’re looking for some solid Mexican food, Matador will fix you up! Our server was so nice to use and gave us samples of the food before we ordered because we couldn’t decide. I ended up going with the enchiladas verdes and it was SO GOOD. It actually was my first enchilada and I forgot to take a picture of it because it was that good.

Hops and Hominy

We didn’t visit this restaurant this trip, but it’s so incredible I would be doing you a disservice to not mention it. Hops and Hominy has the most delicious comfort food. Po Boys, burgers, mac and cheese, shrimp and grits, you name it, they have it. Every table gets a mini loaf of their cornbread that I swear fell from heaven itself. I love it so. much.

Dessert

This list could get long for me so I’m just going to tell you about a new place we went to this trip and then refer you to the article I wrote last year with a more in depth list of dessert places in SF.

Over the moon is a tiny little ice cream and cookie shop on Chesnut Street in Cow Hollow. All of their ice cream and cookies are made in house and after sinking your teeth into one of their warm, soft cookies, you won’t doubt. They have cookie cups, cookie sandwiches and classic ice cream cones. I got chocolate peanut butter and cookies and cream with a cookies and cream cookie!

What to do:

Here are my top 5 fun things to do in the city (P.S. there’s so much to do in San Francisco so see my Ultimate Travel Guide for more ideas)

1. Wake up early and watch the sunrise on the water

There’s something so magical about waking up while the city is still asleep and soaking in those quiet moments before the day begins. I would highly recommend getting to the water down by the Embarcadero to watch the sun rise over the Bay Bridge and then grab a coffee in the Ferry Building to start your day.

2.  Walk across the Golden Gate Bridge

It’s hard to grasp the magnitude and brilliance of the Golden Gate bridge until you are on it. I have only ever seen the bridge from afar and I’m so glad we took the time to walk over part of it.

3. Museum of Ice Cream

This pop up museum is an ice cream lovers DREAM so you can imagine I was in Heaven. This is such a fun way to spend your afternoon while eating sweet and let’s be honest, getting tons of fun instagram photos. Tickets sell out quick though so plan ahead and get them in advance!

4. Palace of Fine Arts

Built in 1915 for the Panama-Pacific Exposition, this giant monument sits at the corner of the Marina District right near the Presidio. If you like to be outdoors, this is a great place to walk around and get some fresh air.

5. Ghirardelli Square/Fisherman’s Wharf

No trip to San Francisco is complete without a visit to the iconic Fisherman’s Wharf and Ghirardelli Square. Make sure to try Clam Chowder in a bread bowl as well as a hot fudge sundae from Ghirardelli. There are so many shops and things to do down by the pier so if you don’t make plans, you’ll easily fill your time wandering!

I hope this gives you a little guidance for your trip! I love traveling to San Francisco because each time I go, I discover something new that I love. If you have a favorite spot that I didn’t mention, I’d love to hear it! Leave a comment and tell me about your experience!

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xx Nicole #DoStuff